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Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings
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Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 34588

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Roberto Alonso González Lezcano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Arquitectura y Diseño, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, Spain
Interests: efficient ventilation strategies; habits and comfort of the occupants; energy-efficient buildings; building codes and standards; indoor environmental quality; sustainable building materials; passive and active strategies; energy-saving strategies; lighting comfort; acoustic comfort; air quality monitoring; air pollution control; housing and health; HVAC control systems
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will address a topic of great relevance today, taking into account that in developed countries, most of the time is spent indoors and, depending on each person, presence at home ranges from 60% to 90% of the day, 30% of that time spent sleeping. Considering these data, indoor residential environments have a direct influence on human health, especially when accounting for the fact that in developing countries, significant levels of indoor pollution make housing unsafe, with an impact on the health of inhabitants. Housing is therefore a key health factor for people all over the world, and various parameters such as air quality, ventilation, hygrothermal comfort, lighting, physical environment, building efficiency, and others can contribute to healthy architecture, and the conditions that can result from the poor application of these parameters.

The articles will address issues concerning indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which are described more simply as the conditions inside the building. This includes air quality, but also access to daylight and views, pleasant acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort. It also include the functional aspects of the space, such as whether the layout provides easy access to tools and people when needed and whether there is sufficient space for the occupants. Building managers and operators can increase building occupant satisfaction by considering all aspects of IEQ rather than focusing on temperature or air quality alone.

Within these objectives, housing ventilation becomes a challenging goal to solve as it is directly related to occupants’ health and wellbeing. The biggest challenge is its strong connection to energy demand as a big share of building energy losses are due to air renovations and enclosure infiltrations.

In this Special Issue, we look for a range of innovative research and evidence-based policy ideas that demonstrate the importance of housing research and policy for health and wellbeing.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Alonso González Lezcano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • thermal comfort
  • air quality monitoring
  • indoor air quality
  • indoor environment quality
  • building innovation systems
  • health outcomes
  • housing and health
  • smart home for health
  • smart home for elderly care
  • indoor air quality
  • efficient interior lighting systems
  • acoustics
  • infrasound
  • environmental buildings
  • passive building strategies
  • TVOC
  • air pollution
  • energy efficiency
  • sustainable materials
  • green architecture
  • sustainable architecture
  • healthy architecture
  • sustainable construction

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 31010 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Construction: Improving Productivity through Lean Construction
by Tamar Awad, Jesús Guardiola and David Fraíz
Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13877; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413877 - 15 Dec 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7249
Abstract
The objective of this article is to improve building productivity, evolving from traditional construction to industrial construction. The methodology used here consists of analysing the use of materials, the construction design, the design of the spatial distribution programme, the use of auxiliary means [...] Read more.
The objective of this article is to improve building productivity, evolving from traditional construction to industrial construction. The methodology used here consists of analysing the use of materials, the construction design, the design of the spatial distribution programme, the use of auxiliary means and resources and the application of lean tools in construction. The results achieved here include a complete building system that integrates the design, project and execution, wherein the construction process is improved and inconsistencies in the final project are reduced. With the application of an industrial manufacturing methodology, the productivity in construction is improved, reducing costs, materials, execution times and waste. These productivity improvements result in construction being more sustainable. As a conclusion of the previous analysis, the elements that must be integrated into a complete building project and the need to incorporate industrial manufacturing into construction processes in order to achieve sustainable architecture are established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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22 pages, 96249 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Basalt Fiber on Mechanical, Microstructural, and High-Temperature Properties of Fly Ash-Based and Basalt Powder Waste-Filled Sustainable Geopolymer Mortar
by Mahmoud Ziada, Savaş Erdem, Yosra Tammam, Serenay Kara and Roberto Alonso González Lezcano
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12610; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212610 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 3323
Abstract
As the human population grows and technology advances, the demand for concrete and cement grows. However, it is critical to propose alternative ecologically suitable options to cement, the primary binder in concrete. Numerous researchers have recently concentrated their efforts on geopolymer mortars to [...] Read more.
As the human population grows and technology advances, the demand for concrete and cement grows. However, it is critical to propose alternative ecologically suitable options to cement, the primary binder in concrete. Numerous researchers have recently concentrated their efforts on geopolymer mortars to accomplish this objective. The effects of basalt fiber (BF) on a geopolymer based on fly ash (FA) and basalt powder waste (BP) filled were studied in this research. The compressive and flexural strength, Charpy impact, and capillary water absorption tests were performed on produced samples after 28 days. Then, produced samples were exposed to the high-temperature test. Weight change, flexural strength, compressive strength, UPV, and microstructural tests of the specimens were performed after and before the effect of the high temperature. In addition, the results tests conducted on the specimens were compared after and before the high-temperature test. The findings indicated that BF had beneficial benefits, mainly when 1.2 percent BF was used. When the findings of samples containing 1.2 percent BF exposed to various temperatures were analyzed, it was revealed that it could increase compressive strength by up to 18 percent and flexural strength by up to 44 percent. In this study, the addition of BF to fly ash-based geopolymer samples improved the high-temperature resistance and mechanical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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23 pages, 2837 KiB  
Article
Poor Ventilation Habits in Nursing Homes Have Favoured a High Number of COVID-19 Infections
by Gastón Sanglier-Contreras, Eduardo J. López-Fernández and Roberto Alonso González-Lezcano
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11898; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111898 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2191
Abstract
Residents of nursing homes have been significantly affected by COVID-19 in Spain. The factors that have contributed to the vulnerability of this population are very diverse. In this study, physical agents, chemical pollutants, population density and different capacities of residences were analysed to [...] Read more.
Residents of nursing homes have been significantly affected by COVID-19 in Spain. The factors that have contributed to the vulnerability of this population are very diverse. In this study, physical agents, chemical pollutants, population density and different capacities of residences were analysed to understand their influence on the number of elderly people who have died in geriatric centres in different autonomous communities (AACCs) of Spain. A statistical analysis was carried out on the variables observed. The results show that many residences with a larger number of deaths were private, with some exceptions. Physical agents and pollutants were found to be determining factors, especially for the communities of Extremadura and Castilla–La Mancha, although the large number of factors involved makes this study complicated. The compromise between air quality and energy efficiency is of great importance, especially when human health is at stake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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16 pages, 2508 KiB  
Article
Purpose Adequacy as a Basis for Sustainable Building Design: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Higher Education Classrooms
by Vicente López-Chao and Vicente López-Pena
Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11181; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011181 - 11 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2828
Abstract
Building design is one of the essential elements to consider for maximizing the sustainability of construction. Prior studies on energy and resource consumption and on indoor environmental quality indicators (IEQs) are increasingly frequent; however, attention has not been focused on design as supporting [...] Read more.
Building design is one of the essential elements to consider for maximizing the sustainability of construction. Prior studies on energy and resource consumption and on indoor environmental quality indicators (IEQs) are increasingly frequent; however, attention has not been focused on design as supporting the function performed within architecture. Educational buildings have specific conditions related to teaching methodologies, including activating students and promoting participation and interaction in the classroom. This manuscript aims to explore whether the social dimension of physical space in educational settings can explain a student’s academic outcome. For this, the Learning Environment and Social Interaction Scale was designed and validated and applied to 796 undergraduate students at the University of Coruña, and multiple linear regression analysis was applied to the academic results. The results display a structure comprising five factors; these include novelties such as the division of conventional IEQs into two groups: the workspace and the classroom environment. In addition, place attachment, the design of the classroom as a facilitator of social interaction, the learning value of social interaction, and the satisfaction of the IEQ demonstrated their influence on the academic result. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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14 pages, 2718 KiB  
Article
MgO-Based Cementitious Composites for Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building Design
by Serenay Kara, Savas Erdem and Roberto Alonso González Lezcano
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9188; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169188 - 16 Aug 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3824 | Correction
Abstract
Concrete made with Portland cement is by far the most heavily used construction material in the world today. Its success stems from the fact that it is relatively inexpensive yet highly versatile and functional and is made from widely available raw materials. However, [...] Read more.
Concrete made with Portland cement is by far the most heavily used construction material in the world today. Its success stems from the fact that it is relatively inexpensive yet highly versatile and functional and is made from widely available raw materials. However, in many environments, concrete structures gradually deteriorate over time. Premature deterioration of concrete is a major problem worldwide. Moreover, cement production is energy-intensive and releases a lot of CO2; this is compounded by its ever-increasing demand, particularly in developing countries. As such, there is an urgent need to develop more durable concretes to reduce their environmental impact and improve sustainability. To avoid such environmental problems, researchers are always searching for lightweight structural materials that show high performance during both processing and application. Among the various candidates, Magnesia (MgO) seems to be the most promising material to attain this target. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the characteristics and developments of MgO-based composites and their applications in cementitious materials and energy-efficient buildings. This paper starts with the characterization of MgO in terms of environmental production processes, calcination temperatures, reactivity, and micro-physical properties. Relationships between different MgO composites and energy-efficient building designs were established. Then, the influence of MgO incorporation on the properties of cementitious materials and indoor environmental quality was summarized. Finally, the future research directions on this were discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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12 pages, 2870 KiB  
Article
Indoor Air Quality in Naturally Ventilated Classrooms. Lessons Learned from a Case Study in a COVID-19 Scenario
by Alberto Meiss, Héctor Jimeno-Merino, Irene Poza-Casado, Alfredo Llorente-Álvarez and Miguel Ángel Padilla-Marcos
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8446; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158446 - 28 Jul 2021
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4546
Abstract
This paper describes the implementation of a series of ventilation strategies in a nursery and primary school from September 2020, when the government decided to resume the students’ face-to-face activity in the middle of a COVID scenario. Air quality and hygrothermal comfort conditions [...] Read more.
This paper describes the implementation of a series of ventilation strategies in a nursery and primary school from September 2020, when the government decided to resume the students’ face-to-face activity in the middle of a COVID scenario. Air quality and hygrothermal comfort conditions were analysed before the pandemic and compared for different ventilation configurations in a post-COVID scenario. Ventilation strategies included the protocols issued by the Public Administration, while others were developed based on the typological configuration and use of the school. Results revealed that it is advisable to implement certain strategies that reduce the risk of infection among the occupants of the spaces, without a significant decrease in hygrothermal comfort. Given the importance of maintaining better IAQ in the future within classrooms, and regarding the pre-COVID situation, these strategies may be extended beyond this pandemic period, through a simple protocol and necessary didactic package to be assumed by both teachers and students of the centre. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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23 pages, 5130 KiB  
Article
Modelling Long-Term Urban Temperatures with Less Training Data: A Comparative Study Using Neural Networks in the City of Madrid
by Miguel Núñez-Peiró, Anna Mavrogianni, Phil Symonds, Carmen Sánchez-Guevara Sánchez and F. Javier Neila González
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8143; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158143 - 21 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2987
Abstract
In the last decades, urban climate researchers have highlighted the need for a reliable provision of meteorological data in the local urban context. Several efforts have been made in this direction using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), demonstrating that they are an accurate alternative [...] Read more.
In the last decades, urban climate researchers have highlighted the need for a reliable provision of meteorological data in the local urban context. Several efforts have been made in this direction using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), demonstrating that they are an accurate alternative to numerical approaches when modelling large time series. However, existing approaches are varied, and it is unclear how much data are needed to train them. This study explores whether the need for training data can be reduced without overly compromising model accuracy, and if model reliability can be increased by selecting the UHI intensity as the main model output instead of air temperature. These two approaches were compared using a common ANN configuration and under different data availability scenarios. Results show that reducing the training dataset from 12 to 9 or even 6 months would still produce reliable results, particularly if the UHI intensity is used. The latter proved to be more effective than the temperature approach under most training scenarios, with an average RMSE improvement of 16.4% when using only 3 months of data. These findings have important implications for urban climate research as they can potentially reduce the duration and cost of field measurement campaigns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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12 pages, 2376 KiB  
Article
Fique as a Sustainable Material and Thermal Insulation for Buildings: Study of Its Decomposition and Thermal Conductivity
by Gabriel Fernando García Sánchez, Rolando Enrique Guzmán López and Roberto Alonso Gonzalez-Lezcano
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7484; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137484 - 5 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2830
Abstract
Buildings consume a large amount of energy during all stages of their life cycle. One of the most efficient ways to reduce their consumption is to use thermal insulation materials; however, these generally have negative effects on the environment and human health. Bio-insulations [...] Read more.
Buildings consume a large amount of energy during all stages of their life cycle. One of the most efficient ways to reduce their consumption is to use thermal insulation materials; however, these generally have negative effects on the environment and human health. Bio-insulations are presented as a good alternative solution to this problem, thus motivating the study of the properties of natural or recycled materials that could reduce energy consumption in buildings. Fique is a very important crop in Colombia. In order to contribute to our knowledge of the properties of its fibers as a thermal insulator, the measurement of its thermal conductivity is reported herein, employing equipment designed according to the ASTM C 177 standard and a kinetic study of its thermal decomposition from thermogravimetric data through the Coats–Redfern model-fitting method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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16 pages, 4148 KiB  
Article
Impact of Air Infiltration on IAQ and Ventilation Efficiency in Higher Educational Classrooms in Spain
by Irene Poza-Casado, Raquel Gil-Valverde, Alberto Meiss and Miguel Ángel Padilla-Marcos
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6875; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126875 - 18 Jun 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3122
Abstract
Indoor air quality (IAQ) in educational buildings is a key element of the students’ well-being and academic performance. Window-opening behavior and air infiltration, generally used as the sole ventilation sources in existing educational buildings, often lead to unhealthy levels of indoor pollutants and [...] Read more.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) in educational buildings is a key element of the students’ well-being and academic performance. Window-opening behavior and air infiltration, generally used as the sole ventilation sources in existing educational buildings, often lead to unhealthy levels of indoor pollutants and energy waste. This paper evaluates the conditions of natural ventilation in classrooms in order to study how climate conditions affect energy waste. For that purpose, the impact of the air infiltration both on the IAQ and on the efficiency of the ventilation was evaluated in two university classrooms with natural ventilation in the Continental area of Spain. The research methodology was based on site sensors to analyze IAQ parameters such as CO2, Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), Particulate Matter (PM), and other climate parameters for a week during the cold season. Airtightness was then assessed within the classrooms and the close built environment by means of pressurization tests, and infiltration rates were estimated. The obtained results were used to set up a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to evaluate the age of the local air and the ventilation efficiency value. The results revealed that ventilation cannot rely only on air infiltration, and, therefore, specific controlled ventilation strategies should be implemented to improve IAQ and to avoid excessive energy loss. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Environment Quality and Health in Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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