The effects of indoor air quality on performance, behaviour and productivity

This paper describes a series of laboratory simulation experiments with exposures of up to five hours in which the performance of simulated office work was increased by removing common indoor sources of air pollution (floor-coverings and personal computers), or by increasing the rate at which clean outdoor air was supplied per person. Outdoor air supply rates from 3-30 l/s/p were studied. The resulting pollutant levels did not affect the perception of air quality by the occupants themselves, but they affected the headache and difficulty in thinking clearly they reported and the perception of air quality by visitors. These findings were validated in two 8-week field intervention experiments, which were carried out in call-centres in northern Europe and in the hot humid Tropics. They have far-reaching implications for productivity, the life cycle costing of buildings, and the efficient use of energy.

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