INDOOR AIR AND ENERGY ECONOMY IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS

The purpose of this study was to investigate solutions for renovation processes in the ventilation of fifteen school buildings. The quality of indoor air as well as the operation of ventilation were studied. Both measurements and questionnaires to teachers were used before and after the renovation work. The quality of the indoor air measured in the school buildings was essentially improved as the renovation work proceeded. As the contents of carbon dioxide in the school buildings ranged between 1,200 – 2,400 ppm before the renovation work, they were below 1,250 in the maximum in all the school buildings with only one exception after that. After the renovation the maximum carbon dioxide contents in the school buildings furnished with natural ventilation were decreased 850 ppm in the average. The air temperatures were higher than recommended both before (23°C in the average) and after (22°C in the average) the renovation. The heating network was not balanced in all the school buildings before the measurements were made after the renovation work. In the estimates given by teachers working in these school buildings the quality of the air was experienced to have improved from school grade 6.5 to that of 7.9 (scale 4…10).