IAQ's Real Life Implications

Indoor environment quality is an important part of building design and includes consideration of air quality, water quality, acoustic, olfactory, lighting comfort, thermal comfort, etc. We spend 90% of our time indoors where contaminates may enter the reticulated air from furnishings, cooking, and outdoor pollutants. Adverse air quality can lead to decreased productivity, concentration and poor mental health.
 
We are embarking on the second year of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) research in collaboration with Professor Lihai Zhang from the University of Melbourne.

Last year the research focused on erbas™’s Melbourne office as a case study. This year the project has expanded to two groups of research students, who met with some of our engineers, focusing on IAQ across two private schools, erbas™’s Melbourne office and an aged care facility.
 
The research outcomes can inform our engineers on the real life implications of their design decisions, such as greater ventilation, which also needs to be balanced with energy efficiency. The flow-on effect from this understanding can lead to improvements in occupant health and work performance.