Sustainable Construction, 5th Edition

Chapter 13Indoor Environmental Quality

Excellent indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has emerged as one of the key goals in the design of high-performance green buildings, on a par with energy and water efficiency and ecological system restoration. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines IEQ as the quality of the air in an office or other building environment. Although the quality of indoor air is indeed very important, the high-performance green building movement considers a much wider range of health, safety, and comfort factors. In addition to indoor air quality (IAQ), other aspects of IEQ that are routinely considered include lighting quality, daylighting and exterior views, acoustics, noise and vibration control, thermal comfort and control, odors, electromagnetic radiation, potable water monitoring, and ergonomics. In this chapter, we first discuss the problems that have stimulated such enormous interest in IEQ in general and IAQ in particular. These include sick building syndrome (SBS), building-related illness (BRI), and evidence that poor lighting quality, noise and vibration, and other factors are affecting the health and quality of life of the people using or living in buildings. Then we cover the best practices being used to address these issues and the integration of these solutions into the design of high-performance buildings. The specific issues of ventilation and emissions from materials are addressed, followed by a discussion of the potential ...