B067 Office IAQ benchmarks

IAQ benchmarks of air-conditioned offices in Hong Kong

Brief:

This study investigates the feasibility of a simple 5-star IAQ benchmark derived from the exposure concentrations of three ‘representative’ common indoor air pollutants in typical air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO₂), respirable suspended particulates (RSP) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). It assigns 1 star to the top 10% samples in the highest levels, 2 stars to the next 22.5%, 3 stars to the next 35%, 4 stars to the next 22.5% and 5 stars to the bottom 10% of the three air pollutants. The application of this IAQ benchmark was tested in 422 air-conditioned offices of Hong Kong, and a follow-up measurements of six more common air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, radon and airborne bacteria count were performed to investigate the accuracy of 5-star IAQ benchmark. This simple benchmark would promote better IAQ and serve as a screening assessment for IAQ.

Further Information:

Mui KW, Wong LT, Hui PS, 2008. IAQ benchmarks of air-conditioned offices in Hong Kong, The 11^th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, 17-22 August, Copenhagen, Denmark, Paper ID 20.