Cited by 53Indoor Air Quality and Microbial ExposureBuilding Energy and Comfort OptimizationFacilities and Workplace Management

Some Quantitative Relations between Indoor Environmental Quality and Work Performance or Health

Open access
Seppänen, Olli A., Fisk, William·2006·HVAC&R Research

Abstract

Poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has been related to increases in sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, respiratory illnesses, sick leave, and loss in productivity. Calculations indicate that the cost of poor IEQ can be higher than energy costs FOR space conditioning and ventilation and that many measures taken to improve indoor IEQ will be highly cost-effective when accounting for the monetary savings resulting from improved health or productivity. To enable building professionals to select of building designs and operating practices that account for effects on health and productivity, we need models for quantifying the health and productivity benefits of better indoor environments. Therefore, we have reviewed the literature on the effects of indoor environment on health and performance and used existing data, when possible, to develop some initial models. Based on the best available evidence, we present quantitative relationships between ventilation rates and short-term sick leave, ventilation rates and work performance, perceived air quality and performance, temperature and performance, and temperature and SBS symptoms. We also show that a relationship exists between SBS symptoms and work performance.

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Crossref · 10.1080/10789669.2006.10391446

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43 of 43 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Similar nonlinear relationships between indoor temperature and cognitive test performance show an optimum range for cognitive tests and office work productivity centered around 22°C.

    “Similar nonlinear relationships between indoor temperature and cognitive test performance show an optimum range for cognitive tests and office work productivity centered around 22°C [27,41].”

    From Reduced cognitive function during a heat wave among residents of non-air-conditioned buildings: An observational study of young adults in the summer of 2016 (2018) · cites this paper as [41]

    The Temperature and Performance section (page not available in our copy) reports a nonlinear relationship for work-related performance, with a fitted peak at 21.6°C—approximately 22°C. It combines field work measures and laboratory tasks, but does not establish a separate optimum for cognitive tests, so that part of the claim is not supported. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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2 of the 45 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 20

  1. Burton LE, Baker B, Hanson D, Girman JG, Womble SE, McCarthy JF. 2000. Baseline information on 100 randomly selected office buildings in the United States (BASE): gross building characteristics. Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, Vol. 1 151-155. www.isiaq.org
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  5. Hansen, S.-O. 1997. Economical consequences of poor indoor air quality and its relation to the total building operation costs. EuroFM/IFMA Conference & Exhibition, Torino, Italy June 1997
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  7. Lagencranz L, Wistrand M, Willen U, Wargocki P, Witterseh T, Sundell J. 2000. Negative impact of air pollution on productivity: previous Danish findings repeated in new Swedish test. Proceedings of the Healthy Buildings 2000 Conference, vol 2:653-658.
  8. Myhrvold A, Olsen E, Lauridsen O.1996. Indoor environment in schools / pupils health and performance in regard to CO 2 concentrations, Proceedings of the Indoor Air 1996 conference, Vol 4: 369 -374
  9. Niemela R, Seppänen O, Reijula K. 2004. Prevalence of SBS-symptoms as indicator of health and productivity in office buildings. Submitted to American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
  10. Nunes F, Menzies R, Tamblyn R, Boehm E, Letz R.1993. The effect of varying level of outdoor air supply on neurobehavioral performance function during a study of sick building syndrome (SBS). Proceedings of Indoor Air 93, vol 1:53-58
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  13. Seppänen O, Fisk WJ and Faulkner D. 2003. Cost benefit analysis of the night-time ventilative cooling. In: Proceedings of the Healthy Buildings 2003 Conference. Singapore 2003, Vol 3:394-399
  14. Seppänen O, Vuolle M. 2000. Cost effectiveness of some remedial measures to control summer time temperatures in an office building. Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2000, vol 1, pp. 665-670.
  15. Tham KW, Willem, HC. 2003. A principal component analysis of perception and SBS symptoms of office workers in the tropics at two temperatures and two ventilation rates. Proceeding of Healthy Buildings Conference 2003. Vol 3: 88-94.
  16. Tham KW, Willem HC. 2004. Effects of reported neurobehavioral symptoms on call center operator performance in the tropics. Proceedings (in CD) of RoomVent 2004 Conference. Coimbra. Portugal
  17. Tuomainen M, Smolander J, Korhonen P, Eskola L, Seppänen O. 2003. Potential economic benefits of balancing air flows in an office building. Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2003 Conference. Singapore. December 2003. Vol 2, 516-521.
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Authors
Seppänen, O. A., & Fisk, W.
Affiliations
  • a Department of Mechanical Engineering , Helsinki University of Technology , Espoo, Finland
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
Venue
HVAC&R Research
Published
2006-10
Volume
12
Issue
4
Pages
957-973
ISSN
  • 1078-9669 (ISSN-L)
  • 1938-5587
OpenAlex
W1497215422
Cited by
53
References
45
Citations by year
2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3
FWCI
2.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science and Technology for the Built Environment (publishedVersion)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) (submittedVersion)
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE-AC03-?, AC03-76SF00098)
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Building Energy and Comfort Optimization
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Facilities and Workplace Management
Keywords
indoor environmental quality, sick building syndrome, employee performance, sick leave, ventilation rate, perceived air quality, indoor temperature, productivity loss, respiratory diseases

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