On the study of the indoor environment in private residences

Epidemiological research has shown that exposure to particulate matter has been linked to adverse health effects. The present study aims at reporting the initial findings of an experimental campaign that was held in private residences in Athens with different degree of urbanization and environmental conditions. Measurements include particulate matter concentrations (TSP, PM10, PM2.5, PM1) and Ultrafine Particles (UFP). The experimental campaign was performed for more than one month in a typical urban apartment and a suburban detached house under normally occupied conditions. First results indicate that PM concentrations at the urban area significantly exceeded those of the suburban case under all operating and environmental conditions. In many cases where thresholds exist, particulate matter concentrations in the apartment exceeded the limit values. Occupants’ presence and indoor activities such as smoking, cooking cleaning etc. influenced the diurnal variation of particle concentrations. For certain particle sizes, indoor concentrations during the night where the indoor pollutant sources stopped functioning, the concentrations decreased. Power spectrum analysis was used to identify periodicities and trends of particulate matter concentrations. Spectral density comparison was also performed for particles of different size ranges as well as for particles of the same size in the studied residences. This is a preliminary study on the indoor environment in private residences in which process of initial data is presented. However measurements are ongoing and several additional parameters are being recorded

Reducing carbon emissions in the Greek hotel sector: Case study Sami Beach Hotel, Kefalonia

The tourism industry has presented a significant growth over the last decades. Tourism in Greece is a substantial sector of the Greek economy accounting 15% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Hotels are one of the most energy intensive sub-sectors of the tourism industry, which can surely affect global greenhouse gas emissions. This project aims at presenting the effect of using energy efficient techniques, as well as Renewable Energy Sources (RES) such as photovoltaics, in the overall energy consumption of Greek hotels. This project is based on a case study three star category, seasonally operating hotel in the island of Kefalonia, in the Ionian cluster, in western Greece. Data concerning the building’s construction, and the hotel’s electricity, lighting, cooling and hot water production were collected. The annual total energy consumption of the hotel is 95 kWh/ m2 simulation’s software, which approached the actual case, a series of simulations were carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of different energy conservation techniques in reducing cooling loads. While this process, special care was taken in order to maintain internal temperatures within required levels, since it constitutes an important consideration for visitor’s satisfaction. Based on the results of the simulations it was found that the overall energy consumption can be reduced by 10%. Further significant reductions in the energy consumption, may be achieved by the installation of PVs. The combination of energy efficient techniques together with a PV installation on the hotel’s roof caused a reduction by 60% in the electricity consumption from the existing case scenario. The percentage of CO2 reductions from the current case reached 57%, corresponding to 50 tonnes, while the total cost per tonne of CO2 removed for the life-time of the upgrading together with the PV installation is 300€.Furthermore, this project presents a rough cost analysis of the energy efficient techniques followed by an evaluation according to the potential savings each of them can achieve. . After designing a model of the hotel in a thermal It is concluded that in the long term, the benefits arising from the adoption of energy conservation techniques concern energy, financial savings and reductions in the environmental impact by the decrease of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Therefore, it is essential to increase the awareness and support hoteliers and local authorities to promote the application of energy efficient technologies and RES

Analysis of the indoor air quality in Greek primary schools

The exposure of children to indoor air pollutants in school classrooms might cause them adverse health effects. In order to confront this issue, the in-depth study and evaluation of the indoor air quality in classrooms is necessary. The aims of this study are to characterize the environmental factors that affect indoor air quality. Several indoor air pollutants such as the concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) of several different size ranges, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and VOCs, were simultaneously measured in classrooms as well as the outdoor environment in nine primary schools in Athens, Greece during April 2013. Measurements were performed for more than 7 hours per day, for a period of one to five days in a classroom, per school. The first results indicate extreme PM10 concentrations in many cases with varying fluctuations throughout the day, mainly attributed to the presence of students, inadequate level of ventilation and chalk dust while the ultrafine particles (UFP) remained in rather low levels. In most of the cases the indoor concentrations exceeded the outdoor ones by more than ten times. Carbon dioxide concentrations in many cases exceeded the recommended limit value indicating inadequate levels of ventilation

Particulate matter and airborne fungi concentrations in schools in Athens

Indoor Air Quality degradation is of exceptional concern due to the potential adverse effects indoor air pollutants have on human’s health. Students are a susceptible group of people, who spend a lot of their time within classrooms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration levels of particulate matter (PM) and total airborne fungi, in school classrooms. Further objective is to examine possible correlations between PM10, PM2.5, PM1, ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter< 100 nm), and airborne fungi. The measurements were performed using fully automated instrumentation. The results indicate that a lot of PM10 concentrations exceeded the proposed daily limit of 50μg/m3. Also, in some cases the concentration of the total airborne fungi indoors, exceeded their concentration outdoors. There is evidence that certain correlations exist between PM and airborne fungi

A study on the thermal environment in Greek primary schools based on questionnaires and concurrent measurements

The present study investigates the indoor thermal comfort perceived by students through a questionnaire survey conducted during spring 2013 in naturally ventilated primary schools in Athens. Thermal environment parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity, air velocity and mean radiant temperature were simultaneously measured. Then, Fanger’s indices of Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Percentage of People Dissatisfied (PPD) were calculated by using clothing and metabolic rates. The main purpose of this work is the evaluation of the ability of the answers from students to be sufficient to assess the thermal environment of classrooms. The possible associations between subjective thermal sensation votes and objective measurements are examined by comparing students’ answers based on the seven point thermal sensation scale and the results taken by the calculated indices of PMV and PPD

Indoor and outdoor distribution of airborne pollutants in naturally ventilated classrooms

The present study aims at investigating concentration levels of particulate matter PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and UFP as well as of total airborne fungi and their vertical distribution in the indoor and outdoor environment of school classrooms. Measurements were performed in two naturally ventilated high schools in Athens, from January until May 2011. Indoor concentrations of the pollutants will be presented per floor level and indoor to outdoor (I/O) concentration ratios will be estimated as a function of the floor height. The ultimate goal is to create variations’ profile of I/O pollutant ratios, so as to understand the contribution of indoor sources and the extent to which the indoor air quality is being affected by the outdoor pollutants

Particulate matter and airborne fungi concentrations in schools in Athens

Indoor Air Quality degradation is of exceptional concern due to the potential adverse effects indoor air pollutants have on human’s health. Students are a susceptible group of people, who spend a lot of their time within classrooms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration levels of particulate matter (PM) and total airborne fungi, in school classrooms. Further objective is to examine possible correlations between PM10, PM2.5, PM1, ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter<100 nm), and airborne fungi. The measurements were performed using fully automated instrumentation. The results indicate that a lot of PM10 concentrations exceeded the proposed daily limit of 50μg/m3. Also, in some cases the concentration of the total airborne fungi indoors, exceeded their concentration outdoors. There is evidence that certain correlations exist between PM and airborne fungi

Analysis of the indoor air quality in greek primary schools

The exposure of children to indoor air pollutants in school classrooms might cause them adverse health effects. In order to confront this issue, the in-depth study and evaluation of the indoor air quality in classrooms is necessary. The aims of this study are to characterize the environmental factors that affect indoor air quality. Several indoor air pollutants such as the concentrations of the particulate matter (PM) of several different size ranges, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and VOCs, were simultaneously measured in classrooms as well as the outdoor environment in nine primary schools in Athens, Greece during April 2013. Measurements were performed for more than 7 hours per day, for a period of one to five days in a classroom, per school. The first results indicate extreme PM10 concentrations in many cases with varying fluctuations throughout the day, mainly attributed to the presence of students, inadequate level of ventilation and chalk dust while the ultrafine particles (UFP) remained in rather low levels. In most of the cases the indoor concentrations exceeded the outdoor ones by more than ten times. Carbon dioxide concentrations in many cases exceeded the recommended limit value indicating inadequate levels of ventilation

Does indoor environmental quality affect students' performance?

There is little knowledge on if and how indoor environmental quality influences students’ attendance and productivity. However, this issue has been of growing interest the recent years in the scientific community and results are showing that student learning performance is significantly affected by indoor environmental quality factors. In the present study the learning performance is examined through numerical test scores achieved by primary school students in their classrooms. The assessment of indoor environmental quality parameters such as thermal, visual, acoustic and air quality and the evaluation of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms was conducted through questionnaires handed out to the same sample of students. Main objective of this paper is to investigate whether the degradation of the indoor environmental quality can impact the overall performance of students