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The Sustainable School Effective and Energy Efficient Ventilation in the Classroom, and the Questions of Educational Performance and Wellbeing

Dr. Andrea Wheeler, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Department of Architecture. andrea1@iastate.edu

Introduction

Temperature and air quality are, in a large proportion of classrooms, so poor as to have a negative effect on children’s health and educational performance. Evidence, in support of mechanical systems that control air quality, contradicts trends towards natural ventilation proposed in order to conserve energy consumption. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is generally not stressed, or indeed challenged, in the program to design sustainable schools, but questions of air quality, children’s wellbeing in school and educational performance, if ill considered, raise critical issues about the drive to reduce energy consumption in schools.

Methodology

This research critically examines literature on the subject of contemporary air pollution, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and its effects on children’s health, wellbeing, and educational performance. The research provides the first stage in a project which will examine the IAQ in contemporary high-performing, energy-efficient schools built within the last five years in the US.

Responding to the increased problem of air pollution, at crisis point in cities such as Shanghai and Paris; the Parisian philosopher Luce Irigaray has argued for air pollution to be considered a crime against humanity.[1] Last year, the international press commented on a building trend in China to provide school children with covered air conditioned play areas in response to concern over air quality in cities. One private school, the International School of Beijing installing a $5,000,000 domed structure over the playground.[2] In Chinese cities, the media broadcasts air quality reports warning residents on days where levels of pollutants in the air pose a risk to the health. But outdoor air pollution is not the only source of abuse being caused to human respiratory systems. More than half of the body’s intake is inhaled indoors and many illnesses related to environmental exposure to pollutants are related to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). [3] Levin writes that IAQ concerns have suffered due to a lack of a comprehensive assessment methodology: many guidance or rating systems fail as sustainable design requires a system for the evaluation of building performance to address trade-offs between human and non-human health and wellbeing. [4] Persily similarly argues that whilst some discussions of energy efficient buildings include the need for non-energy performance attributes such as IAQ, most discussions tend to focus on energy performance and reliance on minimal standards is not sufficient.

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FIGURE 1: POSSIBLE SOURCES OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTANTS

Why is IAQ important in schools?

• Children and teachers spend 8 or more hours per day inside school buildings

• Everyday materials, finishes, and equipment in school buildings emit air borne pollutants contributing to poor IAQ (Figure 1)

• Poor IAQ causes health problems and can result in more teacher sick days and student absenteeism

• Good IAQ leads to an increase in student performance (Figures 2, 3)• Children are more vulnerable to airborne pollutants than adults due

to their developing lungs and higher respiration rate• Environmental exposure to high levels of pollution can have long-

term consequences for children (Figure 4)• Teachers and children are often unable to perceive poor IAQ.• Children are especially unable to communicate concerns related to

IAQ and pollutant levels.• “Sustainable” schools often face logistical issues in their operation in

order to control IAQ.• Sustainable schools often fail to consider the broad range of factors

contributing to IAQ problems.

Examples of sustainable schools with an emphasis on IAQ

Project Frog: El Sol Science and Arts Academy(Case Study 1)

• All buildings have high fresh air ventilation rates and all interior materials have low or no VOC emissions

• Utilize sophisticated software to analyze stack effect and cross ventilation in the buildings

• Software accounts for building’s local climate, thermal and spatial properties, wind speed, temperature, pressure, and airflow through all openings

• Exterior walls have a rain screen system to minimize areas that hold moisture and mold

• No recirculation of stale indoor air

BOORA Architects: Clackamas High School (Case Study 2)

• Uses outside air to ventilate the building, carefully situated to take advantage of wind patterns

• Long-lasting, low or no emission, low maintenance materials• Air vents underneath windows provide enough fresh air to

thoroughly ventilate the school and replace a traditional heating and air-conditioning system

Conclusion

Designing sustainable schools cannot only address energy conservation, but value concerns about health and wellbeing. Pollutants cause illness, absenteeism, and decreased performance. IAQ cannot be neglected in the design of new sustainable schools.

[1] Irigaray, L., and Marder M. (2014, March 17). Without clean air, we have nothing. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/17/clean-air-paris-pollutioncrime-against-humanity; [2] Stamp, J. (2013, February 26). How to Survive China’s Pollution Problem – Masks and Bubbles The Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-tosurvive-chinas-pollution-problem-masks-and-bubbles-27725540/?no-ist ; Doane, S. (2013, 17th July). Beijing pollution forces students to play under dome, CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/beijing-pollution-forces-students-to-play-under-dome/; [3] Sundell, J. (2004). On the history of indoor air quality and health. Indoor Air, 14(7), 51-58; [4] Levin, H. (2005). Integrating indoor air and design for sustainability. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Beijing, China [5] Anderson, H.R., et al. (1983) Morbidity and school absence caused by asthma and wheezing illness. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 58(10), 777-784; Hill, R.A., et al (1989) Asthma, wheezing and school absence in primary schools. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 64(2), 246-251[6] Mendell, M. J., & Heath, G. A. (2005). Do indoor pollutants and thermal conditions in schools influence student performance? A critical review of the literature. Indoor Air, 15(1), 27-52; Wargocki, P., & Wyon, D. P. (2007). The effects of moderately raised classroom temperatures and classroom ventilation rate on the performance of schoolwork by children (RP-1257). HVAC&R Research, 13(2), 193-220;

Project Frog

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality in and around buildings as it relates to the health and comfort of building users. IAQ can be affected by CO, Radon (Rn), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), PM10 and PM2.5, and microbial contaminants (such as mold and bacteria) CO2 and even asbestos fibres. CO can derive from space heaters and defective central heating boilers or furnaces, and particulates, especially the most dangerous PM2.5, can be found arising from tobacco smoke. VOCs are gases which are known to have short and long term adverse health effects. Examples of materials that give off such compounds include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, carpets, furnishings and building and construction materials. CO2 is an indoor pollutant (for the purposes of IAQ) exhaled by humans, correlating with human metabolic activity. CO2 is an air pollutant where at unusually high levels it may cause occupants to grow drowsy, to get headaches, and to function at lower mental activity levels. Numerous studies have determined the effect of IAQ on health, and it is not difficult to project that absence days caused by illness will impact upon educational performance. [5] What is significant is evidence also of the effect of pollutants on cognitive performance, inaddition to health. [6]

BOORA Architects: