Abstract—Growing awareness on the subject of classroom’s
indoor air quality and concerns regarding the probable link
between indoor air quality, student’s attendance and academic
performance, support recent legislation limiting classroom’s
indoor pollutant concentrations. A consequence of this
legislation is the generalized shift towards air-conditioned
classrooms and increased budgets for schools energy running
costs. According to the scientific literature, demand control
ventilation systems are suited for classrooms, ensuring indoor
air quality and thermal comfort with significant energy savings.
Based on detailed building energy simulation this paper
compares a demand control ventilation system and a
(traditional) constant air volume system considering a typical
classroom located in two distinct climatic regions: Portugal and
Macao. Based on hourly results of classroom’s indoor CO2
concentrations and indoor air temperatures, and on annual
air-conditioning energy consumptions, advantages of the
demand control ventilation system are discussed.
Index Terms—Classroom indoor air quality, demand control
ventilation, energy efficiency, thermal comfort.
R. Duarte is with the Setubal Polytechnic Institute, IPS Campus,
Estefanilha, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal (e-mail:
rogerio.duarte@estsetubal.ips.pt).
I. Beltrão-Coelho is with the Independent Architect and Consultant in
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency, Rua do Campo, n. 206, Edif. Fu Luen –
29 D, Macau.
[PDF]
Cite:Rogério Duarte and Ingride Beltrão-Coelho, "Reconciling Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency in
Air-Conditioned Classrooms: Case Studies for Portugal
and Macao," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 168-172, 2013.
