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Special Issue "Advances in Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)"

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Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Interests: building physics; building energy systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Aminhossein Jahanbin

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Interests: computational fluid dynamics; heat transfer; indoor environmental quality; building energy systems

Dr. Simone Secchi

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Guest Editor

Department of Architecture, Università di Firenze, 50125 Firenze, Italy
Interests: building physics; acoustic comfort; architecture technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Indoor built environments significantly affect human health, wellbeing, and productivity since people spend most of their time indoors. Healthy and comfortable built environments are an emerging field of research focusing on topics related to indoor environmental quality control and sustainability. The importance of providing healthy indoor air has recently been exacerbated by the spread of COVID-19 and its consequences. Thus, research on design guidelines, modeling, and advanced simulation methods for improving indoor environmental quality is urgently required.

The present Special Issue provides a platform for the discussion and exchange of knowledge of ideas, designs, and techniques for the establishment of a healthy and sustainable indoor built environment. This Special Issue is open to any subject area relating to advances in indoor environmental quality. Research papers, analytical reviews, case studies, conceptual frameworks, and policy-relevant articles are welcome.

Topics covered in this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following themes:

Indoor air quality (IAQ);
Thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort in built environments;
Advanced simulation methods in indoor environmental quality (thermal, lighting and acoustical simulations);
Application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in indoor environments;
Sustainable and smart HVAC technologies;
Occupant-centered ventilation for improving microclimates;
Indoor pollutant sources and control strategies for contaminant removal;
Innovative indoor air cleaning and decontamination technologies;
Control of indoor airborne infectious disease;
Health, productivity, and well-being related to the built environment.

Dr. Giovanni Semprini
Dr. Aminhossein Jahanbin
Dr. Simone Secchi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

building physics
indoor air quality
thermal comfort
acoustic and visual comfort
ventilation
HVAC systems
pollutant dispersion in a built environment
control of airborne infectious disease
CFD application in a built environment

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 7889 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indoor Microclimate and Microbiological Risks in Heritage Buildings: A Case Study of the Neologic Sinagogue, Oradea, Romania

Grigore Vasile Herman

Paula Dejeu

and

Buildings 2023, 13(9), 2277; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092277 - 07 Sep 2023

Viewed by 625

Abstract

Heritage buildings face risks related to the degradation of exhibited or stored artefacts, up to their destruction over time, as well as the health of workers and visitors. The main causes are microclimatic parameters (temperature, humidity, brightness, particles suspension, pollutants, degree of ventilation or air circulation), biological (bacteria, fungi, molds and insects) and anthropogenic ones (improper maintenance of the building and overcrowding of rooms). In accordance with these, the present study considers a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the air quality and the degree of microbiological contamination of the surfaces and the air inside a synagogue in the municipality of Oradea, Romania. The microbiological study highlighted the presence of some potentially harmful genera of fungi (Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Botrytis sp. and Cladosporium sp.) in the indoor air and on the surfaces inside the synagogue; suggesting an average degree of fungal contamination, with possible risk to individual health, especially in children and people with allergic status or allergic respiratory diseases. Statistical analysis concerning the occupational exposure to airborne microbes poses health risks to employees and visitors. Multivariate regression analysis results emphasize that higher symptoms scores were independently associated with experiencing a too low indoor air temperature; these symptoms would disappear within one to two hours after leaving the space. Air pollutants have become part of everyday life; therefore, consistent monitoring of indoor environments offers an effective approach to prevent or minimize the adverse health risk to building occupants in spaces such as heritage buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ))

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42 pages, 19821 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Natural Ventilation in Low-Cost Housing: An Evaluation by CFD

Lívia A. Rocha

Ricardo S. Gomez

João M. P. Q. Delgado

Guilherme L. Oliveira Neto

Danielle B. T. Vasconcelos

Márcio J. V. Silva

Adriano S. Cabral

and

Antonio G. B. Lima

Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1408; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061408 - 30 May 2023

Viewed by 1136

Abstract

With the spread of sustainability concepts, due to the global energy crisis and the unrestrained consumption of natural resources, the importance of rational use and reduction of energy consumption has been intensified, albeit in short steps. This concern has taken up bioclimatic concepts in buildings, especially housing buildings for low-income people, aiming at improving the quality of housing production in terms of its habitability. The objective of this research is to theoretically and experimentally study the natural ventilation in a housing building, which fits into the low-cost pattern. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to predict natural ventilation was adopted as a tool to perform these analyses. Experiments were carried out by visiting the study area to collect data on air velocity, temperature, and relative humidity in all rooms of the residence in order to carry out the intended analyses. Computer simulation of natural ventilation considering the building with the doors and windows open and with fixed geometry was performed. Results proved that the proposed mathematical model was able to reproduce, with rich details and physical coherence, the internal and external air flow inside the building, indicating better internal ventilation performance in environments that have door and window openings, with recesses, revealing the importance of cross ventilation to reduce the internal temperature and consequent improvement in thermal comfort. The idea is to help civil engineers and specialists in the economically viable design of low-cost buildings from the economic, social, and thermal comfort points of view. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ))

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