Title: Reading and Audio-Visual Assignments
Course: WGF 106 DEVELOPMENT > Section: Content

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Sub-Title | Indoor Environmental Quality Enhancement (including O&M Optimization)
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Indoor environmental quality enhancement [edit]

See also: Indoor Air Quality

The Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) category in LEED standards, one of the five environmental categories, was created to provide comfort, well-being, and productivity of occupants. The LEED IEQ category addresses design and construction guidelines especially: indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal quality, and lighting quality.^[24]^[25]

Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed ventilation system (passively/naturally or mechanically powered) to provide adequate ventilation of cleaner air from outdoors or recirculated, filtered air as well as isolated operations (kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.) from other occupancies. During the design and construction process choosing construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low VOC emissions will improve IAQ. Most building materials and cleaning/maintenance products emit gases, some of them toxic, such as many VOCs including formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants' health, comfort, and productivity. Avoiding these products will increase a building's IEQ. LEED,^[26] HQE^[27] and Green Star contain specifications on use of low-emitting interior. Draft LEED 2012^[28] is about to expand the scope of the involved products. BREEAM^[29] limits formaldehyde emissions, no other VOCs. MAS Certified Green is a registered trademark to delineate low VOC-emitting products in the marketplace.^[30] The MAS Certified Green Program ensures that any potentially hazardous chemicals released from manufactured products have been thoroughly tested and meet rigorous standards established by independent toxicologists to address recognized long term health concerns. These IAQ standards have been adopted by and incorporated into the following programs: (1) The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) in their LEED rating system^[31] (2) The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in their section 01350 standards^[32] (3) The Collaborative for High Performing Schools (CHPS) in their Best Practices Manual^[33] and (4) The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) in their level® sustainability standard.^[34]

Also important to indoor air quality is the control of moisture accumulation (dampness) leading to mold growth and the presence of bacteria and viruses as well as dust mites and other organisms and microbiological concerns. Water intrusion through a building's envelope or water condensing on cold surfaces on the building's interior can enhance and sustain microbial growth. A well-insulated and tightly sealed envelope will reduce moisture problems but adequate ventilation is also necessary to eliminate moisture from sources indoors including human metabolic processes, cooking, bathing, cleaning, and other activities.

Personal temperature and airflow control over the HVAC system coupled with a properly designed building envelope will also aid in increasing a building's thermal quality. Creating a high performance luminous environment through the careful integration of daylight and electrical light sources will improve on the lighting quality and energy performance of a structure.^[18]^[35]

Solid wood products, particularly flooring, are often specified in environments where occupants are known to have allergies to dust or other particulates. Wood itself is considered to be hypo-allergenic and its smooth surfaces prevent the buildup of particles common in soft finishes like carpet. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of American recommends hardwood, vinyl, linoleum tile or slate flooring instead of carpet.^[36] The use of wood products can also improve air quality by absorbing or releasing moisture in the air to moderate humidity.^[37]

Interactions among all the indoor components and the occupants together form the processes that determine the indoor air quality. Extensive investigation of such processes is the subject of indoor air scientific research and is well documented in the journal Indoor Air, available at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0905-6947. An extensive set of resources on indoor air quality is available at http://www.buildingecology.com/iaq.^[38]
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Operations and maintenance optimization [edit]

No matter how sustainable a building may have been in its design and construction, it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. Ensuring operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel are part of the project's planning and development process will help retain the green criteria designed at the onset of the project.^[39] Every aspect of green building is integrated into the O&M phase of a building's life. The addition of new green technologies also falls on the O&M staff. Although the goal of waste reduction may be applied during the design, construction and demolition phases of a building's life-cycle, it is in the O&M phase that green practices such as recycling and air quality enhancement take place.
Link/Upload | Green Building – Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building Enhance IEQ – Whole Building Design Guide http://www.wbdg.org/design/ieq.php Green Building Standards and Certifications – Whole Building Design Guide                    http://www.wbdg.org/resources/gbs.php
Attributions | Image courtesy of Green Seal Content courtesy of Wikipedia – the Free Internet Encyclopedia