Aspects of Occupant Comfort - Essay Example

Conventional loss can be reduced by having windows with glass panes so that heat loss is contained while natural lighting is made available. The rooms should also be otherwise airtight and the fenestration performance of the building envelope should also be highly efficient.

Air change per hr at 0.25 cfm/sq ft of building envelope measured at 50 Pascal is recommended for the building envelope to assure comfortable indoor thermal ambiences. Visual: Inadequate lighting may create eye problems over extended periods and headaches and visual problems over shorter ones. The natural lighting of spaces, as for the rooms with external walls, should be considered before specifying electric illumination systems. Acoustics: Noise is specifically the most distracting influence on occupants.

It can cause undue stress and loss of performance efficiency, especially in a delicate learning environment like the lecture room. The general office will also be susceptible to high noise levels. Noise irritates in two ways - it impairs hearing and it deprives of speech privacy. The second is more irritating than the former. The following ways can reduce noise pollution, specifically in the lecture and general office rooms: Maximum unoccupied noise levels should be kept down to 45 dBA.0.6 sec reverberation time maximum for unoccupied areas should be maintained.

Exterior noises from sources like traffic and wind loads can be minimised by using windows and exterior wall materials that are low-emitting. Interior noises from sources like HVAC systems, foot traffic and other rooms should be kept at a minimum by using interior wall and opening materials that absorb sound and are low-emitting. (High-Performance Schools Best Practices Manual, Criteria, November 1, 2001) Ventilation is necessary to reduce indoor moisture, odour and other pollutants. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) recommend that natural or natural and mechanical combined ventilation should provide a whole house ventilation rate of 0.35 air changes per hour (ACH), but this should not be less than 15 cubic feet per minute (cfm) per person for continuous ventilation systems.