IAQ

Concerns and
Solutions
Jagdeep Singh
 Green Building
A Green Building could be defined as the practice
of:

1) Increasing the efficiency with which buildings and

their sites use energy, water, and materials, and

2) Reducing building impacts on human health by

providing better indoor environment (IEQ).

LEED is the leading edge system designed to evaluate the

development & implementation of Green Building Practices.
 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
• Health professionals consistent and persistent concerns on
the health hazards caused in workplaces and the
increasing number of lawsuits all over the world have
prompted the HVAC designer to sit back and think.
• With research clearly indicating that we spend 90 % of our
time indoors and the growing scientific evidence that the air
indoor is almost 10 to 100 times more polluted than
outside, the risk to health is much greater indoors than
outdoors.
• Modern techniques and construction have added to the
problem, with more and more airtight buildings replacing
the leaky buildings of yesteryears.
 SBS & Effect on Productivity
1: In a survey of 100 office buildings, 23% of office workers experienced frequent
symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) such as respiratory ailments, allergies and
asthma.
The impact has been usually hidden in sick days, lower productivity and medical cost,
but the economic impact is enormous, with an estimated decrease in productivity
around 2% nationwide, resulting in an annual cost of approximately $60 billion.
Source : Emerging Energy-Efficient Technology in Promoting Workplace Productivity and Health, a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, February 2002.

2: William Fisk from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California was one of
the early researchers to examine IAQ effects on health and productivity. In a recent
article, he established a baseline for quantifying benefits from improved IAQ and
demonstrated the economic impacts of increased productivity. Findings are showing
that improvement in IAQ can:
 Reduce SBS symptoms by 20 to 50%
 Reduce asthma by 8 to 25%
 Reduce other respiratory illnesses by 23 to 76%,
 Improve office worker productivity by 0.5 to 5%
Source : William J. Fisk, “How IEQ Affects Health, Productivity,” ASH
 SBS & Effect on Productivity
3: A recent study by Bjarne Olsen, chairperson for the International Center for Indoor
Environment and Energy (ICIEE) in Denmark, indicated that improved thermal comfort,
reduction in indoor pollutants, and enhanced ventilation rates and effectiveness can
increase productivity by 5 to 10%. Conversely, the research also indicates that a 10%
decrease in tenant satisfaction with IAQ results in a 1% drop in productivity.
Source : Bjarne W. Olsen, “Indoor Environment — Health, Comfort and Productivity,” Clima 2005 Lausanne, 8th REHVA World Congress, Switzerland, Oct. 9-12, 2005.

4: Pawel Wargocki, also from the ICIEE, conducted three separate studies showing
an increase of productivity at 5% or more through IAQ improvements.
Source : Pawel Wargocki, “Making the Case for IAQ,” ASHRAE IAQ Applications, Fall 2002.

5: In Finland, researcher Olli Seppanon, from the Helsinki University of Technology,

developed a conceptual model to estimate cost effectiveness based on improved
indoor environment. The model shows a decrease in performance by 2% for each
degree increase of space temperature between 77°F and 89.4°F.
Optimal productivity performance was found to occur when the space temperature was
72°F.
Source : Olli Seppanen and William Fisk, “A Method to Estimate The Cost Effectiveness of Indoor Environments in Office Work,” Clima 2005 Lausanne, 8th REHVA World
Congress, Switzerland, Oct. 9-12, 2005.
 SBS & Effect on Productivity
6: Shin-Ichi Tanabe from Waseda University in Japan published findings on effects of
thermal comfort on task performance and fatigue.
The study was related to office spaces with moderately high temperatures. In Japan,
it’s recommended by law that office building thermostats be set at 28°C (83.4°F) in the
summertime. The study showed that productivity dropped by 2.1% when the average
indoor air temperature increased by 1°C (1.8°F). This study found also that individual
air velocity control was able to reduce the perception of mental fatigue by the workers.
Source : Shin-Ichi Tanabe, “Productivity and Future HVAC,” Clima 2005 Lausanne, 8th REHVA World Congress, Switzerland, Oct. 9-12, 2005.

7: In a recent study conducted by Allan Hedge of Cornell University, low temperatures

in work space also have a negative impact on productivity. His findings show that
“chilly workers not only make more errors, but cooler space temperature could
increase the hourly labor cost by 10%.”
Source : Alan Hedge, “Linking Environmental Conditions to Productivity,” Eastern Ergonomics Conference & Exposition, New York, June 2004.
 Outdoor Air Requirements for
Ventilation of Air Conditioned Spaces
The LEED standard states “Increase breathing zone
outdoor air ventilation rates to all occupied spaces by
at least 30% above the minimum rates required by
ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007 as determined by EQ
Prerequisite 1”.
This increased amount of ventilation has definitely
solved IAQ related problems, but the inability to
maintain the right humidity by our HVAC systems has
lead us to other problems.
Mold & Mildew are serious dilemma in itself, which are
caused by lack of humidity control. The question is
“Have we Traded one problem with the other”.
Energy Recovery
TFA UNIT ASSEMBLY
Total Energy Recovery
Wheels
 Universal Rules of Total Energy Wheels

1. Heating/Cooling Energy (e.g. 80%) Is Always Returned To Where It Came From

Heat In Cooling Energy Out

Heat Out Cooling Energy In

2. Moisture and Dry Air (e.g. 80%) Is Always Returned To Where It Came From

Moisture In
Dry Air Out

Moisture Out Dry Air In

 What Total Energy Recovery Does

Control point
Preconditioned air envelope
Weather envelope

Psychrometric Chart
ESTIMATED AIR - CONDITIONING LOADS MALL CUM OFFICE IN KOLKATA
WITH AND WITHOUT HEAT RECOVERY WHEELS
S.No Description of area Occupancy F/A CFM A/c Load A/c Load
Considered without HRW with HRW
GROUND FLOOR

1. Anchore Store – 3 Ground Floor 205 2050 67.57 56.96

2. Lobby – Ground Floor 22 56.62 7.74 7.44

3. Shops South – Ground Floor 178 234.37 47.33 46.09

4. Atrium - Ground Floor 130 6767 67.5 31.79

5. Shops North - Ground Floor 155 1700 41.62 40.53

6 Anchor Store- 1 Ground Floor 170 670 58.57 49.6

7. Anchor Store - 2 Ground Floor 67 237 24.59 20.63

8 Business Club - Ground Floor 9 4.3 3.05

FIRST FLOOR

9. Shops South – Ist Floor 345 1025 107.33 101.92

10. Shops North – Ist Floor 351 462.15 99.94 97.5

11. Passage – Ist Floor 92 10325 94.72 40.24

12. Atrium – Ist Floor NIL 180.65 9.13 8.19

13. Anchor Store- Ist Floor 407 2845 103.82 88.81

SECOND FLOOR
14. Shops South – IInd Floor 345 1025 107.33 101.92
15. Shops North – IInd Floor 351 462.15 99.94 97.5
16. Passage – IInd Floor 92 10325 94.72 40.24
17. Atrium – IInd Floor NIL 180.65 9.13 8.19
18. Anchor Store- IInd Floor 407 2845 103.82 88.81

THIRD FLOOR
19. Theatres – III rd Floor 1442 21630 227.4 113.25
20. Multiplex Foyer – III rd Floor 470 9400 100.67 51.06
21. Ticket Counter – III rd Floor 100 2000 22.33 11.78
22. Food Court – III rd Floor 1000 20000 337.08 231.54
23. Hypermarket – III rd Floor 600 13800 279.2 209.82
SUB TOTAL 2115.6 1546.57

IT OFFICES(4th TO 10th FLOOR)

24. IT Club – IV th Floor 517 10340 165.21 110.64
25. IT Club – V th Floor 403 8060 133.72 91.18
26. IT Club – VI th Floor 403 8060 133.72 91.18
27. IT Club – VII th Floor 403 8060 133.72 91.18
28. IT Club – VIII th Floor 403 8060 138.77 96.24
29 IT Office – IX th Floor 204 4080 67.99 44.79
30. IT Office – X th Floor 204 4080 73.17 51.64
SUB TOTAL 846.3 576.85
TOTAL 9475 147245.6 2962.08 2123.44
(With 1,47,246 cfm of Fresh Air as per present design)

Tonnage W/O Heat Recovery Wheel (HRW) = 2412 TR

(With 80% diversity in Mall) & 85% diversity in IT offices

Tonnage with Heat Recovery Wheel = 1776 TR

(With 80% diversity in Mall) & 85% diversity in IT offices

Reduction in Installed tonnage with HRW = 636 TR

SAVINGS (with HRW)
SAVINGS IN FIRST COST
Reduction in Tonnage = 636 TR
Reduction in Project Cost due to capacity reduction in Chiller, pumps (CHW & CDW)
piping, cooling Tower, valves, exhaust blowers etc.. = Rs. 25,000 x 636
= 1,59,00,000/-
Cost of Treated Fresh air units with
Heat recovery Wheels = 1,10,00,000/-

Savings in first Cost = 49,00,000/-

Savings in Running Cost
Ventilation Load Index for Kolkata
Energy Load for total fresh air of 147246
hrs/year
= 34.47 tonnes hrs/ cfm /year
= 34.47 x 147246 tonnes
= 5075570 tonnes hrs/ year
Power consumption W/O Heat Recovery Wheel (for fresh air) only

MALLS
For 16 hrs per day for 365 days = 16 x 365 x 96506 x 34.47x 5.5 x 1.1
24 365
= 134 lacs per year
IT OFFICE
For 20 hrs per day for 300 days = 20 x 300 x 50740 x 34.47 x 5.5 x 1.1
24 365
= 73 lacs per year
Total power consumption (for fresh air only) = 207 lacs per year
Power consumption with Heat Recovery Wheel (for fresh air) only
MALLS
For 16 hrs per day for 365 day = 16 x 365 x (1-0.75) x 96506 x 34.47x 5.5 x 1.1
24 365
= 33.5 lacs per year
IT OFFICE
For 20 hrs per day for 300 days = 20 x 300 x (1-0.75) x 50740 x 34.47 x 5.5 x 1.1
24 365
= 18.25 lacs per year
Total power consumption (for fresh air only) with Heat recovery wheels
= 51.75 lacs per year
Hence Annual Savings = 155 lacs per year
Total Savings for 20 years = 31 Crores of energy saving
(approximate life of equipment)
 Conclusion
 Green Buildings are growing at the rate of about 200%
a year.
 IAQ requirement of high ventilation rates with proper
RH control & energy management will call for Energy
Recovery.