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The mission of the Building Performance Knowledge Community (BPKC) is to increase building performance related to occupant comfort and health, and to the function, durability, sustainability, and resilience of buildings.
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  • 1.  Indoor Environmental Quality

    Posted 02-20-2019 07:34 AM
    Architects and engineers are paying much more attention today to indoor air quality, as compared to 10 years ago. IEQ is a key part of the LEED rating system, of course, as well as the WELL Building Standard.

    Indoor CO2 levels are of particular interest:

    A study performed by researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Syracuse University established a link between indoor environmental conditions and cognitive function. To quote the Harvard press release:

     

    "People who work in well-ventilated offices with below-average levels of indoor pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) have significantly higher cognitive functioning scores-in crucial areas such as responding to a crisis or developing strategy-than those who work in offices with typical levels"

     https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/green-office-environments-linked-with-higher-cognitive-function-scores/

    Results of a similar study were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in 2012 under the headline - Is CO2 an Indoor pollutant?

    https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/action/cookieAbsent





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