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Published, Version of Record (VoR)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
Perceptions in the US building industry of the benefits and costs of improving indoor air quality
Indoor air, v 26(2), pp 318-330
01 Apr 2016
PMID: 25660513
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
How building stakeholders (e.g. owners, tenants, operators, and designers) understand impacts of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and associated energy costs is unknown. We surveyed 112 stakeholders across the United States to ascertain their perceptions of their current IAQ and estimates of benefits and costs of, as well as willingness to pay for, IAQ improvements. Respondents' perceived IAQ scores correlated with the use of high-efficiency filters but not with any other IAQ-improving technologies. We elicited their estimates of the impacts of a ventilation-filtration upgrade (VFU), that is, doubling the ventilation rate from 20 to 40 cfm/person (9.5 to 19l/s/person) and upgrading from a minimum efficiency reporting value 6 to 11 filter, and compared responses to estimates derived from IAQ literature and energy modeling. Minorities of respondents thought the VFU would positively impact productivity (45%), absenteeism (23%), or health (39%). Respondents' annual VFU cost estimates (mean=$257, s.d.=$496, median=$75 per person) were much higher than ours (always <$32 per person), and the only yearly cost a plurality of respondents said they would pay for the VFU was $15 per person. Respondents holding green building credentials were not more likely to affirm the IAQ benefits of the VFU and were less likely to be willing to pay for it.
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Details
- Title
- Perceptions in the US building industry of the benefits and costs of improving indoor air quality
- Creators
- M. Hamilton - Drexel UniversityA. Rackes - Drexel UniversityP. L. Gurian - Drexel UniversityM. S. Waring - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Indoor air, v 26(2), pp 318-330
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI); United States Department of Energy (DOE)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000373209200014
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84961214318
- Other Identifier
- 991019169685204721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Construction & Building Technology
- Engineering, Environmental
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health