An Evaluation of Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupant Well-Being in Three Southern Rural Manitoba School Buildings
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Date
2015-01-13
Authors
Radwan, Ahmed
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Abstract
There is little empirical evidence in the literature to
support industry claims about how green schools
tend to have better indoor environmental quality
(IEQ) than conventional ones and how teachers in
green schools tend to feel better about their
schools’ IEQ than those in conventional ones.
There is also little empirical evidence in the
literature about the impact of improved IEQ in literature about the impact of improved IEQ in
schools on teachers’ well-being and their levels of
satisfaction with their indoor environments. This
research is based on a collaborative partnership
with the Government of Manitoba Public Schools
Finance Board, and three different public school
divisions in Manitoba. It aims to develop and
validate a comprehensive methodology to evaluate
schools’ IEQ, teachers’ well-being and satisfaction
with it, and the relationship between these two
aspects. The research evaluated these specific
aspects within a sample of three rural schools in
Southern Manitoba, Canada: one middle-aged,
conventional school; one new, non-green school;
and one new, green school certified using the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Rating System. The methodology
developed in this thesis employs three main data
collection techniques: 1) field measurements using
an existing mobile instrument cart to capture
environmental indicators of thermal comfort,
indoor air quality, lighting quality and acoustics
quality in classrooms, 2) a field observation form
to record the physical conditions of the evaluated
classrooms, and 3) an occupant survey to evaluate
teachers’ satisfaction with their classrooms’ IEQ.
Description
Keywords
Indoor Environmental Quality, School Buildings, Green Buildings, Occupant Satisfaction