AN EVALUATION OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN ENVIRONMENT WITH SPLIT UNIT A/C AND CENTRALISED A/C

Abstract

As air-conditioning (AC) becomes more affordable, the increase of the reliance on such cooling systems coupled with warmer temperatures due to climate change has resulted in greater concerns on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). With an array of air conditioning system available for different type of properties, the air quality in the environment may differ. Split Unit AC and Centralised AC are commonly used in Singapore.

Split Unit AC systems do not have outdoor air provisions unlike Centralised AC, thereby increasing the amount of carbon dioxide within the space. Hence, this poses a hazard to the occupants as the indoor air is recirculated multiple times regardless of any potential unhealthy pollutants. Poor IAQ is strongly associated with Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), which undermines occupants’ productivity and health. A comparison on the IAQ in different environments with these two types of air conditioning systems is necessary to ascertain the air quality. Other parameters such as Temperature, Relative Humidity, Air Movement and Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) give a holistic air quality evaluation in these environments. This data will also be used to compute and analyse the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) in various environments to understand and predict occupants’ thermal sensation and satisfaction level.