A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN GREEN MARK AND NON-GREEN MARK BUILDING

Abstract

Studies have shown that the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a building does indeed affect the productivity of occupants. Increased productivity can lead to more profit generation than the cost savings from energy efficiency. Therefore, good IEQ is important in an office environment. This report will be aimed at studying the IEQ in both Green Mark and non Green Mark buildings and to identify if a Green Mark building has a better IEQ. IEQ audit will be done on two building spaces- one that has achieved BCA Green Mark Platinum and one without Green Mark certification. The IEQ parameters investigated include air temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, ventilation rate, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, total volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, ozone, bacteria, fungi, lighting and sound pressure level. Some of the parameters will be taken over a 48h period whereas some will be spot measurements. Site observations from the walkthrough of the offices will be included to provide some insights on some of the findings. The findings show little differences between the parameters of both offices. This is attributed to the lack of points allocated for the IEQ component of the Green Mark Scheme therefore, leading the Green Mark Platinum building to display little or no improvement of IEQ as compared to the non Green Mark building. The report will end with a conclusion on the limitations of this project due to time and resource constraints and recommendation for the increase of weighting placed on IEQ for the Green Mark Scheme.