INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF A LABORATORY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF SMART TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS

Abstract

The changes in our urban environment has brought about increasing sources of pollutants into the indoor environment which can lead to discomfort and decreased work performance and productivity of occupants. Therefore, good IEQ performance is a necessity. However, there exists a gap in the knowledge for the implementation of smart technology to improve IEQ, particularly, in the context of laboratories. This research performed a base case analysis that evaluated the IEQ of the Electric Machines and Drives Laboratory (EMDL) in National University of Singapore (NUS) using both objective and subjective measurements. The IEQ audit evaluating the performance of the EMDL across four IEQ parameters (air quality, thermal comfort, acoustic control and daylighting), as well as an occupant survey (identifying personal comfort levels of the occupants), showed that overall IEQ performance was less than satisfactory in all four parameters. This was closely attributed to poor design considerations and maintenance of the EMDL systems, mainly in ventilation, air conditioning, lighting and acoustical control. Based on the results, recommendations were made on the suitable smart technology innovations available for the EMDL’s HVAC, ventilation, lighting and acoustic systems, highlighting the potential IEQ benefits and energy savings that could be generated from smart technology retrofitting. The research generalizability was limited to the research scope of only analysing a single laboratory.