Full Proposal in pdf - M E Rinker Sr School of Building Construction ...

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Another method to clean the air is using electrostatic precipitators. This type of cleanerscollects particles by electromagnetic motion. These cleaners have the advantage of lessmaintenance but can pose a different threat due to ozone production (Stein & Reynolds,1992). The most challenging part of air-cleaning problem is the selection of filter type orthe cleaning device to be used. Different contaminants may require different types of aircleaning devices. Thus the selection of the device demands the knowledge of the type ofcontaminants to be removed.IAQ and HealthFollowing the energy efficiency trend of 1970s, many concerns about the occupants’health in buildings started to arise due to low indoor air quality of commercial buildings.This led to a whole new syndrome, which is called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). SBSis defined as “a group of symptoms that are two to three fold more common in those whowork in large, energy-efficient buildings, associated with an increased frequency ofheadaches, lethargy, and dry skin (Segen, 1992).Lung is the most common site of injury by airborne pollutants. Acute effects, however,may also include non-respiratory signs and symptoms, which may depend upontoxicological characteristics of the substances and host-related factors (ALA et.al, 1994).According to Gamble, buildings where allergies are suspected present a difficultdiagnostic challenge. Gamble believes that only a few people may be affected, and anallergic diagnosis may be overlooked when building occupants have complaints aboutinsufficient outdoor air supply, thermal discomfort, or cigarette smoke. Allergicsymptoms can be relatively mild and non-specific, and may have disappeared by the timea worker visits a physician’s office. Some of the findings of Gamble in a research wherethey evaluated a 9-story office building and compared the results to the outside airprovided per person are given in Table 2 (Gamble et.al, 1986).Table 2 Complaints on floors with outside air provided per person (n = # of occupants).Chronic BronchitisSymptoms3 or more tightbuilding symptomsFloors 8-9n=56Floors B-1n=42Floors 6-7n=155Floors 4-5n=13112% 5% 6% 6% 7%26% 26% 15% 20% 36%Sinus Symptoms 40% 36% 25% 31% 46%Thermal Discomfort 76% 84% 73% 67% 89%Floors 2-3n=175Outside Air perPerson CFM126 72 28 14 0
IAQ and True CostsIAQ has financial consequences as well as its health affects. The cost of an IAQmanagement option is associated with two different types of costs. These costs can becategorized as hard and soft costs. Hard costs associated with indoor air quality would bethe life cycle costs (LCC) of managing the indoor air quality in a building. LCC of aspecific system should include the owning and the operating costs. Owning costs of asystem includes (Environmental Law Institute, 2005):• Initial cost of the system• Capital recovery• Interest and return on the investment• Property taxes• InsuranceOperating costs of a system includes the following costs:• Fuel and energy• Maintenance allowances• Labor for operation• Water costs• Water treatment costRizzi explains how LCC analysis should be conducted for any heating, cooling, and/orventilating systems. He also provides a methodology to calculate the owning andoperating costs of a system (Rizzi, 1980). Soft costs of a specific IAQ managementoption include costs associated with productivity, health, insurance fees, and litigation.One of the most important soft costs of IAQ is productivity. Productivity and its financialconsequences becomes a more important issue in commercial buildings. Worker salariesconstitute the major cost of operating a commercial building, generally estimated at over90% of the total operating cost, so that even a small increase in employee productivitycan substantially increase a company's financial return (AIA SF, 2001). According to thestudy conducted by USDOE and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs in 1997, the costs oflower productivity for the US economy ranged from $ 12 to $ 125 Billion per year(Damiano, 2005). Separately, a survey among interior design and facility planningdecision-makers indicates that the respondents feel that overcrowding, followed by IEQcomplaints have the greatest negative impact on employee productivity. Reel Grobman &Associates (San Jose, California) conducted the survey. According to the report, 40% ofthe respondents said that overcrowding had the greatest negative effect, while 31% citednoise. Poor IAQ (19%) and poor lighting (10%) were among other factors cited by thosesurveyed. However, nearly three quarters of the respondents (74%) said they felt thatworkplace environmental conditions were critical to employee productivity, while therest said those conditions had some impact.Very often, building managers propose cost cutting moves without considering the addedexpense from lowered productivity if those changes have a negative effect on the indoorenvironment. An example of this came to light with the Building Owners and Managers
Page 1: 02 INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVE
Page 4 and 5: List of Suggested Reviewers or Revi
Page 6 and 7: CERTIFICATION PAGECertification for
Page 8 and 9: TABLE OF CONTENTSFor font size and
Page 10 and 11: four elements are involved in the d
Page 14 and 15: Association (BOMA) boasting to memb
Page 16 and 17: Statement of the ProblemThe buildin
Page 18 and 19: 1) Identify the indoor air pollutan
Page 20 and 21: Figure 3 Example graphic for the pr
Page 22 and 23: Decision Model to Optimize Indoor A
Page 24 and 25: Name Charles J. Kibert(i) Professio
Page 26 and 27: Name Kevin R. Grosskopf(i) Professi
Page 28 and 29: Name Svetlana Olbina(i) Professiona
Page 30 and 31: SUMMARY YEARPROPOSAL BUDGETFOR NSF
Page 32 and 33: SUMMARY CumulativePROPOSAL BUDGETFO
Page 34 and 35: Current and Pending Support(See GPG
Page 36 and 37: Current and Pending Support(See GPG
Page 38: Decision Model to Optimize Indoor A

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