Indoor environment in a digital future - Master thesis - s154397 - s153767 (1)

Abstract
Poor indoor environment quality (IEQ) can cause health issues, allergies, discomfort, lack of
concentration, fatigue, and many other issues. In office environments, poor IEQ and its related
symptoms can result in both reduced productivity and reduced ability to work. The costs caused
by and related to poor IEQ include, but are not limited to, medical treatments, loss of work, and
lowered productivity.
Buildings in Denmark, used for offices, businesses, stock and public administration, amount to ∼
7.2 million m 2 and work carried out in these office environments contributes to more than half of
the Danish gross domestic product. Notably, the cost of poor IEQ in Danish office buildings adds
an additional ∼ 30 billion DKK per aunnum. However, despite these facts, IEQ improvements
are often neglected in favour of other potential energy and cost savings.
The lack of current IEQ measurements and available data are two of the many reasons leading
to its neglect. As a result, poor IEQ is often referred to as an invisible danger. This master thesis
aims to make IEQ visible, measurable, and understandable to occupants and building owners.
The motivation behind this lies in the myriad possibilities to provide building owners with tools to
understand and improve IEQ in their office buildings. As such, the following work aims to use the
’Internet of Things’ (IoT) to investigate IEQ and its implications, as well as to explore means by
which decision-makers can come to view IEQ improvements more favourably.
In this thesis, the IEQ of three separate offices was investigated, using both measurements with
three IoT devices (out of five total examined devices) and occupant questionnaires. Of the
examined IoT devices, this study concluded that the uHoo and RoomAlyzer were superior for
IEQ office measurements because of their ease of use and range of measurable parameters.
Moreover, through the use of a benchmarking tool, developed alongside industry stakeholders,
the following work highlights the positive correlation between good IEQ and occupant productivity.
Throughout the development of this benchmarking tool, building owners and decisionmakers
were interviewed on multiple occasions, ensuring alignment between their needs and
the abilities of the benchmarking tool.
The project resulted in a completed benchmarking tool, consisting of weighted IEQ parameters,
a grading scheme, economic estimations, and a unique IEQ report. Given the common
neglect of IEQ in office buildings, the study concluded that the benchmarking tool’s greatest
value was its ability to allow building owners to grade the IEQ in their offices and predict economic
gains should the IEQ be improved. The project laid a foundation for future benchmarking
databases, allowing stakeholders to benchmark the IEQ in their offices while simultaneously
sharing their knowledge, experiences, and expertise.