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A holistic modeling framework for estimating the influence of climate change on indoor air quality
Author(s) -
Salthammer Tunga,
Zhao Jiangyue,
Schieweck Alexandra,
Uhde Erik,
Hussein Tareq,
Antretter Florian,
Künzel Hartwig,
Pazold Matthias,
Radon Jan,
Birmili Wolfram
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/ina.13039
Subject(s) - environmental science , indoor air quality , pollutant , air quality index , climate change , particulates , indoor air , atmospheric sciences , humidity , relative humidity , meteorology , environmental engineering , geography , ecology , geology , biology
The IPCC 2021 report predicts rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events in the future, which will have different effects on the regional climate and concentrations of ambient air pollutants. Consequently, changes in heat and mass transfer between the inside and outside of buildings will also have an increasing impact on indoor air quality. It is therefore surprising that indoor spaces and occupant well‐being still play a subordinate role in the studies of climate change. To increase awareness for this topic, the Indoor Air Quality Climate Change (IAQCC) model system was developed, which allows short and long‐term predictions of the indoor climate with respect to outdoor conditions. The IAQCC is a holistic model that combines different scenarios in the form of submodels: building physics, indoor emissions, chemical–physical reaction and transformation, mold growth, and indoor exposure. IAQCC allows simulation of indoor gas and particle concentrations with outdoor influences, indoor materials and activity emissions, particle deposition and coagulation, gas reactions, and SVOC partitioning. These key processes are fundamentally linked to temperature and relative humidity. With the aid of the building physics model, the indoor temperature and humidity, and pollutant transport in building zones can be simulated. The exposure model refers to the calculated concentrations and provides evaluations of indoor thermal comfort and exposure to gaseous, particulate, and microbial pollutants.