Study of the measured and perceived indoor air quality in Swedish school classrooms

The influence of a classroom's indoor environment on children's health, performance and comfort is a concern that receives increasing attention. Many schools experience problems with inadequate indoor air quality and climate. Investigations of the indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools have been often non-systematic, which can lead to costly ad-hoc remediation actions. It is therefore important to develop a holistic approach to the assessment of IAQ in schools. This paper presents a field study on the indoor air quality and thermal environment conditions of elementary schools in Gothenburg, Sweden. The focus of the paper is on the methodology to investigate the IAQ using both objective measurements and subjective assessment of the perceived IAQ. The indoor environmental measurements include indoor air quality and thermal comfort parameters for which guideline values exist. Finally, a questionnaire was developed to evaluate the perception of the classroom's thermal environment and air quality by young children. The paper presents the study protocol and diagnostics approach for IAQ in classrooms. Examples of results from the first 10 investigated classrooms are presented.