IMPACT OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY ON THE PERCEPTION OF INDOOR AIR-QUALITY

Sensory responses to clean air and air polluted by five building mater ials under different combinations of temperature and humidity in the r anges 18-28 degrees C and 30-70%RH were studied in the laboratory. A s pecially designed test system was built and a set of experiments was d esigned to observe separately the impact of temperature and humidity o n the perception of air quality/odour intensity, and on the emission o f pollutants from the materials. This paper reports on the impact on p erception. The odour intensity of air did not change significantly wit h temperature and humidity; however, a strong and significant impact o f temperature and humidity on the perception of air quality was found. The air was perceived as less acceptable with increasing temperature and humidity. This impact decreased with an increasing level of air po llution. Significant linear correlations were found between acceptabil ity and enthalpy of the air at all pollution levels tested, and a line ar model was established to describe the dependence of perceived air q uality on temperature and humidity at different pollution levels. (C) Indoor Air (1998).