Seppänen O A, Fisk W J
Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.
Indoor Air. 2004;14 Suppl 7:102-18. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00279.x.
It is known that ventilation is necessary to remove indoor-generated pollutants from indoor air or dilute their concentration to acceptable levels. But as the limit values of all pollutants are not known the exact determination of required ventilation rates based on pollutant concentrations is seldom possible. The selection of ventilation rates has to be based also on epidemiological research, laboratory and field experiments and experience. The existing literature indicates that ventilation has a significant impact on several important human outcomes including: (1) communicable respiratory illnesses; (2) sick building syndrome symptoms; (3) task performance and productivity, and (4) perceived air quality (PAQ) among occupants or sensory panels (5) respiratory allergies and asthma. In many studies, prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms has also been associated with characteristics of HVAC-systems. Often the prevalence of SBS symptoms is higher in air-conditioned buildings than in naturally ventilated buildings. The evidence suggests that better hygiene, commissioning, operation and maintenance of air handling systems may be particularly important for reducing the negative effects of HVAC systems. Ventilation may also have harmful effects on indoor air quality and climate if not properly designed, installed, maintained and operated. Ventilation may bring indoors harmful substances or deteriorate indoor environment. Ventilation interacts also with the building envelope and may deteriorate the structures of the building. Ventilation changes the pressure differences across the structures of building and may cause or prevent infiltration of pollutants from structures or adjacent spaces. Ventilation is also in many cases used to control the thermal environment or humidity in buildings. The paper summarises the current knowledge on positive and negative effects of ventilation on health and other human responses. The focus is on office-type working environment and residential buildings.
The review shows that ventilation has various positive impacts on health and productivity of building occupants. Ventilation reduces the prevalence of airborne infectious diseases and thus the number of sick leave days. In office environment a ventilation rate up to 20-25 L/s per person seem to decrease the prevalence of SBS-symptoms. Air conditioning systems may increase the prevalence of SBS-symptoms relative to natural ventilation if not clean. In residential buildings the air change rate in cold climates should not be below app. 0.5 ach. Ventilation systems may cause pressure differences over the building envelope and bring harmful pollutants indoors.
众所周知，通风对于从室内空气中去除室内产生的污染物或将其浓度稀释到可接受水平是必要的。但由于并非所有污染物的限值都已知，基于污染物浓度精确确定所需通风率很少可行。通风率的选择还必须基于流行病学研究、实验室和现场实验以及经验。现有文献表明，通风对几个重要的人体健康结果有重大影响，包括：（1）传染性呼吸道疾病；（2）病态建筑综合症症状；（3）工作表现和生产力，以及（4）居住者或感官面板的感知空气质量（PAQ）（5）呼吸道过敏和哮喘。在许多研究中，病态建筑综合症症状的患病率也与暖通空调系统的特性有关。通常，空调建筑中SBS症状的患病率高于自然通风建筑。有证据表明，更好地对空气处理系统进行卫生清洁、调试、运行和维护对于减少暖通空调系统的负面影响可能尤为重要。如果设计、安装、维护和运行不当，通风也可能对室内空气质量和气候产生有害影响。通风可能会将有害物质带入室内或恶化室内环境。通风还与建筑围护结构相互作用，可能会损坏建筑物结构。通风会改变建筑物结构上的压力差，可能导致或阻止污染物从建筑物结构或相邻空间渗入。在许多情况下，通风还用于控制建筑物内的热环境或湿度。本文总结了关于通风对健康和其他人体反应的正负影响的当前知识。重点是办公型工作环境和住宅建筑。
该综述表明，通风对建筑物居住者的健康和生产力有多种积极影响。通风可降低空气传播传染病的患病率，从而减少病假天数。在办公环境中，每人高达20 - 25升/秒的通风率似乎可降低SBS症状的患病率。如果不干净，相对于自然通风，空调系统可能会增加SBS症状的患病率。在寒冷气候的住宅建筑中，换气率不应低于约0.5次/小时。通风系统可能会在建筑物围护结构上产生压力差，并将有害污染物带入室内。
