Influence on indoor comfort due to the application of Covid-19 natural ventilation protocols for schools at subtropical climate during winter season

Abstract

Thermal comfort and energy performance of our buildings has been seriously improved during the last decades with the introduction of better envelope airtightness and mechanical ventilation systems. The arrival of Covid-19 has forced us to accept new natural ventilation protocols to improve the air quality inside buildings over other characteristics of the buildings. As a consequence, it brings some negative effects, like a reduction in the control of indoor dry bulb temperature (T), and an increase in energy demand for heating and air conditioning. To evaluate these influences during a winter season, a standard classroom from a school located at subtropical climate has been selected to be monitored with air quality and comfort devices. The experiment considers two different scenarios in 2018, and 2021. At them, data have been compared with several comfort ranges from international standards and the recommendations from the Spanish Government, obtaining opposite results. The results from 2018 showed that the comfort T ranges were adequate, but CO2 concentrations rise over 2000 ppm which was unhealthy. On the contrary, in 2021 when the Covid-19 natural ventilation protocol is activated, the CO2 concentration becomes less than 700 ppm. Finally, the suggested natural ventilation protocol was proved as an efficient measure to improve air quality, but it reduces the performance of the building in terms of comfort and energy demand. Therefore, several alternative ventilation methods should be considered to keep both energy air quality building’s performance.