Investigation of indoor environment quality and factors affecting human comfort: A critical review

• Published in: Building and environment Vol. 204; p. 108146
• Main Authors: Ganesh, Ghogare Abhijeet, Sinha, Shobha Lata, Verma, Tikendra Nath, Dewangan, Satish Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 15.10.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Built environment; Contamination control; Environmental factors; Indoor air quality (IAQ); Indoor environmental quality; Indoor environmental quality (IEQ); Indoor environments; Parameters; Radiation sickness; Thermal comfort; Thermal comfort models; Urban environments; Contamination control; Thermal comfort; Indoor air quality (IAQ); Thermal comfort models; Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
• ISSN: 0360-1323; 1873-684X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108146

This article reviews the literature on the Indoor Environment Quality of a built environment. Thermal comfort is a complex concern and the methods studied so far are only approximate. The first part of this review deals with the general description of the topic. This was followed by the classification of the literature published in the last fifty years based on the year of publication, methodologies adopted and comfort parameters studied. The main focus remained on a notable number of articles from recent years. In the following sections, the different factors responsible for the IEQ and its effects on the well-being and thermal comfort of the occupants are discussed. The next part deals with the evaluation of thermal comfort using various models and indices of thermal comfort described by the various literature. A range of IEQ-related issues, such as sick body syndrome, cold drafts, hot, and cold radiation are discussed. This study reviews the literature that signifies the importance of IEQ and factors that affect human thermal comfort. It documents how physical, psychological, personal, and environmental factors affect human thermal comfort, and efforts have been made to simplify a rather complex relationship between comfort parameters, occupant well-being, and IEQ. The study would be useful for designers, engineers, and researchers undertaking studies in this area. •Reviewing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) parameters in different aspects and their importance.•Current procedures to assess indoor thermal comfort at present and limitations.•Discrepancy and importance of various thermal comfort assessment models.•The numerical simulation is mostly used for thermal comfort study, while field experiment is primarily for indoor environment quality which need more attentions.