BSE5511 Occupational Health and Ergonomics

MSc Lecture 4A:

Comment on Managing
Indoor Air Quality in Hong Kong
for Better Environment
Dr. Gigi C.H. Lui (with reference to lecture notes
by Professor W.K. Chow)
Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, China

MScOHE-04A-CMIAQHKBE.ppt
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Operation of MVAC System
3. Local Air Speed
4. Air Turbulence
5. Thermal comfort due to Draught
or Elevated Air Speed
6. Macroscopic Parameters
7. Conclusion

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1. Introduction
 Adequate ventilation for comfort, health and satisfaction of
building occupants [1].
 The primary objective of Mechanical, Ventilation and Air-
Conditioning (MVAC) system:
to provide occupants with a healthy and comfortable
indoor environment for carrying out their activities [2]
to provide the required indoor environmental control for
manufacturing, product storage, or other development
processes.

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 Surveyed results show MVAC systems [3, 4] - for thermal
comfort requirement.
 Typical for those office buildings with high rental price.
 A ‘gap’ between design and preference on MVAC systems.
 Macroscopic numbers such as the number of air changes per
hour NACH were specified.

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 Good move for new government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) to provide better indoor
air quality [5,6].
 Many complaints on unsatisfactory indoor environment [7].
 3 points to consider:
– Operation of MVAC system
– Local air speed
– Turbulence intensity

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 Local air speed limits + turbulence intensity
 mixing of pollutants with fresh air.
 Not discussed in the proposed code of practice for the
management of indoor air quality [5,6].

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2. Operation of MVAC System
 2 modes of operation at any indoor spaces without
natural ventilation:
– Normal Mode
Normal operation of MVAC.
– Refurbishment Mode
Operation of MVAC when there are refurbishing
works.

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 No major technical problems under ‘Normal Mode’ of
operation [e.g. 8-10].
 Responsible building management teams - satisfactory.
 Acceptable cleaning schedules of filters and air
diffusers.
 Appointing well-trained technicians and workers.

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 ‘Refurbishment Mode’ was not considered seriously.
 The indoor environment was very unsatisfactory.
 E.g. Contractors did not care about the indoor
environment.
 Volatile organic component (VOC) and dust
particulates were driven back to MVAC system and
recirculated.
 Lots of complaints reported to the Management Office
in big organizations on poor indoor environment.

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 Construction schedule is very tight.
 Need better supervision.
 License to workers under new scheme by Housing
Authority.
 Operate ‘Refurbishment Mode’ properly.
 Regular inspection of all MVAC systems
 In-depth field measurement to survey the indoor
environment.

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3. Local Air Speed
 Local air speed, i.e. air speed in the occupied zone.
 Air speed is a significant factor in evaluating thermal
comfort
 Not considered in the current building codes for natural
ventilation [e.g. 11-13].
 Thermal comfort of building occupants is closely
related to the local conditions in the occupied zone [e.g.
14,15].
 Physical parameters - air speed, air temperature,
humidity and radiant temperature.

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 The MVAC systems installed should have the first
three parameters well controlled.
 No sensors for the MVAC systems to measure local air
speed.
 Apart from changing the fan speed, air speed is seldom
taken as a control parameter in operating the MVAC!

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 Specifying the local comfort conditions at design stage
is difficult.
 Alternative: Relate the macroscopic numbers to the
local human comfort conditions.
 The upper and lower limits of air speed at occupied
zones are specified in different ventilation standards.

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• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers standard ASHRAE 55–2017 -
average airspeeds < 0.20 m/s when temperature < 23 ˚C
• Increasing to 0.8 m/s based on a Standard Effective
Temperature curve for temperatures > 25.5 ˚C.
• No airspeed limit
• airspeed is under the occupants' local control, or
• when the metabolic rate (MET) is above 1.3.

Reference: Elaina Present, Paul Raftery, Gail Brager∗, Lindsay T. Graham,

Ceiling fans in commercial buildings: In situ airspeeds & practitioner
experience, Building and Environment, 147 (2019) 241–257.

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4. Air Turbulence
 Hot climate: MVAC systems - lower indoor air
temperature and higher mean air speed at the occupied
zones
 Air turbulence - another factor to be considered [16,17].

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• Turbulence - the energy-carrying eddies with a wide
range of length and time scales.
• Eddies play - transporting heat and mass.
• Accuracy of turbulence modelling - determine the
effectiveness of Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD-
based evaluations of air distribution, thermal comfort
and indoor air quality.

Reference: Xiangdong Li and Jiyuan Tu, Evaluation of the eddy viscosity

turbulence models for the simulation of convection–radiation coupled heat
transfer in indoor environment, Energy and Buildings, 184 (2019) 8-18.

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 To quantify: turbulence intensity Tu (in %) - mean air
speed u and the mean velocity fluctuation u, both over
a period of time of measurement from t0 to t0 + t1 as:
u' …(1)
Tu 
u
where
t 0  t1
1
u
t1  V(t )dt
t0
…(2)

and t 0  t1
1
u'   
2 2
( V ( t ) u ) dt …(3)
t1 t0

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 Maintaining suitable values of turbulence intensity Tu -
same comfort level even at higher temperatures and
lower air speeds.
 determining the comfort range of turbulence intensity.
 Field measurement + thermal comfort survey
 Macroscopic parameters for design purposes are to be
developed using theories on turbulences.

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5. Thermal Comfort due to Draught or
Elevated Air Speed
 Percentage of Dissatisfied PD (in %) [16,17] for assessing
the thermal comfort by quantifying the air draught effect.
 This is given in terms of u, Tu and the air temperature Ta:
PD = (3.143 + 0.3696 u Tu) (34 – Ta) (u – 0.05)0.6223 … (4)
 u is taken as 0.05 ms-1 if it is less than this value, and PD is
taken as 100% if it is greater than 100%.
 Many effects such as those due to adaptation, cultural
differences, climate and seasons, age and sex differences are
not considered.

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 Studies by Chow and Fung [18] suggested an opposite
view in sub-tropical countries: local Chinese prefer
higher air speed, during hot and humid seasons.
 Studies by de Dear and Fountain [19]: office workers
in warm and humid climates prefer more indoor
movement.

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 A new parameter known as Percentage of feeling Less
Comfort PLC due to elevated air speed was proposed
by Chow and Fung [18] using a climate chamber.
 This parameter is taken to be either a positive value of
PD or a negative value of PD, or somewhere between
the two, depending on two critical air temperatures 1
and 2 which were determined empirically.

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Predicted Percent Dissatisfied or
Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied
(PPD) Index
 Developed by Fanger (1967), the PPD is an index that
predicts the percentage of thermally dissatisfied people who
feel too cool or too warm, and is calculated from the PMV.
 PPD is a quantitative measure of the thermal comfort of a
group of people at a particular thermal environment.
 BS EN ISO 7730:2005 (British Standards Institution 2006)
uses both the PMV and PPD.

Reference: Hamed Mehdipoor, Predicted percent dissatisfied, 2017.

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Percentage of feeling Less Comfort
(PLC)
 A new parameter due to elevated air speed was
proposed by Chow and Fung using a climate chamber.
 This parameter is taken to be either a positive value of
Percentage of Dissatisfied (PD) or a negative value of
PD, or somewhere between the two, depending on two
critical air temperatures 1 and 2 which were
determined empirically.

Reference: W.K. Chow “A comment on studying the ventilation requirements

for buildings in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” International
Journal on Architectural Science, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 1-13 (2000).
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 The equation for PLC is given by:
 PD for Ta  1

PLC  f (Ta )  PD  2  Ta  1 … (5)

 PD Ta   2

 The function f(Ta) is given by:

2(Ta  1 )
f (Ta )  1 … (6)
( 2  1 )

 This parameter should be investigated more thoroughly

in actual sites for covering the wide range of buildings.
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6. Macroscopic Parameters
 Useful in quantifying the requirement.
 A good example is the modified jet momentum number J* for air
diffusion devices.
 Experimental studies in big spaces with MVAC were carried out.
 E.g. in railway stations [9,20], the median value u50 (in ms-1) of
mean air speed measured at different positions is related with
NACH and J* as:

u50 = 0.0483 NACH …(7)

u50 = 288  10-6 J* … (8)

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 The mean age of air A50 (in s), with the concept
reviewed in the literature [21], and the mean carbon
dioxide concentration C50 (in ppm) are related to J* as:

A50 = -2.75  10-4 J* + 74.2 … (9)

C50 = -5.19  10-2 J* + 570 … (10)

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7. Conclusion
 Indoor spaces cover various premises.
 Vehicles are also regarded as indoor spaces and they
should be covered by the current guide.
 Works related to indoor aerodynamics should be
specifically studied at the first stage for understanding
the ventilation requirement.
 Reference should be made to the local works [e.g. 18]
reported before.

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 Another move by the HKSAR government is to revise
all building codes related to the provision of ventilation
[22].
 Highlight works to be done [23] are to be integrated
with the proposed codes [6].
 Client and the contractors work out ‘partnership’
programs.

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References
1. M.E. Fountain and E.A. Arens “Air movement and thermal comfort” ASHRAE
Journal, Vol. 31, No. 8, p. 26-30 (1993).
2. B.W. Olesen “Standards for design and evaluation of indoor thermal environment”
ASHRAE Journal, Vol. 35, No. 8, p. 20-25 (1993).
3. W.K. Chow and W.Y. Fung “Survey of the design considerations for ventilating
and air-conditioning systems in Hong Kong” ASHRAE Transactions: Research,
Vol. 102, Part 2, p. 210-219 (1996).
4. Philip C.H. Yu and W.K. Chow “Sizing of air-conditioning plant for commercial
buildings in Hong Kong” Applied Energy, Vol. 66, No. 2, p. 91-103 (2000).
5. Final Report Consultancy Study for Indoor Air Pollution in Offices and Public
Places in Hong Kong, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, October (1999).
6. Code of Practice for the Management of Indoor Air Quality (draft), Environmental
Protection Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, November
(1999).
7. Apple Daily, 9 February (2001).
8. Y.N. Au Yeung, W.K. Chow and Veronica Y.K. Lam “Sick building syndrome - a
case study” Building and Environment, Vol. 26, No. 4, p. 319-330 (1991).
9. W.K. Chow and W.Y. Fung “Indoor thermal environment survey in air-conditioned
shopping malls in Hong Kong” Indoor Environment, Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 102-112
(1995).
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10. W.K. Chow and W.Y. Fung “Studies on the ‘Ventilation Effectiveness’ and
modification of the ventilation system in the waiting hall of a railway station”
Indoor + Built Environment, Vol. 5, No. 5, p. 280-290 (1996).
11. Laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region including the Buildings
Ordinance (Cap 123), updated in September 1999; and Building (Ventilation
Systems) Regulations, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, January
(1999).
12. Practice Notes for Authorized Persons and Registered Structural Engineers:
PNAP219 Lighting and Ventilation for Bathrooms in Domestic Buildings,
Buildings Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, December
(1997).
(Updated: Practice Notes for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural
Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers: PNAP App-98
Lighting and Ventilation for Bathrooms and Lavatories in Domestic
Buildings, Buildings Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region, June (2013)).
13. Occupational Health Pictorial Guide – Occupation Health in Office Environment,
Labour Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1999).
(Updated: A Simple Guide to Health Risk Assessment – Office
Environment Series OE 4/2004 – Ventilation, Occupational Safety and
Health Branch, Labour Department; Occupational Safety and Health
Council, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2004)).

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14. ASHRAE Standard 62-1989 “Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality”
American Society for Heat, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers,
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (1989).
(Updated: ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016 “Ventilation for acceptable
indoor air quality” American Society for Heat, Refrigerating and Air-
conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. (2016)).
15. Addendum to Standard 62-1989: New ventilation rates proposal, ASHRAE
Journal, May, p. 10-11 (1999).
16. H. Hanzawa, A.K. Melikov and P.O. Fanger “Airflow characteristics in the
occupied zone of ventilated spaces” ASHRAE Transactions, Vol. 93, Part 1, p.
524-539 (1987).
17. A.K. Melikov “Quantifying draught risk” Bruel and Kjaer Technical Review No.
2 (1987).
18. W.K. Chow and W.Y. Fung “Investigation of the subjective response to elevated
air velocities: Climate chamber experiments in Hong Kong” Energy and
Buildings, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 187-192 (1994).
19. R.J. de Dear and M.E. Fountain “Thermal comfort in air-conditioned office
buildings in the topics” AIRH Journal, Vol. 48, No. 9, p. 14-30 (1994).
20. W.K. Chow, L.T. Wong and W.Y. Fung “Field measurement of the air flow
characteristics of big mechanically ventilated spaces” Building and Environment,
Vol. 31, No. 6, p. 541-550 (1996).
21. D. Etheridge and M. Sandberg “Building ventilation: Theory and measurement”
John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (1996).

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21. Consultancy Agreement Brief “Review of lighting and ventilation requirements
in buildings” Buildings Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(1999).
22. W.K. Chow “A comment on studying the ventilation requirements for buildings
in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” International Journal on
Architectural Science, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 1-13 (2000).

W.K. Chow, “On ventilation design for underground car parks”, Tunnelling and
Underground Space Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2, p. 225-246 (1995)

W.K. Chow & Philip C.H. Yu, “Simulation on energy use for mechanical ventilation
and air-conditioning (MVAC) systems in train compartments”, Energy-The
International Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1, p. 1-13 (2000)

W.K. Chow, “Ventilation of enclosed train compartments in Hong Kong”, Applied

Energy, Vol. 71, No. 3, p. 161-170 (2002)

W.K. Chow, “On managing indoor air quality in Hong Kong”, Journal of
Environmental Systems, Vol. 28, No. 4, p. 271-277 (2001)

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