Evaluating the impact of classroom design and orientation on the indoor environment quality in Egyptian schools

Abstract

Indoor environmental conditions in classrooms affect students' health and academic performance. studies have proven that the quality of the indoor environment is important in classrooms. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is represented in achieving thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, as well as acoustic comfort. The research aims to determine the extent to which the shape and orientation of the classroom in Egypt affect the quality of its internal environment, and the thermal performance, as well as achieving good ventilation for the classroom. The research conducted an environmental simulation for the classroom in Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan using the environmental simulation program Design Builder. To study the extent to which the design, shape and orientation of classroom openings in accordance with the design standards of the Educational Building Authority affect thermal comfort and air velocity in the classroom in selected study areas in Egypt. The model has been calibrated via field measurements in a standard classroom.The research found that the expected percentage of dissatisfaction (PPD) inside the classroom in Aswan is higher than the PPD for the classroom in Cairo by a rate exceedingly 40%. The predicted mean vote (PMV) for the classroom in Cairo is the best during the school months, as its ranges from zero to less than (+1 and -1). The classroom with the southern orientation in Alexandria represents the lowest in (PPD) in the school months from (December to May), as decreases by 20% compared to the classrooms in the other directions in Alexandria

Keywords

• indoor environment quality’(ieq)
• thermal comfort (tc)
• indoor air quality (iaq)
• the expected percentage of dissatisfaction (ppd)
• the predicted mean vote (pmv)