An Assessment of Indoor Environmental Quality in School Buildings in the State of Kuwait

Abstract

In this study, indoor quality and environmental comfort were investigated in secondary school buildings located in the State of Kuwait. Comfort variables such as temperature and relative humidity (thermal comfort), noise (acoustic comfort), illumination (visual comfort), as well as allocated classroom floor area per student (spatial comfort) were measured. Data was collected over a 7-month period on a spot basis during school hours in student-occupied classrooms at 46 selected schools. The measured data was then compared to international guidelines and standards related to indoor environment quality. The data for noise and allocated space were shown to be in the comfort ranges in all the schools. However, 11% of the schools are not adequately illuminated, 33% had temperatures not within the recommended limits, and 22% of the schools had humidity levels either higher or lower than the recommended levels. Also, 9% of the schools had low illumination readings.In addition, during the data monitoring, a survey was conducted by which the student occupants completed a questionnaire so that subjective and objective evaluations could be compared. The findings of the questionnaire displayed significant correlations between the measured data and some ailments and other complaints experienced by the students.Ultimately, the results found in this research will provide a baseline for comparison with future indoor environment quality assessments in buildings. Furthermore, recommendations are suggested in order to improve the environmental quality problems encountered in some of the schools, which may be beneficial for policymakers, facilities managers, and design engineers.