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Combining Energy Performance and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in Buildings : A Systematic Review on Common IEQ Guidelines and Energy Codes in North America Perera, Ishanka; Hewage, Kasun; Rana, Anber; Sadiq, Rehan
Abstract
The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in buildings is vital for health, work efficiency, productivity, and the overall sustainability of buildings. IEQ is governed by four parameters: indoor air quality and thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort. The recent pandemic has compelled people to think beyond energy efficiency and refocus on the health, well-being, and productivity of building occupants. Despite numerous IEQ guidelines and standards, there remains a paucity of systematic research that critically examines the relationship between IEQ and building energy efficiency. This systematic review explores the existing equilibrium and identifies gaps between IEQ standards and building energy codes. Firstly, this review examined the status of the IEQ standards and identified that most of the North American IEQ guidelines cannot achieve energy efficiency targets. Secondly, existing building energy codes were reviewed to determine how well these codes fare with IEQ requirements. It was revealed that the expensive energy certification documents are more focused on IEQ than traditional energy codes. The identified factors indicate that most building energy codes can meet only indoor air quality thresholds (a subset of IEQ), while other parameters are inadequately addressed. This review revealed 19 relationships between IEQs and energy efficiency. Building energy code/IEQ guidelines developers could consider the identified 19 relationships to develop a combined set of guidelines/standards for future building stock. An integration model between IEQ and energy efficiency is proposed as a future research direction to contribute to the better design and construction of modern buildings. The findings will facilitate the construction of healthy and sustainable buildings, and they aim to generate new residential communities that achieve an optimal health–energy–carbon nexus.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Combining Energy Performance and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in Buildings : A Systematic Review on Common IEQ Guidelines and Energy Codes in North America
|
| Creator | |
| Publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
|
| Date Issued |
2025-03-31
|
| Description |
The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in buildings is vital for health, work
efficiency, productivity, and the overall sustainability of buildings. IEQ is governed by
four parameters: indoor air quality and thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort. The recent
pandemic has compelled people to think beyond energy efficiency and refocus on the health,
well-being, and productivity of building occupants. Despite numerous IEQ guidelines
and standards, there remains a paucity of systematic research that critically examines the
relationship between IEQ and building energy efficiency. This systematic review explores
the existing equilibrium and identifies gaps between IEQ standards and building energy
codes. Firstly, this review examined the status of the IEQ standards and identified that
most of the North American IEQ guidelines cannot achieve energy efficiency targets.
Secondly, existing building energy codes were reviewed to determine how well these
codes fare with IEQ requirements. It was revealed that the expensive energy certification
documents are more focused on IEQ than traditional energy codes. The identified factors
indicate that most building energy codes can meet only indoor air quality thresholds (a
subset of IEQ), while other parameters are inadequately addressed. This review revealed
19 relationships between IEQs and energy efficiency. Building energy code/IEQ guidelines
developers could consider the identified 19 relationships to develop a combined set of
guidelines/standards for future building stock. An integration model between IEQ and
energy efficiency is proposed as a future research direction to contribute to the better design
and construction of modern buildings. The findings will facilitate the construction of
healthy and sustainable buildings, and they aim to generate new residential communities
that achieve an optimal health–energy–carbon nexus.
|
| Subject | |
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
|
| Date Available |
2025-05-09
|
| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
CC BY 4.0
|
| DOI |
10.14288/1.0448834
|
| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Citation |
Energies 18 (7): 1740 (2025)
|
| Publisher DOI |
10.3390/en18071740
|
| Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
|
| Scholarly Level |
Faculty; Researcher
|
| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
CC BY 4.0