All you need to know about indoor air – A simple guide for educating yourself to improve your indoor environment

While most people are aware of the importance of the outdoor environment, especially in relation to climate change but also to problems more directly related to our health, the effects of indoor environmental quality are not that common knowledge. Most of us don’t realize that people in the Western world in general spend 80-90% of their time indoors (e.g. at home, at school and at the office). Exposure indoors is thus much longer than outdoors.

Indoor air is an important but often underexposed part of the indoor environment. Indoor air is the air inside your house, your school, your workplace and even inside your car. Indoor air quality is determined by the pollution or pollutants, occupants are exposed to over time. Approximately 90% of the air you inhale is indoor air, because most of your time is spent indoors. Except for effects such as irritation of the eyes and throat, headache, annoyance (bad smell) or decrease in productivity and learning ability, your risk of developing a range of diseases can be increased such as lung cancer from exposure to tobacco smoke and radon. But also the risk of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory problems such as asthma, COPD and bronchitis, are increased by exposure to a ‘bad’ indoor air quality. Even obesity and diabetics are associated with exposure to certain pollutants in the indoor environment.

Next to clear recommendations to improve your indoor environment, this guide explains what indoor air quality is, what it can do, and the other three factors (thermal quality, acoustical or sound quality and visual or lighting quality) and their possible interactions, are touched upon. This guide is meant to make you aware of your own home indoor environment.

The author of this guide, Prof. dr. Philomena M. Bluyssen, was appointed full Professor Indoor Environment in 2012 at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of the Delft University of Technology. 

 "All you need to know about indoor air – A simple guide for educating yourself to improve your indoor environment" can be ordered at: http://www.delftacademicpress.nl/b027.php