The effects of thermal conditions and indoor air quality on health and performance of students

Researchers from the UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, along with the Institute of Education, have released a report which evaluates the strength and consistency of current evidence indicating that there is an association between indoor pollutants and thermal conditions in schools on students’ performance.

'The effects of thermal conditions and indoor air quality on health, comfort and cognitive performance of students', written by Professor Dejan Mumovic and Lia Chatzidiakou of UCL IEDE and Professor Julie Dockrell of the IoE, examines evidence that air pollution and thermal conditions may have acute and adverse effects on students’ health which can indirectly affect performance, through impaired attendance and discomfort.

Current guidelines ensuring adequate IAQ in UK school classrooms have been framed around CO2 levels, and do not consider specific pollu- tants, as there is no direct evidence linking exposure to indoor microbial and chemical pollutants in classrooms with reduced performance.

The report was comissioned by Builtoff Site.

Read the report (PDF)