About

About the BENEFIT Project

‌The BENEFIT project seeks to assess indoor air quality and occupant comfort in energy efficient non-domestic Irish buildings with the aim of developing ventilation guidelines for future retrofits and new builds.

- Why the BENEFIT Project is Important?

In the interest of the global environment, we need to reduce energy consumption and emissions in offices, schools and public buildings.  There are numerous policies and plans to deliver on these plans.  However, studies have shown that improperly implemented energy eficiency measures can lead to negative impacts on the health and well-being of building occupants.  While other studies have highlighted that 'green building certifications' may not sufficiently promote or even impair indoor air quality.

- Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor Air Quality refers to the air quality inside buildings.  It is established that poor indoor air quality can affect the health, comfort and well-being of building occupants.  Poor air quality is linked to respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD and lung cancer.  Human performance is also adversely affected by poor indoor environment quality.  There are several different indoor air pollutants, such as Co2, Ozone, Nitrogen dioxide, Sulpher dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Volatile Organic Compounds, and Particulate Matter.

- Methodology

The BENEFIT project will assess indoor air quality and occupant comfort of schools, offices and other public buildings that have been retrofitted or newly built to meet energy efficiency requirements.  Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) data will be collected in a range of non domestic buildings (Offices, Schools, etc...).  IEQ will be monitored using sensors that measure key air pollutants in non-domestic building such as offices, schools, and hospitals.

BENEFIT will collect data on:

• Indoor air pollutants
• Thermal comfort (how hot or cold occupants feel)
• Building/ventilation characteristics
• Post-occupancy evaluation
• Activity diarys

The project is split into three distinct cohorts.  Firstly, BENEFIT will evaluate indoor air quality in non domestic buildings following energy retrofits.  A pre and post retrofit evaluation will be conducted.  This will be completed using a combination of high grade sensors alongside discrete remotely operated sensors.  Additionally, a longitudional study of indoor air quality and thermal comfort will be completed in new energy efficient buildings and recently retrofitted buildings.  This will be completed over two seasons.  Finally, a radon study will be carried out in schools around the country.

Computational models will be callibrated to the data collected from field work to provide further insight to the benefits of various retrofit measures and ventilation strategies.

- Outcomes

The BENEFIT project desires to find solutions for improved IEQ in non-domestic buildings.  The project will focus on developing solutions and recommendations which will support the development of specific retrofitting guidelines in the context of ventilation.  

- Our Sponsors

The BENEFIT project is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) Research, Development and Demonstration Funding Call 2021.