ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 46

How Indoor Environment
Affects Performance
By David P. Wyon, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE; Pawel Wargocki, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE

A

s experienced researchers in the effects of thermal comfort and

questions. Our answers are based on the results of behavioral experiments

usually selected because they are a function of one speciﬁc factor;
• It turns out that thermal and air
quality effects on performance can be
observed even when there are no observable effects on comfort or on healthrelated symptom intensity;2,3,4 and
• The primary purpose of factory, ofﬁce and school buildings is to provide
an optimal indoor environment for work
and for learning to work.

conducted to date. We offer no opinions on long-term health effects of

Effects

indoor air quality on performance, we are often asked to give our

best estimate of how, and to what extent, performance is affected by
different aspects of indoor climate. This article provides a brief summary
of our personal opinions, in the form of answers to 40 frequently asked

indoor environmental quality. We provide some references to relevant
sources, but there is not enough space for all such references. We list some
questions we cannot answer as topics for future research in this area.
Relevance

Q

Why should we be interested in thermal
mal and air quality effects on performance?
There are four main reasons:
• It is the added value of occupant per46

ASHRAE Journal

formance that pays for indoor environmental quality;1
• Performance is affected in the shortterm by the combined effects of all indoor environmental factors, while subjective and physiological responses are
ashrae.org

Q

What effects do raised temperatures
and
and poor air quality have on performance?
We have found that they usually reduce the rate of working, with little or
no effect on accuracy.3,4
About the Authors
David P. Wyon, Ph.D., is professor and Pawel
Wargocki, Ph.D., is associate professor at the
International Centre for Indoor Environment and
Energy at the Technical University of Denmark in
Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.

March 2013

ASHRAE Journal - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - March 2013

ASHRAE Journal - March 2013
Contents
Commentary
Show Coverage
Meetings and Shows
Feature Articles
2013 ASHRAE Technology Awards
Commissioning Existing Airside Economizer Systems
How Indoor Environment Affects Performance
Thermally Active Floors: Part 3: Making it Work
Technology Award Case Studies:
Data Center Dilemma
Heat Recovery for School
Standing Columns
Data Centers
Refrigeration Applications
Emerging Technologies
IAQ Applications
Engineer's Notebook
Classified Advertising
Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - ASHRAE Journal - March 2013
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 2
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Commentary
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 5
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Show Coverage
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 7
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 8
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 9
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 10
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 11
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 12
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 13
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Meetings and Shows
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 15
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 16
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 17
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 2013 ASHRAE Technology Awards
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 19
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 20
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 21
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 22
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 23
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 24
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 25
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 26
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 27
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 28
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 29
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 30
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 31
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 32
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 33
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Commissioning Existing Airside Economizer Systems
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 35
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 36
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 37
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 38
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 39
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 40
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 41
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 42
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 43
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 44
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 45
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - How Indoor Environment Affects Performance
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 47
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 48
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 49
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 50
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 51
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 52
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 53
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Thermally Active Floors: Part 3: Making it Work
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 55
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 56
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 57
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 58
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 59
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 60
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 61
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Data Center Dilemma
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 63
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 64
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 65
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 66
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 67
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Heat Recovery for School
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 69
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 70
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 71
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 72
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 73
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Data Centers
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 75
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 76
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 77
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 78
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Refrigeration Applications
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Emerging Technologies
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 81
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 82
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 83
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - IAQ Applications
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 85
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Engineer's Notebook
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 87
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 88
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 89
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 90
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 91
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 92
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 93
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - 94
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Classified Advertising
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Advertisers Index
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - March 2013 - Cover4
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