Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ): Energy, Health and Productivity

This course is an introduction to the importance of the indoor environment and human health and productivity. Throughout the semester, the course lectures challenge students’ intellectual curiosity as it relates to the built environment. The course provides an overview of the metrics utilized to define Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and methods to identify their correlations to energy consumption, health, productivity and equitable design. During the course, students also gain a deeper understanding of the correlations between IEQ and energy consumption, health, productivity and equitable design, and its contribution to larger topics of energy reliance, sustainability, environmental justice and development goals.

Throughout the semester, students analyze case studies and participate in field studies to explore basic methods for measuring IEQ, quantifying IEQ metrics, reporting results and providing recommendations to key stakeholders. The course emphasizes educational facilities, in particular K-12 school buildings as the central building type. As part of the course, students investigate new methods and advanced strategies to improve IEQ, including air quality, lighting, thermal quality, acoustic conditions and spatial quality.

The class includes a combination of in-class lectures and field work.