Indoor Environmental Quality in Portuguese Office Buildings: Influencing Factors and Impact of an Intervention Study

Abstract

Office workers spend a considerable part of their day at the workplace, making it vital to ensure proper indoor environmental quality (IEQ) conditions in office buildings. This work aimed to identify significant factors influencing IEQ and assess the effectiveness of an environmental intervention program, which included the introduction of indoor plants, carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors, ventilation, and printer relocation (source control), in six modern office buildings in improving IEQ. Thirty office spaces in Porto, Portugal, were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Indoor air quality, thermal comfort, illuminance, and noise were monitored before and after a 14-day intervention implementation. Occupancy, natural ventilation, floor type, and cleaning time significantly influenced IEQ levels. Biophilic interventions appeared to decrease volatile organic compound concentrations by 30%. Installing CO2 sensors and optimizing ventilation strategies in an office that mainly relies on natural ventilation effectively improved air renewal and resulted in a 28% decrease in CO2 levels. The implementation of a source control intervention led to a decrease in ultrafine particle and ozone concentrations by 14% and 85%, respectively. However, an unexpected increase in airborne particle levels was detected. Overall, for a sample of offices that presented acceptable IEQ levels, the intervention program had only minor or inconsistent impacts. Offices with declared IEQ problems are prime candidates for further research to fully understand the potential of environmental interventions.