October 13, 2020

Economics + Productivity

People spend a lot of time indoors, up to 90% of our lives (Attema 2018), and our indoor environments are increasingly being recognized for making a huge impact on productivity, health, and wellbeing (Attema 2018). Businesses, individuals, and society have a lot to benefit from better working environments. A study found that high performance design elements produced a total net present value of $55.47/sf for increased productivity and $9.03/sf for improved health and wellness over ten years (Attema 2018).

Keywords

Economics, Productivity, High Performance Building, Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort, Daylighting

Indoor Air Quality

• High indoor air quality (IAQ) ensures that building occupants are healthy and productive, leading to benefits for individuals, business owners, and communities. Building parameters that effect IAQ include indoor and outdoor sources of pollution, ventilation rates, airflow patterns and pressure, and air filtration (Sujanoa 2019).
• Bringing fresh air into a space dilutes concentration of indoor pollutants, prevents recirculation of contaminated air, and ensures required outdoor ventilation rates are met (Gerardi 2010).
• Building occupants generate pollutants and odors through performing indoor activities, so regulating ventilation rates based on occupant density is important to ensure proper dilution of indoor pollutants (Kajtar 2011).

Occupant Health

• Indoor pollutants can cause morbidity in building occupants, but diluting these pollutants through increased ventilation can reduce the effects of these pollutants on occupant’s health (Mendell 2013, Allen 2016).
  • A LEED Gold certified office refurbishment that enhanced indoor ventilation for 150 employees saw an annual savings of $85,000 per year due to a 44% reduction in absenteeism due to better worker health (WGBC 2018).

Productivity

• Reducing concentration of indoor air pollutants through increased ventilation has been shown to increase productivity (Seppanen 2006, Allen 2016).
• A study found that changes in CO₂ concentrations from 550 ppm to 945 resulted in 15% reduction in cognitive test scores. Changes in concentrations from 550 to 1400 ppm, resulted in 50% decreases in cognitive scores. Overall, a 21% decrease in typical participant cognitive score across all nine cognitive function domains was seen with 400 ppm increases in CO₂ concentrations (Allen 2016).

Thermal Comfort

• In a review of thermal comfort studies, seven out of nine studies revealed that users rated thermal comfort as the top priority to improving satisfaction in a building (Rupp 2015).
• Thermal comfort is the subjective assessment of one’s thermal satisfaction of the environment and is effected by environmental and personal factors (Lechner 2014).

Occupant Health

• Maintaining thermal comfort has also been found to reduce sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms in building users (Amin 2015, Fang 2004).
  • One study predicted that absenteeism due to SBS symptoms could be up to 34% lower if employees had the means to control their immediate microclimate conditions (Heerwagen 2000).
• The thermal environment of a space can have an impact on the mental fatigue of the occupant (Yoshida 2015, Tanabe 2007, Akimoto 2010).

Productivity

• Many studies have found that temperature influences work performance (Cui 2013, Seppanen 2006, Lee 2012, Fisk 2004), and the optimal temperature range for cognitive function was found to be between 71.6-78.8 degrees Fahrenheit (Seppanen 2006).

Daylighting

Occupant Health

• Regulation of the circadian system is one of the largest ways light impacts physiological health (Figueiro 2008).
  • The strongest connection between the circadian system and disease has been found linking circadian disruption to increased cancer risk (Boyce 2010, Bedrosian 2016).

Productivity

• Increases in performance and productivity due to improved lighting conditions have been observed in various companies, including Lockheed Martin, Verifone, and the Reno Post Office (Edwards 2002).
  • By moving to an open office with integrated daylight, Lockheed Martin was able to increase contract productivity by 15% and believed the increased productivity helped them win a $1.5 billion defense contract (Edwards 2002)
• Numerous studies have shown that daylit stores have higher sales numbers than non- daylit stores (Edwards 2002, Boyce 2003)
  • Daylight “has aesthetic benefits that encourage customers to enter the store” (Edwards 2002) likely contributing to the fact that the Heschong Mahone Group found adding skylights increased store sales by 31%-41%” (Edwards 2002)
• Multiple hospital studies have found that patients recover faster and have better outcomes in daylight rooms (Edwards 2002, Joseph 2006, Ulrich 2008).

Key References

Review Articles

• Aries, Mbc, Mpj Aarts, and J. Van Hoof. “Daylight and Health: A Review of the Evidence and Consequences for the Built Environment.” Lighting Research & Technology 47, no. 1 (2015): 6-27.
• Attema, Jeremy, Fowell, S.J., Macko, M.J., & Neilson, W.C. “The Financial Case for High Performance Buildings.” San Francisco: Stok LLC. (2018).
• Bedrosian, Tracy A. “Endocrine effects of circadian disruption.” Annual review of physiology 78 (2016): 109-131.
• Boyce, Peter. “The benefits of daylight through windows.” Troy, New York: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2003).
• Clements-Croome, Derek J. “Work performance, productivity and indoor air.” Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health Supplement (2008): 69-78.
• Dean, Edward. Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings. Volume 2. 2016. Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Edwards, L., and P. Torcellini. Literature review of the effects of natural light on building occupants. National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO.(US), 2002.
• Figueiro, M. G., G. C. Brainard, S. W. Lockley, V. L. Revell, and R. White. “Light and human health: An overview of the impact of optical Radiation on visual, circadian, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral responses.” IES TM-18-08. (2008).
• Fisk, William J., Olli Seppanen, and David Faulkner. “Control of temperature for health and productivity in offices.” (2004).
• Fisk, William J. “The ventilation problem in schools: literature review.” Indoor Air 27, no. 6 (2017): 1039-1051.
• Gerardi, Daniel A. “Building-related illness.” Clinical Pulmonary Medicine 17, no. 6 (2010): 276-281.
• Heerwagen, Judith. “Green buildings, organizational success and occupant productivity.” Building Research & Information 28, no. 5-6 (2000): 353-367.
• Johnson, F., A. Mavrogianni, M. Ucci, A. Vidal Puig, and J. Wardle. “Could increased time spent in a thermal comfort zone contribute to population increases in obesity?.” Obesity reviews 12, no. 7 (2011): 543-551.
• Joseph, Anjali. The impact of light on outcomes in healthcare settings. Center for Health Design, 2006.
• Li, Yiping. “Role of ventilation in airborne transmission of infectious agents in the built environment-a multidisciplinary systematic review.” Indoor air 17, no. 1 (2007): 2-18.
• Ormandy, David, and Véronique Ezratty. “Health and thermal comfort: From WHO guidance to housing strategies.” Energy Policy 49 (2012): 116-121.
• Prill, R. “Measuring Carbon Dioxide Inside Buildings–Why is it Important.” Energy Proram, WSU, Washington, USA (2013).
• Rupp, Ricardo Forgiarini, Natalia Giraldo Vásquez, and Roberto Lamberts. “A review of human thermal comfort in the built environment.” Energy and Buildings 105 (2015): 178-205.
• Seppanen, O, Fisk, W.J., Lei, Q.H. “Room temperature and productivity in office work” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2006
• Seppänen, O. A., W. J. Fisk, and M. J. Mendell. “Association of ventilation rates and CO2 concentrations with health andother responses in commercial and institutional buildings.” Indoor air 9, no. 4 (1999): 226-252.
• Stoops, John L. “A possible connection between thermal comfort and health.” (2004).
• Tarantini, Mariantonietta. “A co-citation analysis on thermal comfort and productivity aspects in production and office buildings.” Buildings 7, no. 2 (2017): 36.
• Van Bommel. “Non-visual biological effect of lighting and the practical meaning for lighting for work.” Applied ergonomics 37, no. 4 (2006): 461-466.
• Van Hoof. “Thermal comfort: research and practice.” Frontiers in Bioscience 15, no. 2 (2010): 765-788.
• Van Marken Lichtenbelt, W. D, Pallubinsky, H, & Te Kulve, M. Modulation of thermogenesis and metabolic health: A built environment perspective. Obesity Reviews, 19 (2018): 94-101.
• WGBC (World Green Building Council). The Business Case for Health and Wellbeing in Green Building. 2018.
• Zomorodian, Zahra. “Thermal comfort in educational buildings: A review article.” Renewable and sustainable energy reviews 59 (2016): 895-906.

Primary Research

• Akimoto, Takashi, Shin-ichi Tanabe, “Thermal comfort and productivity-Evaluation of workplace environment in a task conditioned office.” Building and environment 45, no. 1 (2010): 45-50.
• Allen, Joseph G., Piers MacNaughton, Usha Satish. “Associations of cognitive function scores with carbon dioxide, ventilation, and volatile organic compound exposures in office workers: a controlled exposure study of green and conventional office environments.” Environmental health perspectives 124, no. 6 (2016): 805-812.
• Amin, Nor. “Architectural evaluation of thermal comfort: sick building syndrome symptoms in engineering education laboratories.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 204 (2015): 19-28.
• Apte, Michael G. “Associations between indoor CO2 concentrations and sick building syndrome symptoms in US office buildings: an analysis of the 1994-1996 BASE study data.” Indoor air 10, no. 4 (2000).
• Chang, Tom Y. “Battle for the thermostat: Gender and the effect of temperature on cognitive performance.” PloS one 14, no. 5 (2019).
• Cui, Weilin, Guoguang Cao, Jung Ho Park, Qin Ouyang, and Yingxin Zhu. “Influence of indoor air temperature on human thermal comfort, motivation and performance.” Building and environment 68 (2013): 114-122
• Fang, L, Wyon, D. P, Clausen, G, & Fanger, P. O. Impact of indoor air temperature and humidity in an offce on perceived air quality, SBS symptoms and performance. Indoor Air, 14(S7) (2004): 74-81.
• Fossum, Susan, Hays, Judy, & Henson, Mary Margaret. (2001). A comparison study on the effects of prewarming patients in the outpatient surgery setting. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing, 16(3), 187-194.
• Gauderman, W. James. “Childhood asthma and exposure to traffic and nitrogen dioxide.” Epidemiology (2005): 737-743.
• Heschong, Lisa, Roger L. Wright, and Stacia Okura. “Daylighting impacts on retail sales performance.” Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society 31, no. 2 (2002): 21-25.
• Lanphear, Bruce P., C. Andrew Aligne, Peggy Auinger, Michael Weitzman, and Robert S. Byrd. “Residential exposures associated with asthma in US children.” Pediatrics 107, no. 3 (2001): 505-511.
• Lee, M. C., K. W. Mui, L. T. Wong, W. Y. Chan, E. W. M. Lee, and C. T. Cheung. “Student learning performance and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in air-conditioned university teaching rooms.” Building and Environment 49 (2012): 238-244.
• Mendell, Mark J., Ekaterina A. Eliseeva, Molly M. Davies, Michael Spears, Agnes Lobscheid, William J. Fisk, and Michael G. Apte. “Association of classroom ventilation with reduced illness absence: a prospective study in California elementary schools.” Indoor air 23, no. 6 (2013): 515-528.
• Mendell, Mark J., Quanhong Lei, M. G. Apte, and William J. Fisk. “Outdoor air ventilation and work-related symptoms in US office buildings-results from the BASE study.” (2005).
• Milton, Donald. “Risk of sick leave associated with outdoor air supply rate, humidification, and occupant complaints.” Indoor air 10 (2000): 212-221.
• Mumma, Stanley, Jeong, Jae-Weon, and William P. Bahnfleth. “Energy conservation benefits of a dedicated outdoor air system with parallel sensible cooling by ceiling radiant panels.” ASHRAE Transactions 109 (2003): 627.
• Nurmagambetov, Tursynbek, Robin Kuwahara, and Paul Garbe. “The economic burden of asthma in the United States, 2008–2013.” Annals of the American Thoracic Society 15, no. 3 (2018): 348-356.
• Shan, Xin. “Comparing mixing and displacement ventilation in tutorial rooms: Students’ thermal comfort, sick building syndromes, and short-term performance.” Building and Environment 102 (2016): 128-137.
• Schellen, Lisje, Marcel GLC Loomans, Martin H. de Wit, Bjarne Wilkens Olesen, and W. D. van Marken Lichtenbelt. “The infuence of local effects on thermal sensation under non-uniform environmental conditions—Gender differences in thermophysiology, thermal comfort and productivity during convective and radiant cooling.” Physiology & behavior 107, no. 2 (2012): 252-261.
• Takaro, Tim K. “The Breathe-Easy Home: the impact of asthma-friendly home construction on clinical outcomes and trigger exposure.” American Journal of Public Health 101, no. 1 (2011): 55-62.
• Tanabe, Shin-ichi. “Workplace productivity and individual thermal satisfaction.” Building and environment 91 (2015): 42-50.
• Uejio, C. K. “Summer indoor heat exposure and respiratory and cardiovascular distress calls in New York City, NY, US.” Indoor air 26, no. 4 (2016): 594-604.
• Van Loenhout. “The effect of high indoor temperatures on self-perceived health of elderly persons.” Environmental research 146 (2016): 27-34.
• Vehviläinen, Tommi. “High indoor CO2 concentrations in an office environment increases the transcutaneous CO2 level and sleepiness during cognitive work.” Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene 13, no. 1 (2016): 19-29.
• Wagner, Doreen, Byrne, Michelle, & Kolcaba, Katharine. Effects of Comfort Warming on Preoperative Patients. AORN Journal, 84(3) (2006): 427-448.
• Wallingford, K. M. “NIOSH Indoor Air Quality Investigations in Non-industrial Workplaces: An Update.” 1986.
• Wargocki, Pawel, David P. Wyon, and P. Ole Fanger. “Productivity is affected by the air quality in offices.” In Proceedings of Healthy Buildings, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 635-40. 2000.
• Wyon, David P. “The effects of indoor air quality on performance and productivity.” Indoor air 14, no. 1 (2004): 92-101.
• Yoshida, Atsumasa, Hisabayashi, Takezo, Kashihara, Kenta, Kinoshita, Shinichi, & Hashida, Shoko. (2015). Evaluation of effect of tree canopy on thermal environment, thermal sensation, and mental state. Urban Climate, 14, 240-250.
• Zeiler, Wim. “Effects of thermal activated building systems in schools on thermal comfort in winter.” Building and Environment 44, no. 11 (2009): 2308-2317.

Print Media

• Lechner, Norbert. Heating, cooling, lighting: Sustainable design methods for architects. John wiley & sons, 2014.