Health Performance of Housing
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Health performanceofhousing.Indicatorsandtools SUSTAINABLE URBAN AREAS 10 Delft Centre for Sustainable Urban Areas carries out research in the field of the built environment and is one of the multidisciplinary research centres at TU Delft. The Delft Research Centres bundle TU Delft’s excellent research and provide integrated solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s problems in society. OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies and the Faculties of Architecture, Technology, Policy and Management and Civil Engineering and Geosciences participate in this Delft Research Centre. Occupants in air-tight houses and with poorly maintained mechanical ventilation Health performance systems have stimulated the study of health hazards of housing. Five hundred houses were inspected, to diagnose the relation between lay-out, construction, of housing technical services and interior decoration with potential indoor air pollution and problems with noise and safety. The occupants were interviewed about ventilation behaviour and activities that produce pollutants or hazards. These interviews pro- Indicators and tools vided data for an analysis of the relations between technical performances of hous- es, occupant behaviour and exposure to health risk. The result is a list of indicators that mark these relations and in particular the exposure to house dust mite, mould, legionella pneumophila bacteria, fine dust, noise, extreme discomfort and safety hazards. Tools for the evaluation of health performances were developed and tested. The strategy and the indicators presented in this thesis are the basis for the Checklist Healthy Housing, available in versions for households and professional users. This last group will find this book an informative source on healthy housing. Evert Hasselaar Evert DELFT UNIVERSITY PRESS IS AN IMPRINT OF IOS PRESS EvertEvert Hasselaar Delft Centre for Sustainable Urban Areas Health performance of housing Indicators and tools The series Sustainable Urban Areas is published by IOS Press under the imprint Delft University Press IOS Press BV Nieuwe Hemweg 6b 1013 BG Amsterdam The Netherlands Fax +31-20-6870019 E-mail: [email protected] Sustainable Urban Areas is edited by Delft centre for Sustainable Urban Areas C/o OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies Delft University of Technology Jaffalaan 9 2628 BX Delft The Netherlands Phone +31 15 2783005 Fax +31 15 2784422 E-mail [email protected] http://www.otb.tudelft.nl Health performance of housing Indicators and tools Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr.ir. J.T. Fokkema, voorzitter van het College voor Promoties, in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 7 december 2006 om 15.00 uur door Evert HASSELAAR bouwkundig ingenieur geboren te Veenendaal Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotor: Prof. dr. ir. H. Priemus Toegevoegd promotor: Dr. ir. G.A.M. Vijverberg Samenstelling promotiecommissie: Rector Magnificus, voorzitter Prof. dr. ir. H. Priemus, Technische Universiteit Delft, promotor dr. ir. G.A.M. Vijverberg, Technische Universiteit Delft, toegevoegd promotor prof. dr. W.K. Korthals Altes, Technische Universiteit Delft prof. ir. H.H. Cauberg, Technische Universiteit Delft prof. ir. C.A.J. Duijvestein, Technische Universiteit Delft prof. dr. ir. T.M. de Jong, Technische Universiteit Delft prof. dr. J. Sundell, Technical University Denmark Lyngby, DK dr. F.M. Meijer en dr. ir. J.T. van Ginkel, Technische Universiteit Delft, hebben als begeleider aan de totstandkoming van het proefschrift bijgedragen. The author wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of the Dutch government through the Habiforum Program Innovative Land Use and Delft University of Technology through the Delft Centre for Sustainable Urban Areas. All illustrations without title permitted by SBR, Rotterdam. Design: Cyril Strijdonk Ontwerpburo, Gaanderen Printed in the Netherlands by: Haveka, Alblasserdam ISSN 1574-6410; 10 ISBN 1-58603-689-0 NUGI 755 Subject headings: housing, health, health performance indicators, ventlation, indoor air quality Legal notice: the publisher is not responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. Copyright 2006 by Evert Hasselaar. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means, without written permission from the copyrightholder. Contents Part A Theory 1 The research project . 3 1.1 Introduction to Part A . 3 1.2 Introduction to environmental health. 3 1.3 Introduction to the research project . 11 1.3.1 Research questions . 11 1.3.2 Limitations and definitions . 13 1.3.3 Outline. 18 1.4 Conclusion . 20 2 Framework, material and methods . 23 2.1 Introduction . 23 2.2 Relations in health performance evaluation . 23 2.2.1 Frameworks . 23 2.2.2 Model . 27 2.3 The collection of field data . 34 2.4 Methods of data analysis . 36 2.5 Modelling and parameter studies . 39 2.6 Conclusions . 40 3 State-of-the-art of housing and health . 43 3.1 Introduction . 43 3.1.1 Research question . 43 3.1.2 Data collection . 44 3.2 Quality references for health performance. 45 3.2.1 Air quality . 45 3.2.2 Acoustics . 57 3.2.3 Comfort . 58 3.2.4 Safety. 59 3.2.5 The social environment. 61 3.3 State-of-the-art indicators . 64 3.4 Conclusions . 64 3.4.1 Conclusions of Chapter 3 . 64 3.4.2 Conclusions of Part A. 65 Part B Practice 4 Occupancy and occupant behaviour . 69 4.1 Introduction to Part B . 69 4.2 Introduction to Chapter 4 . 69 4.2.1 Research question . 69 4.2.2 Data collection and analysis. 70 4.3 Occupancy . 70 4.4 Occupant behaviour. 71 4.4.1 Moisture production . 71 4.4.2 Use of technical services . 75 4.4.3 Activities . 77 4.4.4 Extreme behaviour. 79 4.4.5 Noise and behaviour . 80 4.4.6 Comfort and behaviour . 81 4.4.7 Safety and behaviour. 82 4.4.8 Social environment and behaviour . 83 4.5 Conclusions . 83 5 Physical housing conditions . 85 5.1 Introduction . 85 5.1.1 Research question . 85 5.1.2 Data collection and analysis. 85 5.2 Building physiology . 86 5.2.1 Building type . 86 5.2.2 Construction type . 89 5.2.3 Building services . 92 5.3 Physical parameters of air quality . 96 5.3.1 Emission from crawl space . 96 5.3.2 Moisture balance . 98 5.3.3 Ventilation services . 100 5.4 Technical conditions and physical hazards . 107 5.4.1 Noise . 107 5.4.2 Overheating . 108 5.5 Physical parameters of social interaction . 109 5.6 Conclusions . 110 6 Health performance evaluation in practice. 112 6.1 Introduction . 112 6.1.1 Research question . 112 6.1.2 Data collection and analysis. 112 6.2 State-of-the-art of health performance evaluation tools . 112 6.2.1 Review of tools . 112 6.2.2 SWOT analysis of tools . 115 6.3 The Healthy Housing Checklist . 119 6.3.1 Design . 119 6.3.2 Implementation . 121 6.4 Conclusions . 123 7 Parameter studies . 125 7.1 Introduction . 125 7.1.1 Research question . 125 7.1.2 The quality of data used for parameter studies . 125 7.2 Biological hazards . 127 7.2.1 Parameters of dampness and mould . 127 7.2.2 Parameters of house dust mite allergen . 134 7.2.3 Parameters of.