The roadmap to indoor perfection
Often overlooked, the indoor environment can have an important impact on our health and well-being. The EU-funded project 'Performance indicators for health, comfort and safety of the indoor environment' (PERFECTION) aimed to facilitate the application of new technology to improve indoor environments. This in turn is expected to have a positive impact on health and comfort, promoting at the same time a feeling of safety and resulting in positive stimulation. The project worked on developing an indicator framework and assessment tools to achieve these aims, articulating a set of health, comfort, accessibility and safety indicators that would be useful in studying indoor environments. In addition, the project team prepared two reports on these indicators, dividing them into four categories. It then worked on building a decision support tool to establish indoor performance with regards to health, comfort, security, safety and other issues that could improve the well-being of people living in, working in or visiting a building. Key issues that PERFECTION investigated in relation to the indoor environment include temperature, ventilation, odour, particulate matter, water quality, illumination, daylight factor and acoustic comfort. After studying these considerations, the project team summarised and documented existing standards, regulations, technologies, recent research efforts and policies related to the indoor environment of buildings. Apart from developing indoor performance indicators for health, comfort and safety, the project outlined environmental technologies that upgrade indoor performance and sustainability. It built a framework to manage the life-cycle of sustainable buildings and designed a support tool for different building types to help improve the indoor environment. PERFECTION's key achievements included policy recommendations and good practices that outline incentives and barriers for improving building design and enhancing the quality of indoor environments. New policies in this direction can improve well-being indoors, enhance production in workplaces and increase stimulation in schools, thanks to high-quality indoor performance. Last but not least, the project's recommendations will lead to the design of more energy efficient and carbon-neutral buildings, in line with EU energy and climate objectives.