Assessment of the impacts of balconies on indoor environmental quality in mild climate conditions, Portugal

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2023

Authors

Catarina Ribeiro (Author) Other; Pedro F. Pereira (Author) FEUP; Nuno Ramos (Author) FEUP; Inês Flores-Colen (Author) Other; Nuno Valentim (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Building Research and Information

Pages: 1-19

ISSN: 0961-3218

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Y-PAS

DOI: 10.1080/09613218.2023.2229451

Abstract (EN): The configuration of balconies can affect the indoor environmental performance of dwellings, but there is not enough knowledge regarding how a balcony simultaneously impacts all the parameters of indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate, for the first time, the impacts of different balcony configurations on IEQ. A comprehensive in-situ campaign was carried out on ten balconies and their contiguous rooms in a building in Porto. Air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, PM2.5 and TVOCs concentration, illuminance and sound pressure level were simultaneously monitored. The results show that an open balcony has a positive impact on hygrothermal conditions, controlled daylight illuminance, and reduced traffic noise by up to 10 dBa. The presence of a glazed balcony improved hygrothermal conditions in winter and increased the noise reduction by up to 15 dBA, but caused a reduction in the daylight of up to 64%. The rooms, in which the balcony was eliminated presented the worst hygrothermal conditions, lost the benefits of noise reduction and had an increase in daylight illuminance of up to 136%. It was also found that the impacts are interrelated and that a balcony influences the occupants' behaviour by enhancing window opening.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 19