Coupled mass and heat transfer modelling in building envelopes to consistently assess human exposure and energy performance in indoor environments

Abstract

We develop a numerical model coupling heat and chemical transfers in the building envelope to predict human exposure to pollutants and heating load as affected by changes in temperature and building design. We characterize the effect of temperature variation by season and location on chemical emission dynamics from building materials and the resulting human exposure. Peak concentrations of organics are sensitive to temperatures, and increasing indoor temperature by 10°C doubles the maximum indoor air concentration reached by both VOCs and SVOCs contained in a vinyl flooring. SVOCs mean concentration over the flooring lifetime increases by a factor of 2, and, as a result, the fraction of chemical taken in by the occupants increases by 50%. Occupants’ exposure to SVOCs emission in the city of Lille is likely to increase by 20% in 2050 because of temperature increase induced by climate change.