Reopening higher education buildings in post-epidemic COVID-19 scenario: monitoring and assessment of indoor environmental quality after implementing ventilation protocols in Spain and Portugal

Abstract

Post-epidemic protocols have been implemented in public buildings to keep indoor environments safe. However, indoor environmental conditions are affected by this decision, which also affect the occupants of buildings. This fact has major implications in educational buildings, where the satisfaction and learning performance of students may also be affected. This study investigates the impact of post-epidemic protocols on indoor environmental conditions in higher education buildings of one Portuguese and one Spanish university. A sensor monitoring campaign combined with a simultaneous questionnaire was conducted during the reopening of the educational buildings. Results showed that although renewal air protocols were effective and the mean CO2 concentration levels remained low (742 ppm and 519 ppm in Portugal and Spain universities, respectively), students were dissatisfied with the current indoor environmental conditions. Significant differences were also found between the responses of Portuguese and Spanish students. Indeed, Spanish students showed warmer preferences (thermal neutrality = 23.3℃) than Portuguese students (thermal neutrality = 20.7℃). In terms of involved indoor factors, the obtained data showed significant correlations (p < 0.001) between acoustic factors and overall satisfaction in the Portuguese students (ρ = 0.540) and between thermal factors and overall satisfaction in the Spanish students (ρ = 0.522). Therefore, indoor environmental conditions should be improved by keeping spaces safe while minimizing the impact of post-epidemic protocols on student learning performance.