In most indoor workplaces, ventilation is crucial to providing good air quality. The ventilation should be adapted to the activity being carried out, for example a school, an office or industrial premises. What constitutes appropriate ventilation can therefore vary greatly.

What constitutes good air quality is not defined, but can be said to be air quality that does not cause health problems or discomfort. Good ventilation helps remove various types of air pollution from people, premises and furnishings and from activities.

Ventilation and air quality

Good cleaning is important to remove dust, particles, allergens, pollen and other things that can otherwise have a negative impact on health. The cleaning must be adapted to the activity. Good cleaning is also important to make the workplace accessible to as many people as possible, including those with allergies or other hypersensitivity.

It is also important that it is easy to clean, so that cleaning is more efficient. Therefore, surfaces, floors, furnishings and horizontal surfaces where dust accumulates should be easy to clean. The cleaning chemicals used should have as little impact on health and the environment as possible.

Building materials, furnishings, appliances, paint, etc. emit volatile substances that can be harmful to health in the short and long term. It is therefore important to choose low-emitting materials that affect health as little as possible.

The ventilation must be adapted to ventilate out these volatile substances. When building new or renovating, the materials emit extra pollutants and it is therefore advisable to run the ventilation at full capacity for a while. Radon in buildings usually comes from the ground but sometimes also from building materials, such as aerated blue concrete.

The temperature should be suitable for the tasks performed at the workplace. There is therefore a big difference in what constitutes a suitable temperature. A sedentary job in an office requires a different temperature from a more physically demanding job.

The thermal climate is more than just the air temperature. It also includes air movements and the temperature of different surfaces in the room. Humidity also affects how people perceive the temperature in a room.

Temperature also affects the amount of volatile substances emitted by different materials and furnishings in a room – which in turn affects air quality. If it is too hot in the workplace, the air quality is often perceived as poor.

Temperature and thermal climate in the workplace