Why Indoor Air Quality Standards Are Often Misleading
Indoor air is something we all depend on, yet very few truly understand. It surrounds every moment of our lives-at home, in offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, and transport systems-yet it is often judged using simplified rules that do not always reflect reality.
Over the years, indoor air quality (IAQ) has become a heavily regulated field, supported by well-intentioned standards and guidelines. These frameworks were developed to protect occupants, improve health, and provide designers with measurable targets. However, as buildings have evolved-becoming more airtight, energy-efficient, and technologically complex-the gap between compliance and actual human experience has widened.
This book explores that gap.
It does not argue against standards; rather, it questions their limitations. It examines why buildings can technically "comply" with IAQ requirements while occupants still report discomfort, fatigue, odors, headaches, or long-term health concerns. It also explores how many current approaches rely on assumptions that were valid decades ago but are increasingly challenged by modern materials, behaviors, and environmental conditions.
The purpose of this work is to encourage a more critical and performance-driven mindset in indoor environmental design. Instead of treating IAQ as a checkbox exercise, we must begin to see it as a dynamic, living system influenced by ventilation, filtration, occupancy behavior, outdoor pollution, and building operation strategies.
Ultimately, this book is written for those who are ready to look beyond compliance and toward true indoor environmental quality.
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