TITLE:
Relative Humidity, RH (%), a Problem or Not in Swedish Buildings
AUTHORS:
Thomas Alsmo
KEYWORDS:
Hygiene and Health, Indoor Air Quality, Indoor Humidity, Indoor Temperature
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.10 No.10,
October
10,
2019
ABSTRACT: In 1972, the oil producing countries implemented an oil embargo on a number
of states, including Sweden. During this period, oil was an important raw
material for Sweden. The oil accounted for nearly 40% of Sweden’s total
energy supply and was an extremely important source of heating for the Swedish
building stock. Subsequently, restrictions from Swedish authorities have
been introduced into how energy can be used. The purpose of these restrictions
is to reduce energy consumption and a part of this is that new requirements
have been introduced on how buildings should be designed. The
changes have had negative consequences as people, who live in these types of
buildings, claim that they suffer from health problems, which are referred to
as “building related illness”. The purpose of this project is to examine how the
structural changes regarding air exchange and windows carried out after the
oil embargo in 1972, have affected the climate and environment in Swedish
buildings. The aim is to investigate whether there are links between these
changes and assertions about building-related illness. From an energy point
of view, windows are a delicate building component and the project includes
studying the effect of using an external roller shutter. Furthermore, the
project aims to investigate how the environment and climate in Swedish
buildings are experienced at the user level and how authorities assess the
scope and effect of the measures they have implemented. The results show
that unhealthily low levels of the relative humidity generally prevail in the
Swedish housing stock and that the changes in the construction carried out
after the oil embargo in 1972, regarding air exchange systems and window
designs, reinforce the problem. With regard to various design alternatives, it
is necessary in Sweden to consider the prevailing climate and environmental
conditions and that the energy efficiency of the buildings is good.