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Effects of Classroom Air Quality on Learning in Schools

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Handbook of Indoor Air Quality

Abstract

This chapter describes the evidence of the effects of indoor air quality (IAQ) on learning of children and gives an overview of the size of the effects expected. The results from the published experiments on the effects of classroom air quality on the performance of schoolwork do confirm that these effects are systematic and show that improving classroom air quality will have a significant positive effect on some aspects of learning, both on cognitive skills and academic attainment, as well as academic achievements and absence rates. Present studies show that to ensure classroom IAQ conducive to learning, CO2 levels (indicating the adequacy of ventilation) should be kept below 900 ppm at all times. It should be ensured that windows can be opened when needed, to improve classroom IAQ, and CO2 sensors should be installed to indicate when windows must be open (or any other measure to improve IAQ must be executed) if the CO2 concentration is too high and when they should be closed to conserve energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Pawel Wargocki

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  1. Pawel Wargocki
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Correspondence to Pawel Wargocki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University Department of Building Science, Beijing, Beijing, China

    Yinping Zhang

  2. Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA

    Philip K. Hopke

  3. Scientific and Technical Centre for Building (CSTB), Marne-La-Vallée, France

    Corinne Mandin

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Wargocki, P. (2022). Effects of Classroom Air Quality on Learning in Schools. In: Zhang, Y., Hopke, P.K., Mandin, C. (eds) Handbook of Indoor Air Quality. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5155-5_65-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5155-5_65-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5155-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5155-5

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