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BEAM P
LUS FOR
N
EW
B
UILDINGS
I
NDOOR
E
NVIRONMENTAL
Q
UALITY
(I
EQ
)
V
ERSION
1.2
Copyright © 2012 BEAM Society Limited. All rights reserved.
Page 136
6
I
NDOOR
E
NVIRONMENTAL
Q
UALITY
6.P
P
REREQUISITE
6.1
S
ECURITY
6.2
H
YGIENE
6.3
I
NDOOR
A
IR
Q
UALITY
6.4
V
ENTILATION
6.5
T
HERMAL
C
OMFORT
6.6
L
IGHTING
Q
UALITY
6.7
A
COUSTICS AND
N
OISE
6.8
B
UILDING
A
MENITIES
I
NTRODUCTION
This section of BEAM considers some of the broader issues of
sustainable buildings as well as the most significant indoor performance
issues. The broader issues include provisions of hygiene and amenities
maintenance provided in the building, which have impact on the quality
of working and living environments. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
includes indoor air quality and ventilation provisions that safeguard
health. Considerations of these issues, as well as thermal comfort,
lighting, acoustics and noise, impact on well-being, comfort and
productivity.
Given that on average people in Hong Kong spend around 85% of their
time indoors [ 1 ], indoor environmental conditions have a significant
impact on the quality of life. Buildings should provide safe, healthy,
convenient and efficient indoor spaces. Poor indoor environments in
commercial and institutional buildings can impact on productivity and
may pose health risks to users. The design, management, operation and
maintenance of buildings should seek to provide a good quality indoor
environment, but with optimum use of energy and other resources.
A
SSESSMENT OF
I
NDOOR
E
NVIRONMENTS
In keeping with the BEAM assessment approach, the assessment of
indoor environments is mainly performance based, with the majority of
credits awarded for meeting performance specifications at the
commissioning stage before handover and occupancy. In addition to
performance, credits are also awarded for compliance with certain
building features with known potential to enhance performance.
Assessment is not intended to embrace the negative impacts from the
user of premises, and it is clear that a building that is not yet fully fitted-
out, furnished and occupied cannot be fully tested for compliance with all
possible performance specifications. BEAM Plus seeks to ensure that
buildings and systems are tested as far as possible to ensure that
intended performance is likely to be achieved, providing that
tenants/occupants follow the fitting-out specifications and the guidance
for use is appropriate to the type of the premises they occupy.
The assessment of indoor air quality (IAQ), ventilation and thermal
comfort takes into account:
the extent to which the building and installed engineering systems
can provide for comfortable and healthy premises; and
the potential ‘worst-case’ scenario in respect of exposure to harmful
substances found in indoor air.
To allow for the differences in environmental conditions likely to be found
in different buildings/premises, for the purposes of assessment BEAM
1
Chau C K, Tu E Y, Chan D W T, Burnett J. Estimating the total exposure to air pollutants for population age groups in
Hong Kong. Environment International. Vol. 27. 2002. pp 617–630.