BSE516 Assignment

Area to be Five Questions How to identify the problem area and thus help
addressed the prioritization and coordination of the
improvement
1. Thermal The question is divided into three parts Intensity level of activity will fluctuate the metabolic
rate and the heat release from the occupant. This
Q1a. Pease rate your activity level from 1
question is to evaluate the human behavior and
to 3 of your household activities
personal factors in the accommodation year-round.
1 - Reading or sleeping For the activity rated in 1 means low intensity, 2
means mid intensity is and 3 means high intensity,
2 – House Cleaning so we can obtain abovementioned results for
3 – Exercise optimize the thermal comfort.
In Hong Kong, the temperature and humidity are
comparatively higher in crowd locations (such as
Yau Tsim Mong district) and the orientation facing
Q1b. Please rate your feelings for the to the west. Hence, this question is to identify the
following seasons from 0 to 4. condition of the unit and the solar heat gain from the
sunlight, provide appropriate measures and
Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter improvement to the indoor condition in different
0 - Very Cold seasons or climate. Besides, the result of year-
round human comfort can help us to know the
1 – Cold occupant’s satisfaction throughout the different
2 – Normal seasons, and to identify the indoor condition by
adaptive comfort model [1]. Against on the worst
3 – Hot case, to determine the best solution for the
4 – Very Hot occupancy. If the occupant wishes to optimize the
temperature in both hot and cold seasons, it is
suggested to provide heat pump air conditioning for
providing effective cooling in summertime and
heating in winter with best coefficient of
Q1c. Please prioritize (from 1 to 4) the performance.
 BSE516 Assignment

parameters you prefer to adjust or The priority for improvement can reflect the
improve in your accommodation. occupant's feeling and which parameter is most
influencing on occupants. Based on the priority, to
a) Temperature
customize the personal comfort system (PCS) [2] to
b) Humidity satisfy the individual comfort requirement, it helps in
improving subjective thermal comfort with the
c) Ventilation desired level. For example, adopt convection
d) Radiation windows to improve the ventilation; install blinds to
minimize the radiation; install exhaust fans to
improve the humid condition.

Area to be Five Questions How to identify the problem area and thus help
addressed the prioritization and coordination of the
improvement
2. Visual Q2a. Please rate the visual comfort from The aims of this question are to review the visibility
0 to 10 during daytime and night time in condition generally and to investigate illuminance
your accommodation level.
[3] The recommended average illuminance level is
Remark : 0 is very dark, 5 is normal and about 100 to 150 lux for living room and bedroom
10 is very bright (CIBSE Guide SLL code of lighting). Therefore,
when the score is below 5 means the Illuminance
level is below the requirement, the occupant may
feel darkness. On the other hand, if the score is
higher than 5, that means the illuminance level is
higher than the requirement, the occupant may feel
brightness.
By then, the next question is designed to find out
which kind of source is most influence on the
 BSE516 Assignment

occupant if interviewee questioned the visual

comfort is relatively dark or bright.
This priority is considered as Middle.
Q2b. Please select which sources you In Hong Kong, there is no legislation for restrict the
consider are most influencing to you all lighting intensity of external lighting, and a 2018’s
the time (Not more than two) and express research from [4] “Friend of Green” reported that
why the outdoor average illuminance level in Mong Kok
is measured about 5000 lux which exceed the
a) Lighting Pollution (Billboard, Neon CIBSE guide standard 1500lux. Thus, if the
sign) billboard light or reflectance light enter the
b) Daylight accommodation through the window, the indoor
c) Lighting Fixture (Artificial) illuminance level will be increased and make the
occupants feel uncomfortable.
Daylight is solar radiation, directly illuminated
everywhere in daytime, therefore sunlight may
enter indoor via the glass window or balcony.
Abovementioned lighting sources are more difficult
to control as the intensity is always changing and
fluctuating.
The best solution is to build a barrier minimize the
external source enter to the indoor environment.
(Such as blind, UV film)
On the other hand, artificial lighting fixture is
constant and comparatively easy to control the
illuminance level because it can easily adjust the
lighting intensity and color by changing the light
bulb to satisfy the occupant’s favour.
This priority is considered as High.
 BSE516 Assignment

Area to be Five Questions How to identify the problem area and thus help
addressed the prioritization and coordination of the
improvement
3. Air Quality The question is divided into three parts. With the understanding of the current mechanical
ventilation provision within the unit, we can identify if
Q3a. What ventilation provision is sufficient fresh air supply is provided for the unit.
installed? According to ASHRAE 62.2, it is recommended 0.35
(Internal circulation w/o filter – 2 scores ACH but not less than 15 cfm per person as the
Internal circulation with filter – 4 scores minimum ventilation rate for IAQ. This could be
Fresh air ventilation –3 scores identified through the current provision for fresh air
Exhaust air fan (Toilet / Kitchen) –3 supply (living area), exhaust air (kitchen, toilet) and
scores) air circulation (living area). (base on the score, how
urgent is the case)
Q3b. location of fresh air supply &
spacing to nearby exhaust? The quality of the fresh air supply source could pose
(Comply / Not Comply) an impact on the IAQ. The air Intake minimum
separation distance of sensory-irritation intensity /
Q3c. Any filter for the air circulation inoffensive odour/contaminant/pollutant sources
equipment? (Yes / No) shall be 3m (Class 2 Air Classification - ASHRAE
62.1). The irritated air source could be produced by
nearby toilet exhaust air, drainage vent, restaurant’s
kitchen exhaust air, nearby traffic, etc.

To further review the problem in depth, we would

need to identify if any filter for the air circulation
equipment is present. Just with a filter with Minimum
Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 1–4, it could
filter min. particle size of > 10.0 μm (Pollen, dust,
sand, spray paint dust, textile fibres, etc), which
could improve IAQ hugely. Common applications for
residential IAQ improvement: Residential window
 BSE516 Assignment

AC Unit, Air Purifier.

xxxxx
 BSE516 Assignment

Area to be Five Questions How to identify the problem area and thus help the
addressed prioritization and coordination of the improvement
4. Aural Q4a. On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 Q4a directly asking the occupants’ impression towards
Environment being “not causing any disturbance” their living environment in relation to the noise issue.
and 10 being “causing disturbance However, this question is insufficient to prioritize the
anytime”), please rate the extent that households’ urgency for assistance as the answer is
the noise causes disturbance in your based on subjective opinions. Therefore, the result of
living environment? this question could be used as a reference. Thus, the
following questions (i.e., Q2 & Q3) are designed to aid
Q4b. What is the major source of determining the occupants’ need for short-term
noise pollution? improvement. In addition, we can refer to NC (Noise
a. Speech noise Criterion) curve to find out whether the noise level of the
b. Equipment noise living environment exceeds the recommended NC level,
c. Traffic noise which is NC 25-35 for private homes. NC curve provided
a prescriptive approach to evaluate the living condition
Q4c. Which season has the most regarding noise.
serious noise pollution issue?
a. Spring For Q4b, speech sound had more negative effects on
b. Summer subjects’ cognitive functions than the typical noise
c. Autumn caused by equipment [5]. This may be because a mild
d. Winter and continuous sound caused by equipment operation
would be deemed as background noise or ambient
noise. Some household appliances, namely air-
conditioners, could help to create a confined space
which isolates the speech noise and traffic noise. In
addition, speech noise is usually caused by neighbor
from a short distance while traffic noise is usually caused
from a long distance. Therefore, short-term improvement
should be provided to occupants who are usually
influenced by speech noise, then by traffic noise.
Occupants influenced by equipment noise should be
least considered.
 BSE516 Assignment

For Q4c, increasing noise would adversely affect

working memory, sustained attention, and simple
reaction time under different air temperatures [5].
However, the combination of noise and low air
temperature has a higher effect on subjects’ cognitive
functions. Therefore, short-term improvement should be
provided to households experiencing the most serious
noise issue in winter, then to those in spring and
autumn. The households experiencing the most serious
noise issue in summer should be least considered.
 BSE516 Assignment

Area to be Questions How to identify the problem area and thus help
addressed the prioritization and coordination of the
improvement
5. Safety The question is divided into three parts. This problem is the root cause of subdivided units
Environment (SDU). All safety factors are magnified by the
Q5a. How many people live in your unit? increase in the number of occupants, such as air
quality, hygiene issues, escape time in the event of
Q5b. Does the unit you live in have a a fire, etc. According to a case study of subdivided
window or toilet? units in Hong Kong, the temperature and relative
Do you think that the overall sanitary humidity showed only 20%&30% of the units met
conditions of your home have been the “Good” Class level. This means the units had a
affected by subdivided housing? high temperature and were very humid. For this
reason, it would being worse if there were more
Q5c. How much is the potential for safe occupants. Thus,
escape in a fire?
From 0 to 5, 0 is lowest and 5 is highest If a) answer >2, the priority will increase to the
score middle, moreover, the priority grows to high when
the answer is >4. The reason is the environment will
get worse as people increase.
However, the root cause of the tenants who live in
subdivided units is they do not have enough money
to improve their situation. Applying for public
housing is an opportunity to improve this situation.

Hygiene issues is one of the key issues in

subdivided units, especially now that the global
affected by COVID-19, it is well known that the air
quality in subdivided units is poor, and not every
subdivided unit has windows or toilets. Microbial
grows due to poor cleaning or insufficient ventilation.
The biological air in the SDU is of poor quality and
the level of pollution is severe. In most SDUs there
 BSE516 Assignment

is no separate kitchen area: cooking and food

preparation take place in the same space as the
living room. This compacted layout may also lead to
high bacterial counts in the SDU. For fungal counts,
wet weather conditions (high temperature and
relative humidity) and over 40% mildew due to poor
ventilation This question can lead to tenants realized
that if there are windows in the unit, they can open
them for better air environment. The priority is High
if a) answer>2 and b) do not have window or toilet in
unit. The occupants would consider installing an
exhaust fan in the unit.

Fire is the most evident result of disregarding

building regulations, and it poses the most direct
threat to tenants. Due to the unlawful construction of
apartment walls, escape routes are often obstructed
or nonexistent, and occupants may rapidly get
trapped and perish.
Common fire safety issues in SDU buildings such
as: narrow corridors, placing flammable objects in
escape routes, blocked escape routes, numerous
electrical wiring and meters. These may increase
the risk of fire, which will lead to more deaths among
SDU tenants.
This inquiry may prompt the resident to contemplate
ways to enhance their survival probability after a fire
in a hard, unchangeable living environment, or at
the minimum to consider not obstructing the escape
path. The importance is considerable, priority is
middle where the tenants do not block the escape
path in the unit.
BSE516 Assignment
 BSE516 Assignment

Reference
[1] ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2017, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy
[2] Rajan Rawal, Personal comfort systems : A review on comfort, energy, and economics, Energy and Buildings Volume
214, 1 May 2020,
[3] SLL (2013) Lighting Guide LG9 Lighting for Communal Residential Buildings (London: Society of Light and Lighting)
[4] Daniel Karol, The Effects of Light Pollution in Hong Kong, 2019
[5] Sepehri S, Aliabadi M, Golmohammadi R, Babamiri M. The Effects of Noise on Human Cognitive Performance and
Thermal Perception under Different Air Temperatures. J Res Health Sci. 2019 Dec 17;19(4):e00464. PMID: 32291363;
PMCID: PMC7183564.
[6] Lai, K. M., Lee, K. M., & Yu, W. (2017). Air and hygiene quality in crowded housing environments–a case study of
subdivided units in Hong Kong. Indoor and Built Environment, 26(1), 32-43.
[7] Leung, K. K., & Chow, C. L. (2016, March). A brief discussion on fire safety issues of subdivided housing units in Hong
Kong. In Proceedings of the 3rd Residential Building Design and Construction Conference, State College, PA, USA (pp.
2-3).