A field study was conducted between November 2011 and March 2012 in nine modern office buildings in the Netherlands. One of the objectives was to objectify (under given weather conditions) how much control can be exercised by office workers over their indoor climate with operable windows. To evaluate the effectiveness of the operable windows, dynamic experiments were conducted. The experiments started with the opening of windows by the research team. Next, response times and step responses were assessed in terms of air temperature changes and CO2 concentration alterations. An average maximum outdoor temperature of 8 °C and an average wind speed of 4 m/s were measured during the study. For the cases studied, as far as temperature effects are concerned: the study revealed that the step response on average was -2.2 K; the average halftime value was 8 minutes; and the temperature on average changed with -0.18 K per minute after windows were opened. As far as effects on CO2 concentrations are concerned: step response on average was -390 ppm; the average halftime value was 7 minutes; and the CO2 concentration on average changed with - 37 ppm per minute after windows were opened. With some limitations, the outcomes can be used to quantify how effective operable windows can be -during the heating season- to office building users that periodically want to fine-tune their indoor climate.@en

Ongeveer 25% van alle werkenden in Nederland werkt in een kantooromgeving [1]. Het realiseren van een stimulerende werkomgeving in kantoorgebouwen is daarom essentieel. Tegenwoordig zien ook steeds meer werkgevers het belang van een goed binnenklimaat voor een succesvolle organisatie. Kleine veranderingen in productiviteit kunnen immers een significant effect hebben op de totale bedrijfskosten. Moderne technologiën bieden mogelijkheden voor het beheersen van deze productiviteit, maar ondanks alle onderzoeken die zijn gedaan op dit gebied, wordt de beschikbare kennis nog niet zondermeer ingezet
voor investeringsbeslissingen in de praktijk. In deze studie is de beschikbare kennis toegepast op in gebruik-zijnde kantoorgebouwen en is de economische haalbaarheid van investeringen in het binnenklimaat in kaart gebracht.@en

Exposure to increased concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) is related to a higher risk of respiratory and vascular diseases. Indoors, cooking appears to be a major source of PM2.5. In dwellings it has been demonstrated that cooking can lead to concentrations well above the health limits. However, only little is known about the concentrations typically observed in professional kitchens where cooking is the major activity. Therefore, an inventory field study has been set up to measure PM2.5 exposure in the breathing zone of chefs in professional restaurants. In total seven restaurants took part in the study. In all kitchens, PM2.5 exposure in the breathing zone of the chef and at two locations in the kitchen was measured. During the measurements activities of the chef were listed and characteristics of the kitchens were mapped (e.g. open/closed kitchen, type of ventilation, type of food that is prepared). The initial results show that in all restaurants, chefs are exposed to concentrations above the WHO-limit, i.e. average daily exposure of 25 µg/m3. Cooking style, hood and background concentration in the kitchen are factors contributing to the concentration in the kitchen. However, the peak exposure of the chef appears to be highly dependent on behavior and location in relation to the stove and exhaust hoods.@en