Effects of Indoor Environmental Quality On Performance

In the developed world, humans spend about 90% of their time indoors. (EPA, 1989) That time is spent sleeping, working, attending school, cooking, eating, and all related tasks. In the last 150 years, the indoor environment has changed dramatically, from soot and dust-filled rooms lit by candles and heated by wood or coal to the modern office and residential spaces with state of the art materials and invisible systems to provide heat, cooling, humidity control, and particle filtration. Since we spend so much time indoors, it is in our best interest that the environments we create for working and learning are designed to maximize productivity and performance, or at the very least, minimize the adverse effects these spaces may incur on the inhabitant.