Indoor Air Quality
“Indoor air quality” refers to how clean the air in a building is.
As buildings become more airtight and energy efficient, actively managing indoor air quality becomes more important. Some air pollutants, like carbon monoxide, are highly dangerous. Others, like volatile organic compounds, can cause short-term health problems as well as chronic ones.
Moisture management, adequate ventilation, and selection of low-VOC products are some of the best ways to ensure good IAQ.
Indoor Air Quality
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Designing for the Next Century's Weather
Feature Article
How do you create a climate-responsive building in a changing climate? Brand new modeling techniques are helping us figure it out.
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Commercial Kitchens: Cooking Up Green Opportunities
Feature Article
Commercial kitchens run energy- and water-intensive equipment for long hours, sometimes even when not in use. While the challenges of saving water and energy in commercial kitchens are daunting, they're not insurmountable. Careful equipment selection and a commitment to conscientious kitchen practices can dramatically cut down on waste-and utility bills.
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Design for Adaptation: Living in a Climate-Changing World
Feature Article
Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, rising global temperatures would still bring major changes to the climate system and our way of life. This article offers solutions for designing buildings that not only mitigate our impact on the global climate, but also adapt to the changes that are coming-and those that are already here.
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Bringing Nature Indoors: The Myths and Realities of Plants in Buildings
Feature Article
Some proponents of indoor plants promise that they will clean the air and promote occupant health and productivity. But will they? Scientific backing for these claims is still being developed, but some of the results are promising.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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No More Condensation on Chilled Beams
Product Review
Semco’s Neuton pump module could simplify installation of chilled beams, eliminate condensation problems, and provide improved zone control.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2017
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections reduce stormwater and wastewater, improve efficiency and IAQ, and contain fewer hazardous materials.
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Green Multifamily Cabinetry: Three Top Options
Product Review
Need multifamily millwork that’s attractive, high-quality, domestically manufactured, low-emitting, and sustainably sourced? You’re not alone.
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Benjamin Moore Natura Adds Mystery Biobased Content
Product Review
Natura Renew uses 40% biobased-content resins, but the company says it doesn't know the source, making it difficult to judge environmental performance.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Green Public Schools
News Analysis
With federal funds flooding in, the industry can transform K–12 education in the next three years—but only if we do it right.
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Continuous IAQ Monitoring: Wins and Pitfalls
News Brief
A BuildingGreen Peer Networks white paper dives into continuous air-quality monitoring, helping make the technology and practices accessible to more projects.
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Green Seal’s LEED-Compliant GS-11 Paint Standard is Back
News Brief
Green Seal’s GS-11 Paint certification has been updated and can now be used to earn points in LEED v4.1.
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IAQ Monitoring for COVID: What’s in a Score?
News Analysis
Occupants want access to IAQ data. But it’s a battle between simplicity and accuracy.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
- Check if your spelling is correct, or try removing filters.
- Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop.
- You can require or exclude terms using + and -: big +blue drop will require a match on blue while big blue -drop will exclude results that contain drop.