A master thesis from Aalborg University
IEQ-compass for Single-Family Houses: Adapting and Optimizing an Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment Tool
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-06-04
Pages
292 pages
Abstract
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) plays a vital role in ensuring health, comfort, and energy efficiency in residential buildings. While the original IEQ-compass tool was designed to assess IEQ in apartments and multi-story buildings, it lacks the flexibility and precision needed for single-family houses, which often feature more varied layouts, construction types, and user behaviors. This thesis presents the development and optimization of an adapted version of IEQ-compass tailored specifically for single-family houses. The adaptation process involved removing irrelevant parameters, revising existing ones, and introducing new inputs that better capture the unique characteristics of single-family houses, particularly in daylight performance, ventilation, and thermal dynamics. To enhance usability, several input processes were automated. The tool was tested on 21 diverse houses across Denmark, incorporating both modern and older buildings with varying levels of ventilation, floor plans, and construction periods. Sensitivity analyses and parameter variations were conducted to identify the most influential parameters across the four IEQ categories: thermal, visual, acoustic, and atmospheric. Results highlight that ventilation systems, window area, and sound insulation play a critical role in determining IEQ performance. Validation against advanced simulation tools such as BSim and Velux Daylight Visualizer revealed generally strong alignment but also pointed to areas needing recalibration. In conclusion, the adapted IEQ-compass offers a practical, accessible, and reasonably accurate assessment tool for single-family houses. It enables better decision-making for homeowners, consultants, and policymakers aiming to improve indoor environments while supporting broader goals of sustainability and public health.
Keywords
Documents
Colophon: This page is part of the AAU Student Projects portal, which is run by Aalborg University. Here, you can find and download publicly available bachelor's theses and master's projects from across the university dating from 2008 onwards. Student projects from before 2008 are available in printed form at Aalborg University Library.
If you have any questions about AAU Student Projects or the research registration, dissemination and analysis at Aalborg University, please feel free to contact the VBN team. You can also find more information in the AAU Student Projects FAQs.