INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND USERS PERCEPTION IN MERU SECONDARY SCHOOL (SMK MERU)

Abstract

Research in Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) shows that IEQ is not just limited to indoor air and comfort but also the contribution factor and its effects. IEQ could give an impact to the level of performance and productivity. IEQ in educational buildings have been studied widely especially in the cold region climate, however, studies on IEQ in the tropical climate like Malaysia is still lacking. The factors, effects, and solutions vary from other countries due to different climate, culture and learning activities. It is still unknown whether the school users in Malaysia are aware that IEQ would affect their teaching and learning behaviour as well as their health and well-being if the IEQ in the teaching and learning spaces are in unacceptable condition. Therefore, this paper seeks to investigate the school users’ perception on IEQ in SMK Meru located in the Klang valley, Malaysia. Methods of approach are the objective method measuring the physical environment, and the subjective approach focusing on the visual inspection and distribution of questionnaire to the school users including teachers, students and office staff. Acoustic quality was found to be the most contributing factor to the dissatisfaction level of the respondents which could affect the teaching and learning performance. Three major health problems that were noted are fatigue eyes, stress/tension and fatigue but the condition was not serious.