An international review of building standards and guidelines on thermal comfort and ventilation for school buildings

This paper reviews and discusses thermal comfort and ventilation standards and guidelines in educational buildings in selected countries around the World, alongside the guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (REHVA). Standards and guidelines are first defined followed by the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the selected countries. The chosen specific indoor elements scrutinised are detailed before the values of their standards and guidelines in educational buildings are summarised per country and for the different organisations. The values show a significant disparity in standards and guidelines about indoor elements in classrooms around the World. Some countries don’t have a whole-country approach. The WHO, ASHRAE, CIBSE and REHVA have stricter guidelines. These findings highlight the heterogeneity of national guidelines or enforceable regulations related to the indoor environment of educational buildings around the World. Future research should focus on exploring the impact of these different standards and guidance on the indoor climate of various educational settings around the World.