Indoor air quality measurement in government buildings in Hksar

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has published a guidance notes to stipulate the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Objectives in two levels and proposed to implement a voluntary certification scheme for IAQ. Architectural Services Department (ASD) which is responsible for designing, constructing and maintaining government buildings in HKSAR, has established an internal IAQ team for verifying IAQ standards of government buildings. Although the guidance notes give a lot of reference information on principles and methodologies concerning IAQ measurement, flexibility is also allowed for professionals and building managers to select and adopt their own strategies for practical measurement. In this paper, the objectives, requirements and their implications underlying in this guidance notes will be briefly discussed. Secondly, the properties and measuring principles for various IAQ parameters as well as possible difficulties encountered during practical measurement will be described. In addition, selection on measurement instruments based on cost effectiveness, accuracy, suitability for fulfilling requirements of the certificate scheme and convenience will be also discussed. Finally, some real case studies regarding IAQ measurement on the government buildings will be also shared.