A knowledge based system for diagnosing indoor environment problems

In the last decade complaints from office-workers have increased. The phenomenon "Sick Building Syndrome" (SBS) is often mentioned. It is estimated that 20 to 30% of the existing building stock in Europe and North America are problem buildings. Work related complaints on the indoor environment of problem buildings can be caused by a combination of four groups of factors: physical, chemical, biological and psycho-social factors. Several investigations on work-related complaints indicate that these complaints are related to the indoor air quality and the temperature of the indoor environment. In a Dutch study (1) 52.5% of the more than 7000 interviewed persons were dissatisfied with the indoor air temperature, 44.7% had complaints about the air quality and 42.0% perceived the air as being too dry. Because of sickness and the loss of work performance due to this an estimated amount yearly of 1 to 3 billion guilder is lost in the Netherlands (1)