Assessing the impact of indoor plants towards physical indoor office building environment in hot and humid climates

• Main Authors: Mahyuddin, Norhayati, Jamaludin, Nurul Malina, Hussien, Aseel, Akashah, Farid Wajdi, Azmi, Nur Farhana, Cotgrave, Alison, Riley, Mike
• Format: Article
• Published: University of Malaya 2022
• Subjects: TH Building construction
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/43413/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85129959530&partnerID=40&md5=46d9788d7aae2cb71ec75ff6fb58a8f7

Several studies have shown that plants with a variety of performance categories can improve indoor air quality (IAQ). In addition, it has positive impacts on occupants’ concentration ability, work efficiency, job satisfaction, mental health, stress reduction, and sense of well-being. However, there is few research that have focused on the impact of indoor plants towards physical indoor environment. Therefore, this study performs several experiments to examine the impacts of indoor plants on physical indoor environment in Malaysia. This study further observes the use of five different species of potted plants and its effects on the IAQ concerning the physical parameters of air temperature and relative humidity in a classroom and an office room setting environment. Moreover, this paper explores the function of plants as a natural air purifying agent and temperature regulation, as it helps to cool down the internal temperature of a building while providing areas of the building with an aesthetic element. This study involves the assessment of plant and indoor space benefit studies, as well as the description of plant varieties and characteristics. Finally, the overall findings from several experiments show significant differences in relative humidity and total target volatile organic compound (TVOC) in the room. With intervention, it can be concluded that the inclusion of potted plants in a room have improved all parameters measured compared with that in normal condition. For future works, it is proposed that further study is done on the form of species, including the importance of understanding the need for positioning the potted plants in indoor environments. © 2022, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.