ASHRAE Journal - June 2023 - 40

COLUMN RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS
panel cited in the RIB, appropriate sleep satisfaction
elements include how individuals feel about their sleep,
both immediately after their sleep and during the next
day. Sleep environmental factors include bedding comfort,
bedroom temperature, noise and light. Sleep initiation
relates to the time taken to fall asleep. Maintenance
parameters include the ease with which one goes back to
sleep after awakening during a sleep period, the amount
of sleep on all days and the amount of undisturbed
sleep.2 A 2018 review attempted to define environmental
conditions in sleeping environments for optimal sleep
quality,3 proposing temperature and humidity ranging
generally between 17 and 28°C (62.6 and 82.4°F) and 40
to 60% room humidity, noise of all forms being less than
35 dB, complete darkness and avoidance of blue light
immediately before and during sleep, ventilation using
air of acceptable quality and passive design using architectural
features to incorporate the above elements into
bedroom design.
While the details of the review pertaining to the various
aspects of bedroom ventilation and IEQ affecting
sleep quality can be found in the RIB, the primary issue
is the lack of a holistic approach to IEQ, sleep quality and
energy in different types of residential buildings across
different climates and socioeconomic realms. This is
further classified as follows:
1. Lack of an integrated assessment of bedroom IEQ
and sleep quality;
2. Lack of adequate resiliency features in residential
buildings to respond to bedroom IEQ in the event of
natural or man-made adverse events (wildfires, poor
ambient air quality, pandemics);
3. Lack of awareness of IEQ, sleep quality and energy
in the global society at large.
Although not covered in the brief, it's useful to consider
the economic impact of poor sleep quality. A
recent Australian study estimated overall cost of sleep
disorders in 2019 and 2020 to be USD $35.4 billion, of
which the financial cost component was USD $10.0 billion
(equivalent to 0.73% of Australian gross domestic
product), comprising health system costs, productivity
losses, informal care and others.4 The study also found
that the nonfinancial cost of USD $25.4 billion, which is
associated with the loss of well-being, represented 3.2%
of total Australian burden of disease for the year.
The 2021 ASHRAE Research Strategic Plan supports
moving toward greater involvement in the important
40
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg
J U N E 2023
area of bedroom environmental quality and sleep quality.
For " needed research " the plan calls for:
1. " Development of markers and systems for rating
health, comfort and well-being, cognitive performance,
and sleep quality. "
2. " Identification of relevant pollutants and ventilation
requirements-both under normal conditions and
during extreme events-based on various criteria considering
health, comfort, cognitive performance, and
sleep quality, as well as the requirements for vulnerable
groups. "
Approximating ideal sleeping conditions is a challenge
in real-world situations. Even compromises to approach
those conditions are difficult. Tighter housing, motivated
by climate change and sustainability imperatives,
do allow much greater interior environmental control
of ventilation, air movement, noise, temperature,
humidity and filtration-but the skills, knowledge and
understanding of these elements must be combined and
approached as a comprehensive system and not fragmented
by specialists.
With its international profile of multidisciplinary
technical experts, ASHRAE is uniquely poised to provide
guidance on the passive and active design features of
bedrooms in residential buildings and their operational
performance, including the operation and maintenance
of HVAC systems. The fundamental value ASHRAE can
add to this collaborative effort is helping occupants of
diverse socioeconomic status, life stages and health conditions
across the world to obtain optimal sleep quality
for their comfort, health, well-being and productivity.
ASHRAE, using its well-established technical and educational
resources, is positioned to play a leadership role
and should consider the following:
1. Initiate actions to define IEQ in sleeping environments
optimal for sleep and revise standards that specifically
describe conditions in bedrooms;
2. Support research to evaluate the effectiveness and
interactivity of bedroom IEQ elements, focusing on enhanced
human health and productivity. The RBC should
coordinate research proposals with appropriate ASHRAE
committees and its partner residential organizations;
3. Review and develop appropriate carbon-neutral engineering
interventions and operational recommendations
across different climate zones and socioeconomic
realms in both naturally and mechanically ventilated
buildings to enhance the bedroom sleeping environ
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ASHRAE Journal - June 2023

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