Most adults can recall sitting in class in high school, struggling to stay awake, yawning nonstop, and chalking it up to lack of sleep, hormones, or an especially boring lecture. But, more than likely, our younger selves were suffering the very real side effects of poor IAQ, including temperatures outside the range of comfort, higher-than-recommended levels of carbon dioxide, and high humidity.
Though ASHRAE recommends bringing in 15 cfm of outside air per occupant in a commercial building, a growing number of studies show that many U.S. schools are falling significantly short of that goal, which can translate to lower test scores, increased absences, and other health issues caused by poor IAQ.