Perception of Users on Indoor Air Quality of Lecture Theatres Located in the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

Satisfaction with odour, indoor temperature, indoor relative humidity, fresh/stuffy air and indoor air speed is widely regarded as universal way of assessing the perception of indoor air quality (IAQ). The aim of this paper was to evaluate the perception of students on the IAQ of lecture theatres within the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria towards expansion of the database of indoor environmental quality aspects of educational buildings in Nigeria. The two-stage survey was carried out using a structured questionnaire in September 2021 and February 2022. The population of the study was the undergraduate population in the University (17,772) and the sample was 377 students. Results from the rank sum analysis indicated that the prevalence of “dust” has the potential to affect indoor air quality within the research area. Additionally, Satisfaction with breakaway factors of indoor air quality for both dry and wet seasons was less than ASHRAE’s benchmark of 80% satisfaction votes for IAQ in the study area. Results of the Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis between pollution factors and indoor air quality breakaway factors point out that there was an inverse relationship between them, although, it was only significant in the dry season. The design challenge is that architectural projects such as lecture theatres should have the capacity to satisfy the comfort of users in both the dry and wet seasons.