scholarly journals Improving the Indoor Air Quality of Residential Buildings during Bushfire Smoke Events

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Priyadarsini Rajagopalan ◽  
Nigel Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Air Cleaners ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Design Selection ◽  
The Impact

Exposure to bushfire smoke is associated with acute and chronic health effects such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Residential buildings are important places of refuge from bushfire smoke, however the air quality within these locations can become heavily polluted by smoke infiltration. Consequently, some residential buildings may offer limited protection from exposure to poor air quality, especially during extended smoke events. This paper evaluates the impact of bushfire smoke on indoor air quality within residential buildings and proposes strategies and guidance to reduce indoor levels of particulates and other pollutants. The paper explores the different monitoring techniques used to measure air pollutants and assesses the influence of the building envelope, filtration technologies, and portable air cleaners used to improve indoor air quality. The evaluation found that bushfire smoke can substantially increase the levels of pollutants within residential buildings. Notably, some studies reported indoor levels of PM2.5 of approximately 500µg/m3 during bushfire smoke events. Many Australian homes are very leaky (i.e., >15 ACH) compared to those in countries such as the USA. Strategies such as improving the building envelope will help reduce smoke infiltration, however even in airtight homes pollutant levels will eventually increase over time. Therefore, the appropriate design, selection, and operation of household ventilation systems that include particle filtration will be critical to reduce indoor exposures during prolonged smoke events. Future studies of bushfire smoke intrusion in residences could also focus on filtration technologies that can remove gaseous pollutants.

The impact of mechanical ventilation operation strategies on indoor CO2 concentration and air exchange rates in residential buildings

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2096076
Author(s):  
Pedro F. Pereira ◽  
Nuno M. M. Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Ventilation Strategy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mechanical Extraction ◽  
Air Exchange

In Portugal, residential buildings commonly have their ventilation strategy changed after commissioning. This occurs due to the building managers' willingness to reduce shared costs with the electricity needed for fan operation. However, this option is not technically supported, and the effects of such a strategy on indoor air quality-related to human pollutants are yet to be quantified. CO2 was monitored in 15 bedrooms and air exchange rates were calculated for each room. The air exchange rate values ranged from 0.18 to 0.53 h−1 when mechanical extraction ventilation was off, and from 0.45 to 0.90 h−1 when mechanical extraction ventilation was on, which represents an average increase of 119%. With the current intermittent ventilation strategy, all rooms remain above 1500 ppm for a given percentage of time, and 12 rooms presenting CO2 concentrations above 2000 ppm. Simulations of theoretical CO2 concentrations, for a non-interrupted mechanical ventilation strategy show that no rooms would accumulate CO2 concentrations above 2000 ppm, and only 25% would present CO2 concentrations above 1500 ppm. Pearson correlations between the monitored CO2 and human and spatial factors identified two relevant parameters. Those parameters correspond to ratios between CO2 generation and floor area ([Formula: see text]), and airflow with CO2 generation ([Formula: see text]). The proposed ratios could be used as ways to optimise ventilation costs and indoor air quality.

Quantifying the impact of traffic-related air pollution on the indoor air quality of a naturally ventilated building

2016 ◽  
Vol 89-90 ◽  
pp. 138-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheming Tong ◽  
Yujiao Chen ◽  
Ali Malkawi ◽  
Gary Adamkiewicz ◽  
John D. Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A STUDY ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY OF URBAN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN CHINA(Environmental Engineering)

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 165-168
Author(s):  
Hiroshi YOSHINO ◽  
Junhong ZHAO ◽  
Yasuko YOSHINO ◽  
Kazukiyo KUMAGAI ◽  
Yueyong NI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Environmental Engineering

Numerical and Experimental Analysis on Indoor Thermal Environment in Commercial Kitchen

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 4435-4438
Author(s):  
Da Hua Jiang ◽  
Zhi Hua Wang ◽  
Fa En Shi ◽  
Ru Shan Ren
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Work Area ◽  
Indoor Contaminants ◽  
The Impact

It is of great importance to study the impact of the cooking generated contaminants on the indoor air quality in the kitchen since cooking is regarded as the main source of indoor contaminants. This study aims investigate and analysis the indoor air quality of kitchen with using CFD numerical analysis method via the velocity, temperature, humidity CO2 concentration .It is concluded that The temperature distribution are large difference in the kitchen and the maximum value is up to 324K on the work area which near the cooking ,and the CO2 concentration which is close to the stove is 1420ppm,1370ppm, 1470ppm respectively, and it is more than the acceptance criteria (CO2<1000ppm) 42%,37% and 47% respectively. It is serious impact on the staff's physical health.

scholarly journals DALY indicator as an assessment tool for indoor air quality impact on human health

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 00133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Wysocka
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Artificial Environment ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Impact

The quality of indoor environment is an extremely important issue, because people spend large parts of the day inside buildings. The quality of the indoor environment is largely dependent on the quality of indoor air. The parameters of the air we breathe affect our health and comfort of room use. Currently, when energy efficiency is a priority, it is difficult to maintain comfort and conditions appropriate for human health. The artificial environment in a room and related inadequate air quality cause many diseases, such as asthma, lung diseases, cardiovascular diseases, as well as poor well-being and reduced productivity. The Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) indicator means “loss of life corrected by disability” and is widely used by the World Health Organization to measure a disease burden on the population and identify the causes of a disease. The aim of the article is to present the structure of the DALY indicator and its suitability to assess the impact of indoor air quality on human health. The most frequent diseases caused by low quality of internal air were analysed based on statistical data. In addition, the possibilities of ventilation solutions have been presented, leading to the improvement of air quality in indoor environment.

scholarly journals Indoor Air Quality of Residential Building Before and After Renovation

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Imrich Sánka ◽  
Veronika Földváry
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Air Exchange Rate ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This study investigates the impact of energy renovation on the indoor air quality of an apartment building during the heating season. The study was performed in one residential building before and after its renovation. An evaluation of the indoor air quality was performed using objective measurements and a subjective survey. The concentration of CO2 was measured in the bedrooms, and a sampling of the total volatile compounds (TVOC) was performed in the living rooms of the selected apartments. Higher concentrations of CO2 and TVOC were observed in the residential building after its renovation. The concentrations of CO2, and TVOC in some of the cases exceeded the recommended maximum limits, especially after implementing energy-saving measures on the building. The average air exchange rate was visibly higher before the renovation of the building. The current study indicates that large-scale renovations may reduce the quality of an indoor environment in many apartments, especially in the winter season.

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