scholarly journals Seasonal variations in indoor air quality parameters and occupants self-reported physical health within a warm humid climatic environment

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bode Abiodun Orola

This study examines seasonal variations in Indoor Air Quality in occupied spaces within student hostels of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, and the associated physical health effects reported by occupants. Indoor Air Quality data were obtained from 22 selected rooms, with at least two rooms selected from the nine different spatial design layouts identified in the hostel buildings. Indoor Air Quality parameters obtained were 15-minute interval data of relative humidity, as well as concentrations of carbon dioxide, total volatile organic compounds, and particulate matters. These were measured with data loggers placed at 1.0 m from the floor level in the centre of selected rooms. Measurements were taken in selected rooms through a period of four consecutive weeks each during the peaks of dry and wet seasons. A questionnaire, which was administered immediately at the end of the measurement period to 696 respondents, was used to capture the significant physical health symptoms as reported by the occupants, as well as information regarding their activities and use of the rooms. Significant health symptoms reported by occupants were the same across seasons. These were cold, fatigue, and headache. Indoor concentrations of carbon dioxide and particulate matters have most significant relationship with reported health symptoms.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeki Argunhan ◽  
Ali Serkan Avci

This study was carried out in order to determine the indoor air quality of the classrooms existing in university (Turkey). Relative humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide, radon, and particulate matters (PM0.5, PM1.0, PM2.5, PM5.0, and PM10) were taken into account as the parameters of indoor air quality measurements. The results obtained from the present work were interpreted by comparing them with the standards of different countries. The relations between all parameters were statistically examined by means of correlation and regression analysis in SPSS 17 statistical program. As a result, it was observed that indoor temperature was lower than the standards, yet carbon dioxide and PM values were higher than the upper limit, but relative humidity level was within comfort conditions. The average indoor radon concentrations were found to be below the recommended reference levels for International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), yet it was seen that the results were relatively higher in comparison with the worldwide values. In addition, it was determined that there was a meaningful relation between outdoor relative humidity, indoor relative humidity, and particulate matters in different diameters. Some solutions were suggested for the treatment of the indoor air quality for each parameter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 954-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detelin Ganchev Markov ◽  
Sergey Mijorski ◽  
Peter Stankov ◽  
Iskra Simova ◽  
Radositna A. Angelova ◽  
...  

: People are one of the sources for deterioration of the indoor air quality. They worsen indoor air quality by their presence (respiration, bio-effluents), activities and habits. Through respiration, people decrease the oxygen concentration in the air of the occupied space and increase carbon dioxide and water vapor concentration in the indoor air as well as its temperature. The goal of the AIRMEN project is to find out if the rate of consumption of oxygen and emission of carbon dioxide (and water vapor) by people depends on the indoor air temperature as well as carbon dioxide concentration in the inhaled air. In order to achieve this goal a small climate chamber must be designed and constructed which allows for controlling and measuring both inflow and exposure parameters as well as for measuring outflow parameters. The principal goal of this paper is to present some important details, obtained by CFD simulations, from the design process of the climate chamber which precondition the air distribution in the chamber and hence the exposure parameters.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng-Chyi Duh

This study investigated transient effects on the air quality of parked cars and moving cars with and without operating air conditioning. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and formaldehyde concentrations were measured for comparative analysis. The results showed that simply changing the air conditioning system from internal circulation to external circulation to introduce air from outside reduces carbon dioxide concentrations by more than 50%, volatile organic compound concentrations by more than 77%, and the heat index from 0.1℃/min to less than 0.05 ℃/min. In order to conserve energy and improve car indoor air quality, this study can serve as a reference on healthy car environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-216
Author(s):  
Wannawit Taemthong

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to investigate how indoor air quality might be improved by installing particular ornamental plants available in Thailand. Traditionally, ventilation fans have been used to encourage fresh air into living areas in order to reduce CO2 levels. This consumes more energy than using ornamental plants. Our research screens three types of ornamental plants and selects one to investigate its potential for enhancing indoor air quality by reducing carbon dioxide levels. The three plants are epipremnum aureum, spathiphyllum wallisei, and dieffenbachia sp. The propensity to reduce carbon dioxide levels of each plant was preliminary screened using a closed flux chamber method over a 24-hour period. It was found that epipremnum aureum had the ability to absorb carbon dioxide better than the others. The epipremnum aureum was then put in a classroom to investigate variables in two further experiments. The ability to improve air quality in terms of sensitivity to various light concentrations and the number of plants in the room are explored. It was found that epipremnum aureum should be placed within a distance of 1.5 meters from windows to achieve the appropriate light concentration to enhance indoor air quality. It was also found that 150 pots of epipremnum aureum had the propensity to reduce CO2 by 430 ppm in a classroom of 20 students for an 80-minute class. The use of sufficient amounts of epipremnum aureum can improve air quality in classrooms. A model to estimate numbers of such plants needed in classrooms is also presented.


Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Tam ◽  
Yuqing Zhao ◽  
Zaiyi Liao ◽  
Lian Zhao

Indoor air quality and thermal conditions are important considerations when designing indoor spaces to ensure occupant health, satisfaction, and productivity. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and indoor air temperature are two measurable parameters to assess air quality and thermal conditions within a space. Occupants are progressively affected by the indoor environment as the time spent indoors prolongs. Specifically, there is an interest in carrying out investigations on the indoor environment through surveying existing Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) system operations in classrooms. Indoor air temperature and CO2 concentration in multiple lecture halls in Toronto, Canada were monitored; observations consistently show high indoor air temperature (overheating) and high CO2 concentration. One classroom is chosen as a representative case study for this paper. The results verify a strong correlation between the number of occupants and the increase in air temperature and CO2 concentration. Building Energy Simulation (BES) is used to investigate the causes of discomfort in the classroom, and to identify methods for regulating the temperature and CO2 concentration. This paper proposes retro-commissioning strategies that could be implemented in institutional buildings; specifically, the increase of outdoor airflow rate and the addition of occupancy-based pre-active HVAC system control. The proposed retrofit cases reduce the measured overheating in the classrooms by 2-3 °C (indoor temperature should be below 23 °C) and maintain CO2 concentration under 900 ppm (the CO2 threshold is 1000 ppm), showing promising improvements to a classroom’s thermal condition and indoor air quality.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1206
Author(s):  
Shang-Yuan Chen ◽  
Cheng-Yen Chen

Taiwan has suffered from widespread haze and poor air quality during recent years, and the control of indoor air quality has become an important topic. This study relies on Multi-Agent theory in which collected air quality was used in calculations and after agents make decisions in accordance with pre-written rules to construct and indoor air quality control system and conflict resolution mechanism, which will serve to maintain a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. As for implementation, the simulated system used the Arduino open source microcontroller system to collect air quality data and turn on building equipment in order to improve indoor air quality. This study also used the graphic control program LabVIEW to write a control program and user interface. The implementation verifies the feasibility of applying multi-agent theory to air quality control systems, and an Individual intelligent agent has the basic ability to resolve their own conflicts autonomously. However, when there are multiple factors and user status are simultaneously involved in the decision-making, it is difficult for the system to exhaust all conflict conditions, and when context control surpassing the restrictions of binary logic rule-based reasoning, it is necessary to change the algorithm and redesign the system.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document