Design of Intelligent Air Purifier and Indoor Environment Improvement System

Infectious diseases caused by airborne bacteria and viruses are a major problem for both social and economic reasons. The significance of this phenomenon is particularly noticeable during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the consequences is the increased interest in the air purifier (AP) market, which resulted in a significant increase in sales of these devices. In this study, we tested the efficiency of APs in removing bacterial air contamination in the educational context in the Upper Silesia region of Poland during the “cold season” of 2018/2019. During the 6 months of measuring microbiological air quality, an 18% decrease in the concentration of microbiological pollutants as a result of the action of the APs was recorded. Additionally, the results of the particle size distribution of the bacterial aerosols showed a reduction in the share of the respirable fraction (particles with an aerodynamic diameter below 3.3 µm) by an average of 20%. The dominance of gram-positive cocci in the indoor environment indicates that humans are the main source of most of the bacteria present in the building. We conclude that the use of APs may significantly decrease the level of concentration of microbiological air pollutants and reduce the negative health effects of indoor bioaerosols; however, further work that documents this phenomenon is needed.

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Indoor Comfort and Symptomatology in Non-University Educational Buildings: Occupants’ Perception

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos11040357 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 357 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miguel Ángel Campano-Laborda ◽

Samuel Domínguez-Amarillo ◽

Jesica Fernández-Agüera ◽

Ignacio Acosta

Keyword(s):

Indoor Environment ◽

Co2 Concentration ◽

Traditional Schools ◽

Southern Europe ◽

Thermal Systems ◽

Concentration Variance ◽

Air Purifier ◽

Youth Population ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

University Classrooms

The indoor environment in non-university classrooms is one of the most analyzed problems in the thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) areas. Traditional schools in southern Europe are usually equipped with heating-only systems and naturally ventilated, but climate change processes are both progressively increasing average temperatures and lengthening the warm periods. In addition, air renewal is relayed in these buildings to uncontrolled infiltration and windows’ operation, but urban environmental pollution is exacerbating allergies and respiratory conditions among the youth population. In this way, this exposure has a significant effect on both the academic performance and the general health of the users. Thus, the analysis of the occupants’ noticed symptoms and their perception of the indoor environment is identified as a potential complementary tool to a more comprehensive indoor comfort assessment. The research presents an analysis based on environmental sensation votes, perception, and indoor-related symptoms described by students during lessons contrasted with physical and measured parameters and operational scenarios. This methodology is applied to 47 case studies in naturally ventilated classrooms in southern Europe. The main conclusions are related to the direct influence of windows’ operation on symptoms like tiredness, as well as the low impact of CO2 concentration variance on symptomatology because they usually exceeded recommended levels. In addition, this work found a relationship between symptoms under study with temperature values and the environmental perception votes, and the special impact of the lack of suitable ventilation and air purifier systems together with the inadequacy of current thermal systems.

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