scholarly journals Evaluation of the Relationship Between Outdoor Environment and Indoor Air Quality in Arid Condition

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz B. Alharbi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Arid Condition ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Window operation behaviour and indoor air quality during lockdown: A monitoring-based simulation-assisted study in London

2021 ◽  
pp. 014362442110177
Author(s):  
Farhang Tahmasebi ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Elizabeth Cooper ◽  
Daniel Godoy Shimizu ◽  
Samuel Stamp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Probabilistic Models ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Ventilation Strategies ◽  
The Impact

The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in new patterns of home occupancy, the implications of which for indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy use are not well-known. In this context, the present study investigates 8 flats in London to uncover if during a lockdown, (a) IAQ in the monitored flats deteriorated, (b) the patterns of window operation by occupants changed, and (c) more effective ventilation patterns could enhance IAQ without significant increases in heating energy demand. To this end, one-year’s worth of monitored data on indoor and outdoor environment along with occupant use of windows has been used to analyse the impact of lockdown on IAQ and infer probabilistic models of window operation behaviour. Moreover, using on-site CO2 data, monitored occupancy and operation of windows, the team has calibrated a thermal performance model of one of the flats to investigate the implications of alternative ventilation strategies. The results suggest that despite the extended occupancy during lockdown, occupants relied less on natural ventilation, which led to an increase of median CO2 concentration by up to 300 ppm. However, simple natural ventilation patterns or use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery proves to be very effective to maintain acceptable IAQ. Practical application: This study provides evidence on the deterioration of indoor air quality resulting from homeworking during imposed lockdowns. It also tests and recommends specific ventilation strategies to maintain acceptable indoor air quality at home despite the extended occupancy hours.

The Relationship between Venue Indoor Air Quality and Urinary Cotinine Levels among Semiopen-Air Café Employees: What Factors Determine the Level of Exposure?

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Karabela ◽  
Constantine I. Vardavas ◽  
Manolis Tzatzarakis ◽  
Aristeidis Tsatsakis ◽  
Douglas Dockery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Urinary Cotinine ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between indoor environment, outdoor environment, and behavior on indoor air quality and health

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SDAG Lab
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
The United States ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Surface Dust ◽  
Air Purifier ◽  
The Impact

We should be concerned about the impact of indoor air quality on health because in the United States, people spend most of their time indoors. While earlier studies have characterized the odds of developing illness based on the home environment, they have not investigated the behaviors that can ameliorate the negative effect of indoor, outdoor, and behavioral sources. The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate the contributions of indoor, outdoor, and behavioral sources of pollutants on health symptoms, and 2) to identify the behaviors that can worsen or mitigate the number of health symptoms. Data came from two surveys (n=83,284) and include questions on home conditions, outdoor conditions, occupants’ behaviors, and health symptoms. I used negative binomial regression and identified that demographics and outdoor characteristics explain 2% of the variability in health symptoms, and maintenance behaviors explain 8% of the variability in health symptoms. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the behaviors that can mitigate or worsen the number of health symptoms. The results show that maintenance issue such as mold result in significantly more health symptoms (β = .12, p <.001). and factors such as leaks, and frequent long shower may result in an increase in mold. Leaks may cause water stains (β = .39, p <.001) which could lead to molds (β = .47, p <.001). While frequent long shower can result in an increase in mold (β = .05, p <.001), the use of a bathroom exhaust during shower may help to reduce molds (β = -.04, p <.001). In terms of personal behaviors, the presence of carpet (β = .08, p <.001), and smoking also result in an increase in surface dust (β = .17`, p <.001) but frequent vacuuming could mitigate the impact of surface dust on health symptoms (β = -.12, p <.001). Home occupants who live near environmental hazards are also likely to use air purifier (β = .03, p <.001); however, air purifier is associated with more health symptoms (β = .05, p <.001). Based on the findings, it is recommended that home occupants engage in periodic maintenance to prevent issues such as leaks from escalating to molds, regular vacuuming to reduce the accumulation of surface dust. Regarding air purifier, it could be that participants who experienced more health symptoms were more likely to use an air purifier. However, some air purifiers are sources of ozone, therefore home occupants should err on the side of caution when it comes to air purifier (Britigan et al., 2006; Cestonaro et al., 2017).

scholarly journals Housing Risk Factors Associated with Respiratory Disease: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2815
Author(s):  
Nipuni Nilakshini Wimalasena ◽  
Alice Chang-Richards ◽  
Kevin I-Kai Wang ◽  
Kim N. Dirks
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Respiratory Disease ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Respiratory Health ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Factors Associated

Cold, damp and mouldy housing arises from the degradation of the housing stock over time due to weathering and a lack of maintenance. Living in such houses is associated with many adverse impacts on human health, especially for those with existing health issues. This paper presents a systematic review, using the PRISMA protocol, consisting of an exploratory analysis of housing-related risk factors associated with respiratory disease. The review consisted of 360 studies investigating 19 risk factors associated with respiratory conditions. Each fall into one of four categories, namely, (1) outdoor environment-related factors; (2) indoor air pollution-related factors; (3) housing non-structure-related factors; or (4) housing structure-related factors. The results show that effects of poor housing conditions on occupants’ respiratory health is a growing research field, where poor indoor air quality, mainly due to a lack of adequate ventilation, was found to be the most influential risk factor. Usage of solid fuel and living in an urban area without a pollutant-free air filtration system are the main risk factors related to inadequate ventilation. Therefore, an adequate and reliable ventilation system with air-infiltration was considered to be the main mitigation solution to improve indoor air quality. It is suggested that government organisations and health practitioners could use the identified risk factors to measure the healthiness of existing dwellings and take measures to improve existing conditions and develop regulations for new housing construction to promote the healthy home concept. Further research is needed for risk mitigation strategies to reduce the respiratory health burden attributed to housing.

scholarly journals Applying Outdoor Environment to Develop Health, Comfort, and Energy Saving in the Office in Hot-Humid Climate

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Chen ◽  
Wen-Pei Sung ◽  
Hung-Chang Chang ◽  
Yi-Rou Chi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Lower Temperature

A human life demand set to emerge in the future is the achievement of sustainability by maintaining a comfortable indoor environment without excessive reliance on energy-consuming air conditioners. The major research processes in this study are: (1) measuring indoor air quality and thermal comfort to evaluate the comfort of an indoor environment; (2) implementing questionnaire survey analysis to explore people’s environmental self-perceptions and conducting a meta-analysis of the measurement results for air quality and physical aspects; and (3) constructing an indoor monitoring and management system. The experimental and analysis results of this research reveal that most of the office occupants preferred a cooler environment with a lower temperature. Additionally, because the summers in Taiwan are humid and hot, the occupants of an indoor space tend to feel uncomfortable because of the high humidity and poor indoor air quality. Therefore, Variable Air Volume (VAV), two air intakes, and exhaust plant are installed to improve indoor environment. After improvement, a lower temperature (approximately 21.2–23.9°C) indirectly reduces humidity, thereby making the occupants comfortable. Increasing air velocity to0.1~0.15 m/s, the carbon dioxide concentrations decrease below the requirement of the WHO. Ninety-five percent of the workers corresponded to the standard comfort zone after this improvement.

Impact of residential infiltration-reducing energy conservation measures on indoor air quality and potential health effects

1996 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thad Godish
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Energy Conservation Measures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reducing Energy

Theoretical and reported impacts of infiltration-reducing energy conservation measures on indoor air quality in residential buildings are reviewed. Though it is widely held that energy conservation measures either cause or contribute to indoor air pollution and possible adverse health effects, the relationship is a relatively complex one. Potential effects of energy conservation measures depend on the nature of individual contaminants, their sources, and responses to changes in infiltration and ventilation conditions. For contaminants such as formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, and radon, infiltration-reducing energy conservation measures appear to have limited effects on contaminant levels and potential health risks. Moisture is a major concern because decreased ventilation associated with energy conservation measures may result in increased indoor water vapor levels that may provide a favorable environment for allergen-producing dust mites and mold, as well as structural damage. As with other contaminants, the relationship between energy conservation measures and indoor moisture levels is relatively complex.Key words: infiltration, ventilation, indoor air quality, energy conservation, radon, formaldehyde.

scholarly journals Analyzing the Relationship between Human Behavior and Indoor Air Quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beiyu Lin ◽  
Yibo Huangfu ◽  
Nathan Lima ◽  
Bertram Jobson ◽  
Max Kirk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
The Relationship
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