Exhaled Carbon Dioxide as a Physiological Source of Deterioration of Indoor Air Quality in Non-Industrial Environments: Influence of Air Temperature

Radostina A. Angelova, Detelin Markov, Rositsa Velichkova, Peter Stankov and Iskra Simova
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Radostina A. Angelova: Centre for Research and Design in Human Comfort, Energy and Environment (CERDECEN), Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridsky Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Detelin Markov: Centre for Research and Design in Human Comfort, Energy and Environment (CERDECEN), Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridsky Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Rositsa Velichkova: Centre for Research and Design in Human Comfort, Energy and Environment (CERDECEN), Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridsky Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Peter Stankov: Centre for Research and Design in Human Comfort, Energy and Environment (CERDECEN), Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridsky Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Iskra Simova: Centre for Research and Design in Human Comfort, Energy and Environment (CERDECEN), Technical University of Sofia, 8 Kliment Ohridsky Blvd, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: People are the main reason for the deterioration of indoor air quality (IAQ) due to the continuous physiological metabolism processes in their bodies, including respiration. We present results from an investigation of the influence of indoor air temperature on the concentration of exhaled carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The investigation was preconditioned by previous findings on the effect of air temperature on human metabolism. However, our literature survey showed a lack of studies on the influence of the indoor air temperature on the exhaled CO 2 (or metabolic CO 2 ), which leads to the novelty of our results. Our experiments had two phases: measurement in a university classroom with an installed heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system during regular classes and measurement in a specially designed small climate chamber, where the time variations of the CO 2 concentrations, together with some physiological parameters, were measured. Two indoor air temperatures were set: 23 °C and 27 °C. The results obtained and their respective analyses show the strong effect of the two air temperatures on the CO 2 concentration due to exhalation. In the classroom, the CO 2 concentration at 27 °C was higher by 6.2% than at 23 °C. In the climate chamber, the CO 2 concentration at 27 °C was higher by 9.6% than at 23 °C. Physiological parameters (oxygen saturation pressure, pulse rate, end-tidal CO 2 , and respiration rate) and their dependence on the air temperature were also measured in the climate chamber, establishing an effect of the temperature on the pulse rate.

Keywords: metabolic CO 2; exhaled CO 2; CO 2 accumulation due to exhalation; indoor air quality; climate chamber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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