Measuring the Air Quality Using Low-Cost Air Sensors in a Parking Garage at University of Minnesota, USA

Andres Gonzalez (), Adam Boies, Jacob Swanson and David Kittelson
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Andres Gonzalez: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Adam Boies: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
Jacob Swanson: Department of Integrated Engineering, Minnesota State University, Mankato, MN 56001, USA
David Kittelson: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: The concentration of air pollutants in underground parking garages has been found to be higher compared to ambient air. Vehicle emissions from cold starts are the main sources of air pollution in underground parking garages. Eight days of measurements, using low-cost air sensors, were conducted at one underground parking garage at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The CO, NO, NO 2 , and PM2.5 daily average concentrations in the parking garage were measured to be higher, by up to more than an order of magnitude, compared to the ambient concentration. There is positive correlation between exit traffic flow and the air concentrations in the parking garage for lung deposited surface area (LDSA), CO 2 , NO, and CO. Fuel specific emission factors were calculated for CO, NO, and NOx. Ranging from 25 to 28 g/kg fuel for CO, from 1.3 to 1.7 g/kg fuel for NO, and from 2.1 to 2.7 g/kg fuel for NOx. Regulated emissions were also calculated for CO and NOx with values of 2.4 to 2.9 and 0.19 to 0.25 g/mile, respectively. These emissions are about 50% higher than the 2017 U.S. emission standards for CO and nearly an order magnitude higher for NOx.

Keywords: underground parking garage; low-cost sensors; air pollution; air pollutants; particles; gases; fuel emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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