Assessment of Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings of New England through Actual Data

Fernando del Ama Gonzalo, Matthew Griffin, Jacob Laskosky, Peter Yost and Roberto Alonso González-Lezcano
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Fernando del Ama Gonzalo: Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture, Keene State College, University System of New Hampshire, Keene, NH 03435, USA
Matthew Griffin: Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture, Keene State College, University System of New Hampshire, Keene, NH 03435, USA
Jacob Laskosky: Department of Sustainable Product Design and Architecture, Keene State College, University System of New Hampshire, Keene, NH 03435, USA
Peter Yost: Building-Wright, Brattleboro, VT 05301, USA
Roberto Alonso González-Lezcano: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Montepríncipe Campus, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, 28668 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Several studies on indoor air quality (IAQ) and sick building syndromes have been completed over the last decade, especially in cold countries. Efforts to make homes airtight to improve energy efficiency have created buildings with low ventilation rates, resulting in the build-up of indoor pollutants to harmful levels that would be otherwise unacceptable outdoors. This paper analyzed the infiltration rates, indoor temperatures, and variations in CO 2 , 2.5 μm particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations over the fall of 2021 in several homes in New England, USA. A relationship between outdoor and indoor conditions and ventilation strategies has been set using the results from blower door tests and actual indoor air quality data. Although all case studies lacked mechanical ventilation devices, such as those required by ASHRAE Standard 62.2, natural ventilation and air leakage have been enough to keep VOCs and PM 2.5 concentration levels at acceptable values most of the studied time. However, results revealed that 25% of a specific timeframe, the occupants have been exposed to concentration levels of CO 2 above 1000 parts per million (ppm), which are considered potentially hazardous conditions.

Keywords: indoor air quality; air tightness; residential buildings; environmental quality conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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