Infiltration of Outdoor PM 2.5 Pollution into Homes with Evaporative Coolers in Utah County

Darrell B. Sonntag, Hanyong Jung, Royce P. Harline, Tyler C. Peterson, Selah E. Willis, Taylor R. Christensen and James D. Johnston ()
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Darrell B. Sonntag: Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Hanyong Jung: Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Royce P. Harline: Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Tyler C. Peterson: Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Selah E. Willis: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
Taylor R. Christensen: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
James D. Johnston: Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Global use of energy-inefficient mechanical vapor-compression air conditioning (AC) is increasing dramatically for home cooling. Direct evaporative coolers (EC) offer substantial energy savings, and may provide a sustainable alternative to AC for homes in hot, dry climates. One drawback of ECs is the potential for infiltration of outdoor air pollution into homes. Prior studies on this topic are limited by small sample sizes and a lack of comparison homes. In this study, we used aerosol photometers to sample indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) from 16 homes with AC and 14 homes with EC in Utah County, Utah (USA) between July 2022 and August 2023. We observed a significantly larger infiltration factor (F in ) of outdoor PM 2.5 in EC vs. AC homes (0.39 vs. 0.12, p = 0.026) during summer. F in significantly increased during a wildfire smoke event that occurred during the study. During the wildfire event, EC homes offered little to no protection from outdoor PM 2.5 (F in = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85, 1.07), while AC homes offered significant protection (F in = 0.23, 95% CI 0.15, 0.32). We recommend additional research focused on cooling pad design for the dual benefits of cooling efficiency and particle filtration.

Keywords: evaporative cooler; fine particulate matter; PM 2.5; indoor environmental quality; air conditioning; air pollution; air quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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