An intervention study of PM2.5 concentrations measured in domestic kitchens

Exposures to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter with diameter ≤2.5µm (PM2.5) are linked to multiple acute and chronic health effects, including increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. As people spend up to 70% in their own homes, exposures to pollutants indoors could have a greater impact on health than exposure outdoors. Cooking is a primary emission source of PM2.5 in dwellings, and is of interest as it is an activity conducted several times a day in most households.

A stochastic approach to predict the relationship between dwelling permeability and infiltration in English appartments

Reducing adventitious infiltration in order to save energy is important and is highlighted by the building standards of many countries.  This operational infiltration is often inferred via the measurement of the air leakage rate at a pressure differential of 50 Pascals.  Some building codes, such as the UK’s Standard Assessment Procedure, assume a simple relationship between the air leakage rate and mean infiltration rate during the heating season, the so-called leakage-infiltration ratio, which is scaled to account for the physical and environmental properties of a dwelling.  The scaling d

Effect of Party Wall Permeability on Estimations of Infiltration from Air Leakage

The importance of reducing adventitious infiltration in order to save energy is highlighted by the relevant building standards of many countries.  This operational infiltration is often inferred via the measurement of the air leakage rate at a pressure differential of 50 Pascals.  Some building codes, such as the UK’s Standard Assessment Procedure, assume a simple relationship between the air leakage rate and mean infiltration rate during the heating season, the so-called leakage-infiltration ratio, which is scaled to account for the physical and environmental properties of a dwelling.  The

A Pilot Study on the Indoor Thermal Comfort of the "Wind-Rain" House

The ‘Wind-Rain’ House, was designed by the New Zealand architect, Nigel Cook. First built in New Zealand in 1985 its design concept for indoor thermal comfort is quite different from local conventional houses. This building has a courtyard with a glazed roof, which allows more direct sunlight to come into the building. The glazed roof can be partially opened or closed and is automatically controlled to provide natural ventilation for indoor thermal comfort. The glazed roof can also protect the courtyard space beneath against wind and rain.

Energy Efficiency Design for a House with Temporary Heating and Winter Daytime Cross Ventilation

According to the local climate in Auckland, New Zealand, a house does not normally need any active cooling controls such as air conditioning or ceiling fans during the summer. Temporary heating is mainly needed during the winter night. In addition, winter daytime window ventilation is required to remove moisture arising from daily occupant activities. A previous study (Su, 2008) showed that additional winter energy consumption is needed for space heating, for hot water heating and for other appliances that are impacted by the winter conditions.

Effect of central fans and in-duct filters on deposition rates of ulrafine and fine particles in an occupied townhouse

The deposition rates of particles in a town-house with a forced air circulation and in-duct filters have been calculated for that study. It appears that the use of central forced-air fan along with in-duct filters allows the reduction of particle concentration. And it is more effective than reducing ventilation by closing windows or making homes more insulated.

Thermal comfort for naturally ventilated houses in Indonesia

This paper presents an extensive field survey conducted in residential naturally ventilated buildings in Indonesia. The data gathered has been analyzed and revealed that the Predicted Mean Vote equation predicted a warmer thermal perception compared to what people really felt. Under hot and humid tropical climate, people in free-running buildings had a preference for cooler environment and for higher wind speed.

Exposure to the mixtures of organic compounds in homes in Japan

This paper describes characteristics of statistical distributions for concentrations of 17 VOCs and 11 aldehydes in homes in Japan. First a probability model was applied to the occupant's simultaneous exposure to the mixtures in homes, then joint probability distributions of 28 organic compounds were generated from the best-fitted distributions of individual compounds.

Application of a simple method for detecting and quantifying VOC sources

The sick house syndrome has become a serious problem in Japan recently. It is important tospecify and quantify the source of chemical pollution. In this study, passive samplers for concentration of chemical substances in the air, ADSEC for emission rate of chemical substances from building materials and PFT method for ventilation rate in a room were developed. These passive methods enable investigation of many houses at a time. Indoor air quality of a newly built house was measured by these passive methods in summer and winter.

A pilot study using scripted ventilation conditions to identify key factors affecting indoor pollutant concentratiion and air exchange rate in a residence

This paper describes a pilot study conducted in an occupied family house in Ohio to determine if a script-based protocol could be used to obtain data useful for the identification of the key factors affecting air-exchange rate (AER) and the relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations of selected traffic-related air pollutants.

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