pollutants

Ventilation and source control (e.g. using low volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting materials) are two recommended approaches to control indoor air pollution and VOC’s in particular. Decisions on how to minimize exposure can be supported by indoor air chemistry modeling, since the relationships between VOC’s, their precursors, and building ventilation is so complex. For example, modeling could be used to examine the impact of altering building ventilation.

Various studies show a deterioration in indoor air quality after renovation and energy saving measures. NZEB dwellings are at the moment at an airtightness level, that the old slogan make buildings airtight and ventilate right is an very import solution for a good IAQ, but not without source control. 

Mechanical ventilation has become a mandatory requirement in multiple European standards addressing indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation in residential dwellings (single family houses and low-rise apartment buildings). This article presents the state of the art study through a review of the existing literature, to establish a link between ventilation rate and key indoor air pollutants. Design characteristics of a mechanical ventilation system such as supply/exhaust air flow, system and design of supply and exhaust outlets were considered.

Building sealing may affect the total air change by decreasing the leakages and question the ability for ventilation systems to reach their goal of providing an acceptable indoor air quality. Improving energy performance must not impair indoor air quality.

This paper presents some results from the Work Package 5 in the HealthVent project supported by the European Commission. One of the objectives of the project has been to review and critically evaluate the existing requirements on ventilation and IAQ defined in national building codes and European standards. The project’s focus has been set on ventilation rates, pollutants, noise, temperature and draft in dwellings, offices, schools and kindergartens. This paper presents a summary of the values given in European regulations and results of comparisons.

As a part of the development of a numerical method of close capture exhaust systems for machining devices, a test rig recreating a situation similar to a grinding operation, but in a perfectly controlled environment, was produced. The properties of the obtained spray of solid particles were initially characterized using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV), in order to obtain input and validation parameters for numerical simulations. The dispersion of a tracer gas (SF6), emitted simultaneously with the particle jet, was then studied experimentally.

It is estimated that people in the developed world spend more than 85-90% of their time indoors. Of this, most is spent in homes. To minimize health risks from pollutants occurring in homes, exposures should be controlled. The most effective way to achieve this is to control sources of pollutants and to reduce emissions. Often, especially in existing buildings, this strategy is difficult to implement, in which case exposures are controlled by providing sufficient, presumably clean, outdoor ventilation air to dilute and remove the contaminants.

Indoor and outdoor concentrations of various pollutants were measured in a naturally ventilated building in the West End of Edinburgh during and after the period of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to assess the effect upon indoor pollution levels of the closure of some streets in the city. The relationships between indoor and outdoor air qualities in respect of traffic-generated pollutants were studied and the building's relative attenuation of external pollution levels investigated.