AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Investigation of Personal and Environmental Factors Affecting Indoor Air Quality in a Green Residential Building
GEDIMINAS MAINELIS, Zuocheng Wang, Leonardo Calderon, Clinton J. Andrews, Richard Wener, Jennifer Senick, MaryAnn Sorensen-Allacci, Jin Young Shin, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 348 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Green buildings are designed to reduce energy consumption, while providing occupants with a high quality residential environment. Presently, indoor air quality (IAQ) of green buildings has been sparsely studied, with the conventional wisdom being that building design determines IAQ outcomes. We investigated IAQ of a green residential high rise building and analyzed personal, building and environmental factors affecting the IAQ. The investigated factors included smoking frequency, presence of pets and pests, cleaning products and habits, flooring type, ventilation and seasons.
IAQ baseline was determined in 17 apartments, and then the participating residents were given cleaning materials and tips and provided with natural alternatives to chemical cleaners. The IAQ measurements were then repeated twice. In each apartment, we measured the following: culturable bacterial and fungal aerosols, total fungal spores, CO$_2, CO, various fractions of airborne particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, temperature and humidity. Outdoor measurements were performed for comparison. Personal information regarding health and cleaning habits was also collected.
The data show that IAQ parameters can vary greatly in the same building depending on occupants’ habits and personal environment. Concentrations of culturable bacteria and mold varied from 20 CFU/m$^3 to approximately 3000 CFU/m$^3. Most of the CO$_2 and CO levels were below 1000 ppm and 2 ppm, respectively. PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 3 to 80 micro-grams/m$^3 and were usually higher indoors than outdoors. PM concentrations were seen to increase due to smoking and dust resuspension. The primary detected VOC compounds were chloroform, benzene, toluene, dichlorobenzene, and formaldehyde - compounds commonly found in household chemicals and products, tobacco smoke and gasoline vapors. In general, indoor/outdoor ratios of most of the pollutants increased in the wintertime due to reduced ventilation. The study is among the first to provide a large set of IAQ data in green buildings.