AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Investigation of the Correlation between Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Parameters and Spatial Thermal Imaging in Two Multi-Apartment Residential Buildings in Northeastern US
LEONARDO CALDERÓN, Nirmala Thomas, Mengyang Guo, Brian Pavilonis, Prarthana Raja, MaryAnn Sorensen-Allacci, Deborah Plotnik, Jie Gong, Clinton J. Andrews, Gediminas Mainelis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Abstract Number: 472 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Concerns about health when living in urbanized environments with high population density have encouraged researchers to study and understand the interior workings of buildings. This study investigated two multi-apartment residential buildings in the Northeastern US owned and operated by a non-profit organization.
The efficacy of integrated laser scanning and thermal imaging to determine housing-related health and safety hazards as well as its relationship with IAQ parameters was compared with traditional building assessment strategies.
In each building as well outdoors, viable bacterial and fungal aerosols, total fungal spores, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, PM$_(2.5), ultrafine airborne particles, endotoxins, allergens, air velocity at return vents, temperature and humidity were measured. Terrestrial laser scanning in conjunction with infrared thermography were used to examine potential deficiencies in building structure, insulation and moisture on surfaces. Interviews helped to understand the residents’ behavior and find out their concerns about housing conditions.
The bioaerosol concentrations in the apartments were below 1,000 CFU/m$^3; total fungi from 65 to ~2,500 count/m$^3. CO$_2 and CO levels were generally less than 1,500 ppm and 1 ppm, respectively. 24 hour gravimetric measurements of PM$_(2.5) concentrations were below 100 micro-gram/m$^3, while one hour total PM mass concentrations ranged from 11 to 687 micro-gram/m$^3. Formaldehyde results varied from non-detected to 115 ppb. Endotoxins up to 2,300,000 EU/g and mouse and cockroach allergens were detected. These data were then correlated with building defects identified in laser scan and infrared data for each apartment and entire buildings.
Although the comparison between the two used methods are based on a small sample size, it shows that there is a correlation between the measured IAQ and observations of moisture, heat, and outside air infiltration signatures by spatial and thermal imaging. It was also apparent, that residents’ behavior is one of the main factors contributing to IAQ variability.