Infiltration of Outdoor PM2.5 Pollution into Homes with Evaporative Coolers in Utah County
DARRELL SONNTAG, Han Jung, Tyler Peterson, Taylor Christensen, Selah Willis, Pablo Harline, Paula Chanthakhoun, Alisandra Olivares, Jim Johnston,
Brigham Young University Abstract Number: 759
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
AbstractEvaporative “swamp” coolers are an energy-efficient form of air conditioning used in some homes in arid and semi-arid climates, including Utah. Compared to homes with central air conditioning, evaporative coolers introduce large volumes of outdoor air into the home. This may be beneficial for reducing indoor exposure to indoor sources of pollution but is a health concern when outdoor concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are elevated, such as during wildfires.
In the summer of 2022 and 2023, we conducted a study measuring indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations from 28 non-smoker homes in Utah County during the summer months, including several days with wildfire smoke. The participants agreed to minimize sources of indoor air pollution by agreeing not to cook, vacuum, use candles, incense or humidifiers. We measured minute-by-minute PM2.5 concentrations using TSI SidePak light-scattering photometers and daily average PM2.5 concentrations using Personal Environmental Monitors (SKC Ltd) with Teflon filters. We targeted collection from 14 homes with evaporative coolers, and 14 homes with central air conditioning. Our initial results from the summer of 2022 suggest that homes with evaporative coolers experience higher infiltration of outdoor PM2.5 pollution than homes with central air conditioning. At this conference we intend to present the results from our completed study.