A model for investigations of ventilation systems as sources for volatile organic compounds in indoor climate

Abstract

This study was established to test a procedure for quantification of sources for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within mechanical ventilation systems. The test house was a 16-year-old office building. Further measurements dealt with the effect of night closure of the ventilation system on the indoor air pollution with VOCs. The conclusions are that identification and quantification of sources under field conditions are possible. In the examined building the total source strength of sources related to the ventilation system seemed to be four timesbigger than all other sources including the occupants and their activity. Further, night closure in this building might have led to a 16 fold increase in the pollution level when the system was reactivated in the morning.