Carbon dioxide generation rates for children and adolescents

Abstract

The indoor CO2 concentration in elementary and middle school classrooms is primarily influenced by the CO2 generation rate of the occupants, the outdoor air ventilation rate, and the CO2 concentration in outdoor air. While there have been numerous studies on the CO2 generation rate of adults under different activities, there are limited studies on the CO2 generation rate of children and adolescents during typical activities. It is difficult to obtain data on CO2 generation rates for children and adolescents directly from relevant standards or literature through searching. This paper synthesized CO2 generation rates using indirect calorimetry data in the literature from more than 900 children and adolescents aged 5–18 years under light to vigorous 13 activities, and summarized them into a table so that researchers or designers can easily obtain them. The results show that, as expected, CO2 generation rates increase with activity levels, and age has a highly significant effect on CO2 generation rates in children and adolescents, while gender differences manifest only after age 15. Compared to adults, children aged 5–12 years have significantly lower CO2 generation rates. The findings supplement the missing data on the CO2 generation rate of children and adolescents in the ventilation standard, and also provide basic parameters for the use of CO2 as a tracer gas to quantify the ventilation rates of buildings and spaces in primary and secondary schools classrooms.