Abstract

The indoor air quality (IAQ) of five low-energy London apartments has been assessed through the measurement of 16 key pollutants, using continuous and diffusive methods across heating and non-heating seasons. This case study approach aimed to assess the presence of pollutants within low-energy apartments and to better understand the role of ventilation and seasonal variations in indoor air quality. The results indicate strong seasonal variations, driven by increased natural ventilation rates over the summer monitoring period. A combined metric for indoor and outdoor pollutants ( Itot) suggests that the IAQ in the winter ( Itot = 17.7) is more than twice as bad as that seen in the summer ( Itot = 8.6). Formaldehyde concentrations were lower in the non-heating season, indicating increased ventilation rates more than offset increased off-gassing, in contrast to findings in other studies. However, increased summertime ventilation rates were observed to increase the proportion of outdoor pollutants entering the internal environment. This resulted in higher indoor concentrations of NO2 in the summer than the winter, despite significant reductions in outdoor concentrations. These results demonstrate the impact of ventilation practices upon IAQ, the influence of occupant actions and the complex relationship ventilation rates play in balancing indoor and outdoor sources of air pollution.

Highlights

  • Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) within people’s homes remains a key challenge, not just because of the potential levels of exposure and significant proportion of time spent at home, but because indoor air is comprised of a complex mix of both indoor and outdoor sources of pollutants

  • Of the 16 measured pollutants, the majority of measurements were recorded below best practice guideline exposure limit values (ELVs)

  • As a result, mean formaldehyde concentrations halved from 22.8mg/m3 in the winter to 10.8 mg/m3 in summer

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Summary

Introduction

Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) within people’s homes remains a key challenge, not just because of the potential levels of exposure and significant proportion of time spent at home, but because indoor air is comprised of a complex mix of both indoor and outdoor sources of pollutants. This means a building, and the building services in place, should act to dilute, disperse and remove indoor pollutants whilst limiting the ingress of outdoor pollutants into the internal environment. Differences have been observed between apartments and houses,[6] ventilation systems,[8,9,10,11] ventilation rates,[1,6,12,13,14] or dwellings with gas cookers,[3] renovations,[15] smokers or even the additional emissions associated with the storage of paints and cleaning materials within attached garages.[1]

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