Evaluating Building IAQ and Ventilation With Indoor Carbon Dioxide.
Evaluating Building IAQ and Ventilation With Indoor
Carbon Dioxide.
(1392 K)
Persily, A. K.
ASHRAE Transactions, Vol. 103, No. 2, 1997.
Keywords:
ventilation; carbon dioxide; generation rates; indoor
air quality
Abstract:
A number of approaches exist to evaluate building
ventilation and indoor air quality. In some situations,
the measurement and analysis of indoor carbon dioxide
concentrations can be useful for understanding indoor
air quality and ventilation. On the other hand,
oversimplified descriptions of measurement procedures
based on carbon dioxide have been presented, and there
have been many instances in which indoor carbon dioxide
concentraion measurements have been misinterpreted and
misunderstood. This paper descries various applicaitons
of carbon dioxide concentrations for evaluating building
air quality and ventilation and the factors that need to
be considered in their use. While carbon dioxide
concentrations do not provide a comprehensive indication
of indoor air quality, they can be used to indicate the
acceptability of a space in terms of human body odor.
Also, under some circumstances carbon dioxide can also
be used to estimate building air change rates and
percent outdoor air intake at an air handler. these
uses of indoor carbon dioxide concentrations, and the
situations in which their use is appropriate, are
described. In addition, the factors that must be
considered when using indoor carbon dioxide
concentrations in these ways are also described. These
factors include building and ventilation system
configuration, occupancy patterns nonoccupant carbon
dioxide sources, time and location of air sampling, and
instrumentation for concentraion measurement.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899