Open AccessClimate and occupancy based investigation of air pollutants in office spaces
Author(s) -
Farzad Hashemi,
Ulrike Passe
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/609/4/042052
Subject(s) - pollutant , environmental science , particulates , indoor air quality , air quality index , air pollutants , occupancy , climate zones , office workers , environmental engineering , meteorology , air pollution , geography , physical geography , architectural engineering , engineering , operations management , ecology , chemistry , organic chemistry , biology
Indoor air quality (IAQ) has long been a matter of public concern as many people are spending a large portion of their time indoors. The concentration of some pollutant in offices and other work places can often be 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. This study investigates the relationship between office space available per employee and outside weather condition with indoor pollutants level at 25 office locations of a large international architecture and design firm. Air pollutants measured in this study included carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They have been monitored for a three-month period from December 1 st , 2017 to February 28 th , 2018 in 23 offices located in the U.S., one office in China, and one office in Dubai. The first phase of this study analyzed the hourly average levels of mentioned pollutants at these offices during working and non-working hours. Then those levels were correlated to the number of employees at all of the locations. The second phase observed the difference in CO 2 level, as the most important indoor air pollutant, related to outside weather condition (temperature and humidity) at three locations in the U.S. The initial result of phase one proved the linear relationship between the number of employees and CO 2 levels in office buildings. It concluded, that the low area per employee rate will cause the high CO 2 concentrations. Moreover, a comparison between indoor CO 2 level and outside weather conditions (temperature and humidity) in the second phase at three office shows that CO 2 level are affected directly by outdoor conditions during working hours. Based on the building climate zone, when temperature and humidity are far from the comfort zone and mechanical ventilation system are operated, CO 2 concentration could variously change during working hours.