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The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature, apparent temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity
Author(s) -
Nguyen J. L.,
Schwartz J.,
Dockery D. W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/ina.12052
Subject(s) - relative humidity , environmental science , humidity , correlation coefficient , linear correlation , atmospheric sciences , positive correlation , negative correlation , meteorology , indoor air , air temperature , apparent temperature , linear relationship , geography , environmental engineering , statistics , mathematics , medicine , geology
Many studies report an association between outdoor ambient weather and health. Outdoor conditions may be a poor indicator of personal exposure because people spend most of their time indoors. Few studies have examined how indoor conditions relate to outdoor ambient weather. The average indoor temperature, apparent temperature, relative humidity ( RH ), and absolute humidity ( AH ) measured in 16 homes in Greater B oston, M assachusetts, from M ay 2011 to A pril 2012 was compared to measurements taken at B oston L ogan airport. The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures is nonlinear. At warmer outdoor temperatures, there is a strong correlation between indoor and outdoor temperature ( P earson correlation coefficient, r = 0.91, slope, β = 0.41), but at cooler temperatures, the association is weak ( r = 0.40, β = 0.04). Results were similar for outdoor apparent temperature. The relationships were linear for RH and AH . The correlation for RH was modest ( r = 0.55, β = 0.39). Absolute humidity exhibited the strongest indoor‐to‐outdoor correlation ( r = 0.96, β = 0.69). Indoor and outdoor temperatures correlate well only at warmer outdoor temperatures. Outdoor RH is a poor indicator of indoor RH , while indoor AH has a strong correlation with outdoor AH year‐round.