Field measurement of the impact of natural ventilation and portable air cleaners on indoor air quality in three occupant states

Natural ventilation(NV)has been considered a simple and effective method of ventilation.However,the intro-duction of NV does not achieve better indoor air quality(IAQ)when the outdoor atmospheric environment is polluted.Therefore,portable air cleaners(PACs)are increasing in use in recent years,but their effectiveness is highly dependent on the residents’habits.A typical residence in Xi’an,China was selected to examine the effects of the use of NV alone and the use of NV and PACs together on IAQ in the three occupant states,i.e.,unoc-cupied,sleeping and leisure.Parameters,such as temperature,relative humidity,CO_(2),and PM_(2.5)concentration were measured when changing the window opening and the position of the PAC.The results showed that in the unoccupied state,opening the inner door can promote a more uniform thermal and humid environment.In the sleeping state,the I/O ratio of the PM_(2.5)concentration was the lowest when the window opening of the bedroom was 1/2 or 3/4,with a mean value of 0.3.In the leisure state,only using NV,when the purification rate reaches 90%,the mean purification time of each window opening in the living room is 87.5 min.The mean purification time was reduced to 25 min when both NV and PAC were used.The on-site purification efficiencies were 91.0%and 94.5%,when the window opening was 1/2(i.e.,the PAC was placed in the center of the room)and 3/4(i.e.,the PAC was placed away from the outer window),respectively.

Experimental characterization of the removal efficiency and energy effectiveness of central air cleaners

This study assessed six commercially available in-duct air cleaning devices which are designed to be mounted in the central ventilation system of offices or commercial buildings.The selected devices use different air cleaning technologies:mechanical filtration,electrostatic precipitation,gas filtration,ionization/cold plasma,photocatalytic oxidation(PCO)and catalysis under UV light.They were tested against particles,a mixture of volatile organic compounds containing acetone,acetaldehyde,toluene,heptane and formaldehyde,and two bio-contaminants:Aspergillus brasiliensis(fungus)and Staphylococcus epidermidis(bacteria).Two different test rigs were used.The single pass efficiency of each device was determined for three airflow rates,corresponding to face velocities ranging from 0.9 to 2.7 m/s,and two sets of temperature and humidity that are representative of indoor air conditions in wintertime and summertime.The concentration of the chal-lenge volatile organic compounds was also varied in the 30 to 100μg/m^(3)range as a way to characterize their influence on efficiency at realistic concentration levels for non-industrial buildings.Measurements of ozone and formaldehyde concentration downstream of the air cleaners were carried out to determine the emission rate of by-products into the air stream.Finally,the energy issue was addressed by measuring the electric power drawn and pressure loss of the devices.The results showed that two devices,namely a radiant catalytic ionizer and a plasma ionizer,had a very low single pass efficiency against all the challenge pollutants.The association of the plasma ionizer and the electrostatic precipitator did not produce a synergetic effect between the two technologies either,contrary to what their manufacturer claims.Finally,three of the six devices tested were effective in terms of pollutant removal,but only two had an acceptable energy effectiveness in view of their use in low or zero energy buildings.Their energy effectiveness ranged from a few thousand m^(3)/kWh for VOCs at the highest airflow rate(3600 m^(3)/h),to more than 60000 m^(3)/kWh for particles and bio-contaminants at 1200 or 1600 m^(3)/h.These results are at least one order of magnitude higher than the majority of stand-alone air cleaners.Moreover,they suggest that optimal IAQ and energy conditions can be achieved if variable air volume control methods are used to maintain indoor temperature and humidity.

Experimental and numerical analysis of an air cleaner's acoustic performance

To improve acoustic performance of an air cleaner system,both experimental and theoretical studies were carried out.The air cleaner＇s acoustic numerical model was built by finite element methods（FEM）.Acoustic parameters of filter paper imported in the FEM model were calculated according to experiential formulas.Based on the models,the cleaner＇s acoustic character of transmission loss（TL） was computed.To verify the numerical results,TL results of the real air cleaner with or without filter paper were tested by four-microphone transferring function method.The experimental results show that the filter paper influence acoustic performance of the air cleaner significantly,especially in mid and high frequency band,and should be considered in numerical simulation.Comparisons between experimental and numerical results show that the numerical model is accurate enough to be used in multi-scheme acoustic optimization.Based on our study,TL results of two schemes were calculated and analyzed,which is useful to the air cleaner＇s final design decision.

Multi-objective optimization of mechanical ventilation with the aid of purifiers in two scenarios:Regular operation and mitigating the spread of respiratory infectious diseases

COVID-19 and its impact on society have raised concerns about scaling up mechanical ventilation(MV)systems and the energy consequences.This paper attempted to combine MV and portable air cleaners(PACs)to achieve acceptable indoor air quality(IAQ)and energy reduction in two scenarios:regular operation and mitigating the spread of respiratory infectious diseases(RIDs).We proposed a multi-objective optimization method that combined the NSGA-II and TOPSIS techniques to determine the total equivalent ventilation rate of the MV-PAC system in both scenarios.The concentrations of PM_(2.5) and CO_(2) were primary indicators for IAQ.The modified Wells-Riley equation was adopted to predict RID transmissions.An open office with an MV-PAC system was used to demonstrate the method’s applicability.Meanwhile,a field study was conducted to validate the method and evaluate occupants’perceptions of the MV-PAC system.Results showed that optimal solutions of the combined system can be obtained based on various IAQ requirements,seasons,outdoor conditions,etc.For regular operation,PACs were generally prioritized to maintain IAQ while reducing energy consumption even when outdoor PM_(2.5) concentration was high.MV can remain constant or be reduced at low occupancies.In RID scenarios,it is possible to mitigate transmissions when the quanta were<48 h^(−1).No significant difference was found in the subjective perception of the MV and PACs.Moreover,the effects of infiltration on the optimal solution can be substantial.Nonetheless,our results suggested that an MV-PAC system can replace the MV system for offices for daily use and RID mitigation.

Characterization of time-and size-dependent particle emissions and decay from cooking oil fumes in residence:Impacts of various intervention measures

The dynamic characteristics of cooking-related particle size distributions in real-world settings are not fully understood.Through a real-world campaign in a naturally-ventilated apartment in the northwest US,this study investigates the temporal profiles of size-resolved particle number concentrations(PNCs)ranging from 0.3 to 10µm from frying cooking activities.The cooking scenarios included various combinations of window ventilation,venting range hood(VRH)use,and portable air cleaner(PAC)utilization.Following a standardized pan-frying protocol throughout seven scenarios,real-time PNCs of 16-size bins were measured in the kitchen.The PNCs were empirically compared among size bins,periods,and scenarios.The most abundant size ranges of cooking-related particles were 0.3–0.579µm in number(45%–71%of the total)and 2.685–5.182µm in mass(48%–57%of the total).Compared with the scenario without any cooking-fume mitigating measures,keeping the kitchen windows open reduced the mean PNCs during and within 1-h after cooking for PM_(0.3-2.5),PM_(2.5-10),and PM_(0.3-10)by 78%,92%,and 79%,respectively.By contrast,utilizing a VRH during cooking reduced the corresponding levels by 21%,69%,and 25%,respectively.Combined with running the VRH,using a PAC in the kitchen led to additional reductions of 84%,88%,and 84%,respectively.Additionally,the removal efficiencies of the three strategies generally increased with particle sizes.