Journal
INDOOR AIR
Volume 25, Issue 5, Pages 523-535Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12160
Keywords
Formaldehyde; Acetaldehyde; Indoor air quality; LEED; Indoor airPLUS; VOC
Categories
Funding
- Building America Program under the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, of the US Department of Energy [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control [I-PHI-01070]
- US Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Environments Division [DW-89-92322201-0]
- California Energy Commission [500-08-061]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Measurements were taken in new US residences to assess the extent to which ventilation and source control can mitigate formaldehyde exposure. Increasing ventilation consistently lowered indoor formaldehyde concentrations. However, at a reference air exchange rate of 0.35 h(-1), increasing ventilation was up to 60% less effective than would be predicted if the emission rate were constant. This is consistent with formaldehyde emission rates decreasing as air concentrations increase, as observed in chamber studies. In contrast, measurements suggest acetaldehyde emission was independent of ventilation rate. To evaluate the effectiveness of source control, formaldehyde concentrations were measured in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified/Indoor airPLUS homes constructed with materials certified to have low emission rates of volatile organic compounds (VOC). At a reference air exchange rate of 0.35 h(-1), and adjusting for home age, temperature and relative humidity, formaldehyde concentrations in homes built with low-VOC materials were 42% lower on average than in reference new homes with conventional building materials. Without adjustment, concentrations were 27% lower in the low-VOC homes. The mean and standard deviation of formaldehyde concentration was 33 mu g/m(3) and 22 mu g/m(3) for low-VOC homes and 45 mu g/m(3) and 30 mu g/m(3) for conventional.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available