Indoor radon concentrations in public buildings

Indoor radon concentrations have been measured in a 13 year old two story concrete building of the University of Texas at Dallas. Variations of the radon concentration from the basement to the second floor in offices, classrooms, laboratories, storage rooms, corridors and other locations have been measured. Dependence of the above concentrations on the location and ventilation rates have been studied.

Window-opening behaviour in office buildings

In countries such as the United Kingdom that possess a temperate climate, the majority of buildings are not air-conditioned but depend upon natural ventilation and relatively simple heating systems. Openable windows are used to reduce the in

Field survey of indoor air pollution in residences with suspected combustion related sources

Thirty residences were monitored for nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, respirable suspended particles, and air exchange rate for forty-one one-week periods using integrating samplers. The residences were located in the northwest a

Modeling and measurement of pollutants inside houses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mathematical models for predicting indoor pollutant levels are being developed and compared with measured concentration in three residential dwellings - a relatively new townhouse constructed according to rigid energy-conservation guidelines,

Equipment for personal and portable air monitoring - A state-of-the-art survey and review

The Harvard School of Public Health and the Energy and Environmental Policy Centre of the Kennedy School of Government, under the auspices of the Electric Power Research Institute and the Gas Research Institute, conducted a"Workshop on Evalu

Measured and building code values of air change rates in residential buildings.

Since 1970 measurements of air change rate have been carried out in about one thousand buildings by the Swedish Institute for Building Research (SIB). In this paper we present results from these measurements. The studied buildings are of various design and have ventilation systems of different types, natural as well as mechanical. The buildings include single family houses, row houses, and multi family residential buildings, erected between 1900 and 1982. The measurements have then been carried out using tracer gas (decay) techniques to determine the rate of air exchange.

A consequence analysis of new Norwegian building regulations on air infiltration.

In 1981 Norwegian building regulations introduced quantitative requirements to air leakages in different types of buildings. The requirements were formed as maximum allowed air changes per hour at 50 Pa pressure difference according to the pressurization method. To evaluate the consequences of these new requirementsimposed to Norwegian building industry a model proposed by the Nordic Committee for Building Regulations (NKB) was used. The average air leakages of residential buildings , built before the new requirements,are known through a research project performed i n 1979.

IEA Annex IX 'Minimum Ventilation Rates' - Survey and Outlook.

Eleven countries are cooperating to establish guidelines for minimum ventilation rates which are sufficiently large to meet the demand for outdoor air in buildings without unnecessarily wasting energy. The most important pollutants have been identified as: carbon dioxide, tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, radon, moisture, body odour, organic vapours and gases, combustion products and particulates. To a certain degree some of thesesubstances can be used as indicators for acceptable air quality to establish minimum ventilation rates.

Performance of passive ventilation systems in a two-storey house.

Air change rates were measured in one two-storey detached house with five basic types of passive ventilation systems: an intake vent in the basement wall, an outdoor air supply ducted to the existing forced air heating system, an exhaust stack extending from the basement to the roof, and two combinations of the supply systems and the exhaust stack. An expression was developed for estimating house air change rate from house airtightness, neutral pressure level and indoor-outdoor air temperature difference.

Energy performance standards regarding air infiltration of buildings in Switzerland.

The Swiss performance standard for energy conservation in buildings SIA 380/1 is explained. This standard leaves air infiltration and other detail decisions to planners if minimum performance levels are met. Calculation procedures for heat balances based on a standard occupancy are described. Tools to achieve optimum space heating and ventilation rates are explained. Instrumentation for checking the thermal performance of the house in operation is defined.

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