Quantifying the Potential Health Impacts of Unvented Combustion in Homes – A Meta-Analysis

While a growing body of scientific literature describes the population health impacts of fossil fuel production and burning via climate and air pollution pathways, less is known about the health impacts of indoor combustion. This paper summarizes the results of studies from the last two decades that investigated the association between exposure to sources of unvented combustion pollutants in homes and a range of health outcomes.

Clinical respiratory symptoms associated with indoor air pollution

In developed countries, allergens, gas cooking and tobacco smoking represent a majorrisk, whereas in many developing countries wood stoves and indoor fuel cooking are moreimportant.Building-related illnesses represent another problem. The effects of indoor pollution are getting worseby poor living conditions and poor ventilation.

Indoor air quality in ten homes with flueless heaters in the Leicestershire area

The aim of that study was to carry out an air quality survey of 10 homes with flueless heaters fuelled by natural gas. Procedure, instrumentation and results are presented along with a comparison of survey date with guidelines.

Prospects for hybrid ventilation in Poland

Approximatly over 90 percent of buildings in Poland are ventilated in a natural manner. Thescale of problems in the functioning of ventilation in our opinion is serious.In about 3 million apartments inhabitants use gas water heaters, burning fuel in an openchamber. Therefore in these types of apartments the use of mechanical exhaust ventilation isforbidden.Experiences in using mechanical ventilation is not always positive (frequent complaints aboutthe excessive noise of the installation and the high consumption of energy by the fans).

Integrated thermal energy storage extended to group heating applications.

Although the great majority of British dwellings are heated by individual gas systems, there are some instances, particularly in blocks of flats and retirement homes, where individual gas appliances cannot be specified. In these buildings the alternative to individual systems is a group heating scheme whereby a central boiler plant supplies hot water to each flat for heating and domestic hot water. In the past, group heating systems have not always been successful. Comparative results show that energy use of group heating systems is, on average, 50% higher than that of individual systems.

Heatsavers - heating for low-energy housing.

     

Nitrogen oxide emissions from unflued space-heaters.

Measurements of the levels of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide emitted by radiant and convective space heaters revealed that the NOx emitted by the former was mainly NO2 while convective heaters produced mostly NO. As the air became vitiated, however, the convective heaters began to produce more NO2than NO. This evidence confirms that the nature of the NOx produced by a nunflued room heater depends on the type of heater and the conditions under which it operates.

Indoor air pollution due to emissions from unvented gas-fired space heaters.

Operation of an unvented combustion appliance indoors can elevate pollutant concentrations. Under laboratory conditions, oxygen consumption rates and pollutant emission rates of CO, CO2, NO, NO2, HCHO and submicron suspended particles emitted

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