| Title: | Effects of mechanical ventilation on indoor air quality and occupant health status in energy-efficient homes: A longitudinal field study |
| Author(s): | Lim AY; Yoon M; Kim EH; Kim HA; Lee MJ; Cheong HK; |
| Address: | "Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea. IT & Zero Energy Architecture Center, College of Architecture, Myongji University, Yongin, Republic of Korea. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hkcheong@skku.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147324 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Despite the growing interest in energy-efficient homes (EEHs), there is still a lack of evidence regarding whether the mechanical ventilation system of an EEH positively or negatively impacts indoor air quality (IAQ) and the health and wellbeing of occupants. This study aimed to evaluate the IAQ level and daily health symptoms of adults and children living in EEHs compared to conventional buildings over the course of one year. A two-way mixed analysis of variance was conducted to compare the level of IAQ between the two housing types. A binomial generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) and generalized additive mixed model was developed to investigate the association between IAQ and daily risks of symptoms. Differences in the daily prevalence of symptoms between the two housing types were assessed using a Poisson GLMM model. Overall, the indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM(10) and PM(2.5)), carbon dioxide (CO(2)), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were lower in EEH after controlling for seasonality. The indoor temperature and relative humidity level were relatively constant in the EEH. We also found that an increased level of indoor air quality parameters, particularly CO(2,) which is closely related to the indoor ventilation rate, was associated with the daily risk of eye fatigue, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis symptoms. Considering that EEH effectively reduced indoor air pollutants and IAQ improvement was associated with a reduction in the risk of individual symptoms, the IAQ improvement of EEH may have positively impacted occupants' health. Symptoms such as eye fatigue and skin dryness, which have been reported in previous studies as potential side effects of mechanical ventilation, were reported in this study; however, they were not found to be statistically significantly different from those reported in the conventional building" |
| Keywords: | "Adult *Air Pollutants/analysis *Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis Child Health Status Humans Particulate Matter/analysis Respiration, Artificial Ventilation Allergic diseases Architecture Climate change Greenhouse gas Passive house;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineLim, Ah-Young Yoon, Miryoung Kim, Eun-Hye Kim, Hyun-Ah Lee, Myoung Ju Cheong, Hae-Kwan eng Netherlands 2021/05/04 Sci Total Environ. 2021 Sep 1; 785:147324. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147324. Epub 2021 Apr 26" |
