VOC emission rates in newly built and renovated buildings, and the influence of ventilation – a review and meta-analysis

Holøs, Sverre Bjørn; Yang, Aileen; Lind, Merethe; Thunshelle, Kari; Schild, Peter; Mysen, Mads

doi:10.1080/14733315.2018.1435026

Cited by 40 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Reducing the volatile compounds in Several studies have focused on the IAQ of newly built buildings and its change over time (Seifert 1992;Wolkoff 1999;Scholz and Santl 1999;Bornehag and Stridh 2000;Rehwagen et al 2003;Raw et al 2004;Järnström et al 2006). These studies indicate that the concentrations of VOCs in the indoor air of newly built buildings are much higher than the guideline values specified by each country, and Holøs et al (2019) indicated that the off-gassing phase would last at least 2 years. However, Tuomainen et al (2001) showed that VOC concentrations in new houses constructed using low-emitting materials could be reduced by ventilating the houses for 1 week, and Noguchi et al (2016) also concluded that operating the ventilation system for 3 months would effectively reduce VOCs in newly constructed buildings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the concentration of volatile organic compounds and aldehydes in newly constructed houses over time

Suzuki

Nakaoka

Nakayama

et al. 2019

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nowadays, people spend most of their time indoors; thus, the indoor environment greatly affects human health because of exposure to chemicals indoors. Thus, in collaboration with Japanese house builders, a list of building materials having low volatile organic compound concentrations was compiled herein. The air-quality samples from seven newly built houses (seven bedrooms and seven living rooms) were collected and tested for 64 volatile organic compounds and two aldehydes. Air samples were obtained from the house with no furniture or household goods and were sampled 1 week after construction and repeated after a month. Furthermore, the test results with a 2009 survey of indoor air quality in newly constructed houses were compared. One week after construction, the xylene, styrene, toluene, formaldehyde, and ethylbenzene concentrations were less than half the standard guideline values set in Japan. The main substances detected in the samples were 2-butanone, acetone, ethanol, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, and undecane. The statistical significance of the changes in substance concentrations over time was examined via Wilcoxon signed-rank test. One month after construction, the concentrations of all chemical substances had undergone a statistically significant reduction, except butyl acetate. The median of total volatile organic compounds in living rooms was 291 µg/m 3 , and the maximum was 354 µg/m 3 ; both were under Japan's provisional total volatile organic compound target of 400 µg/m 3 . These values were significantly lower than those recorded by other researchers. This study concludes that using experimentally identified low volatile organic compound materials effectively improves the indoor air quality.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the concentration of volatile organic compounds and aldehydes in newly constructed houses over time

Suzuki

Nakaoka

Nakayama

et al. 2019

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While our recommendations are focused on combustion-related air pollution, ventilation may also serve to decrease the impact of chemicals in the home (e.g. from cleaning products and off-gassing from carpets and furniture), although a recent review suggests that indoor volatile organic compounds are attenuated more by time than by ventilation [149].…”

Section: Improved Ventilationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal strategies to minimise effects of air pollution on respiratory health: advice for providers, patients and the public

Salvi²,

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As global awareness of air pollution rises, so does the imperative to provide evidence-based recommendations for strategies to mitigate its impact. While public policy has a central role in reducing air pollution, exposure can also be reduced by personal choices. Qualified evidence supports limiting physical exertion outdoors on high air pollution days and near air pollution sources, reducing near-roadway exposure while commuting, utilising air quality alert systems to plan activities, and wearing facemasks in prescribed circumstances. Other strategies include avoiding cooking with solid fuels, ventilating and isolating cooking areas, and using portable air cleaners fitted with high-efficiency particulate air filters. We detail recommendations to assist providers and public health officials when advising patients and the public regarding personal-level strategies to mitigate risk imposed by air pollution, while recognising that well-designed prospective studies are urgently needed to better establish and validate interventions that benefit respiratory health in this context.

show abstract

“…During non-occupied periods, the levels remained relatively low (<300 µg/m 3 ). This could be because both dwellings are more than five years, and tVOC off-gassing is usually higher in new (<2 years) materials [67]. Monthly tVOC levels and statistical analyses can be found in Supplementary Table S3.…”

Section: Total Volatile Organic Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor Air Quality Assessment of Latin America’s First Passivhaus Home

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sustainable building design, such as the Passivhaus standard, seeks to minimise energy consumption, while improving indoor environmental comfort. Very few studies have studied the indoor air quality (IAQ) in Passivhaus homes outside of Europe. This paper presents the indoor particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon dioxide (CO2), and total volatile organic compounds (tVOC) measurements of the first residential Passivhaus in Latin America. It compares them to a standard home in Mexico City. Low-cost monitors were installed in the bedroom, living room, and kitchen spaces of both homes, to collect data at five-minute intervals for one year. The physical measurements from each home were also compared to the occupants’ IAQ perceptions. The measurements demonstrated that the Passivhaus CO2 and tVOC annual average levels were 143.8 ppm and 81.47 μg/m3 lower than the standard home. The PM2.5 in the Passivhaus was 11.13 μg/m3 lower than the standard home and 5.75 μg/m3 lower than outdoors. While the results presented here cannot be generalised, the results suggest that Passivhaus dwellings can provide better and healthier indoor air quality in Latin America. Further, large-scale studies should look at the indoor environmental conditions, energy performance, and dwelling design of Passivhaus dwellings in Latin America.

show abstract

VOC emission rates in newly built and renovated buildings, and the influence of ventilation – a review and meta-analysis

Abstract: View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 5 View citing articles VOC emission rates in newly built and renovated buildings, and the influence of ventilationa review and meta-analysis

Cited by 40 publications

References 28 publications

Changes in the concentration of volatile organic compounds and aldehydes in newly constructed houses over time

Changes in the concentration of volatile organic compounds and aldehydes in newly constructed houses over time

Personal strategies to minimise effects of air pollution on respiratory health: advice for providers, patients and the public

Indoor Air Quality Assessment of Latin America’s First Passivhaus Home

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About