Recommended Citation
August 1, 2011.
Abstract
Airtight construction of energy efficient homes increasingly limits the indoor and outdoor air exchange. Consequently, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and Formaldehyde can accumulate to toxic levels. Formaldehyde is an eye and respiratory irritant suspected as one of the inducing agents of asthma. Exposure to Formaldehyde has been linked to nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia. This study evaluated the effects of increasing ventilation rates through Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) in a new home. The study objective is to determine the effects of increasing ventilation rates on the concentrations of Formaldehyde and the associated emission rates. The results indicate that increasing ventilation rates effectively reduced Formaldehyde concentrations. However, increasing ventilation rates elevated the whole-house emission rates, which suggests more Formaldehyde was brought out from materials. This effect is expected to decline in the long term.
Disciplines
Environmental Health and Protection | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring
Mentor
Henry Willem
Lab site
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Funding Acknowledgement
This material is based upon work supported by the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0952013. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation or the National Science Foundation.
Included in
Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/star/56