Ventilation Rates and Technologies For commercial and residential buildings, how are ventilation rates measured, what are the effects of ventilation on building occupants and what are the effects of the ventilation rate on pollutant concentrations?

Indoor VOC's Indoor air quality is important to human health because individuals spend a large fraction of their time indoors at their residences, schools and workplaces. In addition, there are numerous sources of airborne toxic pollutants in these indoor environments where outdoor air ventilation provides the only primary means to dilute pollutant concentrations. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) are one class of indoor pollutants that may cause irritation to building occupants.

Sick Building Syndrome Characteristics of buildings and indoor environments have been linked to the prevalence of acute building-related health symptoms, often called sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, experienced by building occupants. SBS symptoms, which include irritation of eyes, nose, and skin, headache, fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

Filtration for Particles and Other Pollutants Filters and other particle air cleaners are used extensively in buildings to remove particles from incoming outdoor air and from recirculated indoor air. Historically, filters were installed to reduce the accumulation of deposited particles on HVAC equipment which diminished air flow rates and impeded heat transfer. Within the last two decades, the potential benefits to health have been increasingly recognized as a primary purpose of filtration. Other potential benefits of filtration include reducing unsightly soiling of indoor surfaces and reducing the deposition and accumulation of organic matter on surfaces such as HVAC ducts where it can become odorous or provide a substrate for microbiological colonization.