Experimental and Modeled Assessment of Interventions to Reduce PM2.5 in a Residence during a Wildfire Event
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- What are the measured concentrations inside a home during a large fire event, and what is the ratio of indoor/outdoor (I/O) levels?
- How do interventions such as high-efficiency filtration and portable air cleaners impact indoor concentrations?
- How do empirical measurements of I/O ratios with indoor particle removal interventions compare to those predicted by mass balance modeling?
2. Background
3. Methods
3.1. Building Instrumentation and Pollutant Data Collection
3.1.1. Building Characteristics
3.1.2. Air Leakage, Envelope Infiltration, HVAC Operation, and Portable Air Cleaner
3.1.3. Air Quality Measurements
3.2. Mass Balance Modeling
3.3. Sensitivity and Error
4. Results
4.1. Experimental Results
4.2. Quasi-Steady-State Time Increments
4.3. Modeling Results
4.4. Model Performance
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
air changes per hour at 50 pascals | |
AQI | air quality index |
AFUE | annual fuel utilization efficiency |
CADR | clean air delivery rate |
CFA | central forced air |
cubic feet per minute at 50 pascals | |
DEQ | department of environmental quality |
EPA | environmental protection agency |
HVAC | heating, ventilation, and air conditioning |
I/O | indoor/outdoor ratio |
MAE | mean absolute error |
MERV | minimum efficiency reporting value |
PAC | portable air cleaner |
RMSE | root mean square error |
SD | standard deviation |
SEER | seasonal energy efficiency ratio |
VOCs | volatile organic compounds |
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Characteristic | Value |
---|---|
Year Built | 1928 |
Home Size () | 243 |
Volume () | 457 |
Attached Garage | No |
Stories | 2 |
Number of Occupants: Pets | 3:2 |
Blower Door Results (:) | 2355:9 |
Measurement Device | Parameters | Accuracy | Resolution | Sampling Locations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Onset HOBO UX100-011 | T, RH | C from 0 to C | 1 min | Indoor: central |
Onset HOBO U23 Pro v2 | % from 10% to 90%; | Outdoor | ||
up to % at C including hysteresis | ||||
Clarity Node | , , | 0–450 g/ for | 2 min | Indoor: central; |
Outdoor: backyard | ||||
Digi-Sense Vane Anemometer WD-20250 | HVAC airflows | Air velocity: ±(3% + 0.2 m/s); | Indoor: living and dining room registers |
HVAC | HVAC+PAC | |
---|---|---|
Central forced air system operation | Intermittent | Intermittent |
Efficiency of filter in central forced air system | Upgraded to High (MERV 13) | Upgraded to High (MERV 13) |
Continuously operating portable air cleaner? | No | Yes |
Experiment timeframe | 9/12–9/16 | 9/16–9/18 |
Parameter | Units | Values | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1/h | 0.71 * | Estimated annual infiltration rate. Calculated from blower door value | |
1/h | 0.39 [18] | Rate of particle removal by deposition on surfaces | |
P | - | 0.82 [50] | Particle penetration factor |
1/h | 4.96 ** | Recirculation air flow rate of the HVAC normalized by volume | |
D | - | 0.28 average * | Duty cycle. Experiment time series calculation discussed in Section 4.1 |
- | 0.30 | HVAC filter efficiency for . Determined from MERV rating using published methods [48,49] | |
1/h | 0.87 ** | PAC filter efficiency for multiplied by the air flow rate of the portable air cleaner normalized by volume. Determined from manufacturer CADR specifications for portable air cleaner | |
V | 456 * | Volume of the house | |
g/ | Experiment time series measurement as shown in Section 4.1. | Outside particle concentration |
Parameter | Units | Max Sensitivity [% I/O Ratio Variation] |
---|---|---|
1/h | 6.75–7.17 | |
1/h | 1.65–1.70 | |
P | - | 3.1–10 |
1/h | 2.9–3.1 | |
D | - | 2.9–3.1 |
- | 2.9–3.1 | |
1/h | 2.25–2.35 | |
V | 5.04–5.54 |
Parameter | Without Portable Air Cleaner (HVAC) [g/] | With Portable Air Cleaner (HVAC+PAC) [g/] |
---|---|---|
Outdoor Mean | 259.9 | 135.1 |
Outdoor Median | 241.4 | 134.8 |
Outdoor Range (min–max) | 138.0–483.7 | 5.4–254.9 |
Indoor Mean | 134.4 | 30.2 |
Indoor Median | 121.8 | 24.1 |
Indoor Range (min–max) | 56.53–262.93 | 10.4–72.1 |
Mean I/O Ratio | 0.55 | 0.21 |
Median I/O Ratio | 0.58 | 0.18 |
Intervention | Intermittent High-Capture Filter (MERV 13)
(HVAC) | Intermittent High-Capture Filter Plus PAC
(HVAC+PAC) |
---|---|---|
Mean measured indoor concentration (g/) | 134.9 (n = 2169) | 28.2 (n = 1706) |
Mean measured indoor/outdoor ratio | 0.55 (n = 2169) | 0.22 (n = 1706) |
Mean indoor/outdoor ratio: modeled and standard deviation | 0.48 SD 0.13 (n = 23) | 0.28 SD 0.06 (n = 16) |
HVAC | HVAC + PAC | |
---|---|---|
RMSE [g/] | 50.24 | 17.43 |
MAE [g/] | 38.89 | 13.03 |
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Antonopoulos, C.; Dillon, H.E.; Gall, E. Experimental and Modeled Assessment of Interventions to Reduce PM2.5 in a Residence during a Wildfire Event. Pollutants 2024, 4, 26-41. https://doi.org/10.3390/pollutants4010003
Antonopoulos C, Dillon HE, Gall E. Experimental and Modeled Assessment of Interventions to Reduce PM2.5 in a Residence during a Wildfire Event. Pollutants. 2024; 4(1):26-41. https://doi.org/10.3390/pollutants4010003
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonopoulos, Chrissi, H. E. Dillon, and Elliott Gall. 2024. "Experimental and Modeled Assessment of Interventions to Reduce PM2.5 in a Residence during a Wildfire Event" Pollutants 4, no. 1: 26-41. https://doi.org/10.3390/pollutants4010003
APA StyleAntonopoulos, C., Dillon, H. E., & Gall, E. (2024). Experimental and Modeled Assessment of Interventions to Reduce PM2.5 in a Residence during a Wildfire Event. Pollutants, 4(1), 26-41. https://doi.org/10.3390/pollutants4010003