How to Improve Indoor Air Quality(scientificamerican.com)
scientificamerican.com
How to Improve Indoor Air Quality
https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/how-to-improve-indoor-air-quality/
6 comments
How the f. article titled like that has 0 mentions for plants
"One way we can indirectly measure the amount of ventilation in a space is to use a carbon dioxide monitor. Humans exhale CO2 when we breathe, so levels of this gas provide a good proxy for how diluted the air is. Values below about 800 parts per million are potentially well ventilated."
If you are looking to build an open-source / open-hardware air quality monitor that uses the same sensor modules like commercial monoitors check out the AirGradient DIY monitor project that we maintain. [1]
[1] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/di...
[1] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/instructions/di...
I've had meetings in a 800 ppm CO2 air, it makes everyone drowsy. I'd set the threshold for "ok" or "good" air to 600 ppm or so. But I'm not a scientist, just a programmer. Well, actually a data scientist but no experience in biology or health care.
One effective way to improve indoor air quality is to stop using various "cleaning" sprays which contain VOCs.
As the article mentions this poses risks of getting outdoor pollutants into the homes, especially if you live in areas of high air pollution or next to a busy road.
One solution is to install a fan with a HEPA filter that takes air from the outside and pushes this into the house. This will keep CO2 levels low and also due to the higher pressure inside the house (with the clean air) it prevents the dirty air from entering. Here in Asia some people retrofit their houses with this system which is also called Positive Pressure System [1].
What the article does not touch on is that often it is also recommended to use carbon filters in combination with the HEPA filter to ensure that also hamrful gases like NOx are trapped. The disadvantage of carbon filters is that they do not last very long and are expensive.
[1] https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/blog/positive-p...