Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Effectiveness of a Mechanical Ventilation System for Indoor PM2.5 in Residential Houses

Dongho Shin
,
Younghun Kim
ORCID logo ,
Kee-Jung Hong
,
Gunhee Lee
,
Inyong Park
,
Hak-Joon Kim
ORCID logo ,
Sangwoo Kim
,
Cheong-Ha Hwang
,
Kwang-Chul Noh
,
Bangwoo Han
*
Version 1 : Received: 18 September 2023 / Approved: 25 September 2023 / Online: 26 September 2023 (02:10:27 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Shin, D.; Kim, Y.; Hong, K.-J.; Lee, G.; Park, I.; Kim, H.-J.; Kim, S.; Hwang, C.-H.; Noh, K.-C.; Han, B. The Effectiveness of a Mechanical Ventilation System for Indoor PM2.5 in Residential Houses. Toxics 2023, 11, 912, doi:10.3390/toxics11110912. Shin, D.; Kim, Y.; Hong, K.-J.; Lee, G.; Park, I.; Kim, H.-J.; Kim, S.; Hwang, C.-H.; Noh, K.-C.; Han, B. The Effectiveness of a Mechanical Ventilation System for Indoor PM2.5 in Residential Houses. Toxics 2023, 11, 912, doi:10.3390/toxics11110912.

Abstract

Mechanical ventilation systems used in houses are designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while minimizing the energy loss resulting from ventilation. However, increase in indoor fine particulate (PM2.5) concentration because of external PM2.5, influx through the ventilation system poses a problem. In this study, we analyzed the changes in indoor PM2.5 concentrations via dis-tinguishing between cases of high and low outdoor PM2.5 concentrations, considering the effi-ciency of filters used in residential mechanical ventilation systems. When using minimum effi-ciency reporting value (MERV) 10 filters in the ventilation system, the outdoor PM2.5 concentra-tion was 5 μg/m³; the indoor PM2.5 concentration became 73% after 60 min compared to the ini-tial. When the outdoor PM2.5 concentration was 30–40 μg/m³, the indoor PM2.5 concentration reached 91%. However, when MERV 13 filters were used, the indoor PM2.5 concentration con-sistently dropped to 73–76% regardless of the outdoor PM2.5 concentration. Furthermore, by comparing the established equation with the mass-balance model, the error was confirmed to be within 5%, indicating good fit. This allows the prediction of indoor PM2.5 under various condi-tions when using mechanical ventilation systems, enabling the formulation of strategies to maintain indoor PM2.5 as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Keywords

Mechanical ventilation; CADR; PM2.5; MERV; Residential house

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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