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General considerations
General considerations
The design of indoor air measurements depends on the final objective (e.g. IAQ assessment, source identification, health risk assessment, routine monitoring (perhaps around compliance) versus innovative research etc.). The key considerations are:
Type and number of pollutants to be investigated (depends on sources, activities, cost etc.)
Monitoring approach: personal sampling is most suitable for exposure assessment; mobile monitoring units/fixed sampling is most suitable for routine IAQ assessment and research.
Are outdoor instruments free of artefacts if used indoors?
Consider intercomparison exercises including in chambers.
Type of methods/instruments to be used (discussed in detail in our WG4 reports).
Sampling time (depends on individual pollutants and influence of indoor dynamics).
Temporal resolution depends on pollutant lifetimes and whether interested in acute, subacute or chronic health effects.
Monitoring timescale should be defined as part of the scientific question. Different decision if have half a day versus a year to investigate (e.g. in situ versus passive).
Sampling density (representativeness) and location of sampling points (consider CFD modelling to identify pollutant hotspots before you measure).
Costs of sampling campaigns and the degree of interference with room layout and usual daily activities, and possible annoyance to occupants.
Sampling location links to objective, but need to consider representativeness. Test chambers or houses may be useful.
What are the key (building, physical) parameters that need to be measured in all future experiments?
More general information on planning experiments can be found in our WG5 output here.
Our decision tool
Our decision tool allows the user to select a specific objective in one of five main areas. These are:
Reactivity in Indoor Environments,
Mapping organic constituents indoors
The role of the occupant in indoor air chemistry
Indoor modelling studies
Novel materials and technologies indoors.
Within each, there are 4-5 specific objectives, which we believe are major knowledge gaps in each of our key areas. By clicking on any of these objectives, the user will be provided with information on:
Why is this specific objective important? Based on the work we have undertaken as part of WGs1-5, we will point to why this specific objective is important.
What do we already know about the topic? This section will provide the user with links to our publications (and those of others) that provide information about what we know about this topic already. This information is mainly available in the final reports of WGs1 and 2.
What species should we measure? Based on the specific objective, there are key species that will help us to gain the necessary information. We will link to our output material from WG3 which provides information on what pollutants we might expect in different scenarios, and also a ranked list of them according to their reactivity and known health effects.
How should we measure the species identified above? Based on the specific objective, the available time and costs, an appropriate measurement technique will be provided. These recommendations will be based on the output from WG4, as well as from numerous publications that have resulted from this WG. For every set of indoor measurements made, there will be a key list of building parameters that must also be determined (e.g. ventilation rate, temperature, humidity, lighting, building orientation and layout, etc.), together with guidelines on how to evaluate these parameters (from WG5).
Where should we measure the species identified in the specific objective? There may be a particular study group (e.g. children) such that identification of a type of building is obvious (e.g. school). Depending on the specific building or objective, there may be additional measurements required, which we will identify based on our reports and publications from WG5.
The Decision Tool can be explored by clicking on the links below.
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