Exhaust ventilation in attached garages improves residential indoor air quality

From National Research Council Canada

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DOI	Resolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12321
Author	Search for: Mallach, G.; Search for: St-Jean, M.; Search for: Macneill, M.; Search for: Aubin, D.¹; Search for: Wallace, L.; Search for: Shin, T.; Search for: Van Ryswyk, K.; Search for: Kulka, R.; Search for: You, H.; Search for: Fugler, D.; Search for: Lavigne, E.; Search for: Wheeler, A. J.
Name affiliation	National Research Council of Canada. Construction
Format	Text, Article
Journal title	Indoor Air
ISSN	0905-6947 1600-0668
Volume	27
Issue	2
Pages	487–499
Subject	attached garages; BTEX; indoor air quality; infiltration; mechanical ventilation; residential intervention
Abstract	Previous research has shown that indoor benzene levels in homes with attached garages are higher than homes without attached garages. Exhaust ventilation in attached garages is one possible intervention to reduce these concentrations. To evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention, a randomized crossover study was conducted in 33 Ottawa homes in winter 2014. VOCs including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and air exchange rates were measured over four 48‐hour periods when a garage exhaust fan was turned on or off. A blower door test conducted in each garage was used to determine the required exhaust fan flow rate to provide a depressurization of 5 Pa in each garage relative to the home. When corrected for ambient concentrations, the fan decreased geometric mean indoor benzene concentrations from 1.04 to 0.40 μg/m3, or by 62% (P<.05). The garage exhaust fan also significantly reduced outdoor‐corrected geometric mean indoor concentrations of other pollutants, including toluene (53%), ethylbenzene (47%), m,p‐xylene (45%), o‐xylene (43%), and carbon monoxide (23%) (P<.05) while having no impact on the home air exchange rate. This study provides evidence that mechanical exhaust ventilation in attached garages can reduce indoor concentrations of pollutants originating from within attached garages.
Publication date	2016-07-22
Publisher	Wiley
Language	English
Peer reviewed	Yes
NPARC number	23003066
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Record identifier	14a88bca-beea-4b56-b36a-ee1295ef2816
Record created	2018-04-18
Record modified	2020-05-30

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Date modified:: 2021-01-26