John Bower's book is a good one, in my humble opinion.
[snip]
>I think the best way to insure that the air indoors is healthy it to
>build with low-polluting materials (source control), then the
>ventilation system only needs to supply fresh air for oxygen (1/2 cfm
>per person is about right for this) and to dilute metabolic by-products
>(about 10-15 cfm per person).
>
One thing I would add to John's otherwise excellent comment -
building materials are not the only source or even, necessarily the main
source of pollutants in a home. In fact, occupant activities and consumer
products can overwhelm building materials and even appliances as sources.
So, education of the home occupants can go a long way to reducing pollution
and exposure. Of course that is not our orientation, since we are all into
making better buildings, but, our job would be lot easier if people were
more careful about what they bought and used indoors. It can't be regulated,
at least not most of it, but it sure is important stuff. VOC concentrations
in houses are generally around twice or more than what is found in schools
or office buildings. Of course people tend to pick stuff they can live with,
at least those who know. But keeping a dog kennel in an asthmatic child's
bedroom doesn't make sense even if you have removed the carpet and installed
an air cleaner, for example. I've seen it all. People do dumb things cause
they are attached to their pets, their hobbies, their pasttimes, etc. It's a
free country, right?
Hal
Hal Levin <hlevin@cruzio.com>
__________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions
send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
__________________________________________________________________