The investigation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter (PM) quantities in higher education buildings

Indoor air quality is one of the fundamental requirements that must be ensured for users of the buildings to be healthy and productive. As a result of poor indoor air quality, health problems could also arise in users. In educational buildings students spend most of their time in enclosed classrooms. Therefore, it is very important that the indoor air quality meets the health and comfort conditions of the students. In this study, the indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions (CO2 and Particulate Matter/PM) of two higher education buildings in Edirne, Faculty of Architecture and Faculty of Engineering in Trakya University, were investigated. IAQ data were determined by measuring with the devices (Testo 480 for CO2 and TSI Dusttrack 8532 for PM) during the use of the classrooms in the winter months. The results of the measurement were analyzed, then the results were compared with the values given in the standards. The values obtained by CO2 and PM measurements are often found to be exceed the limit values determined by WHO and ASHRAE-62. In some cases, it has been observed that the CO2 value has increased up to 2500 ppm in the classrooms. For PM measurements, values were obtained in the range of 71-151 μg/m3 and where standard deviations varied between 6-34.

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