The indoor environmental benefits from replacing unflued gas and portable electric heaters with higher capacity non indoor polluting heaters : an interventional field study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Building Technology at Massey University, Manawatu campus, New Zealand
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2012
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Massey University
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Abstract
A two year intervention study investigated the relationship between domestic heaters
and indoor environment of children with asthma. The main objectives of this project
were to investigate the changes to the measured indoor environmental parameters, when
a higher capacity non indoor polluting replacement heater was installed and to examine
if this intervention was sufficient to provide the households with a healthy indoor
environment.
Baseline monitoring was carried out in the living rooms and child’s bedrooms of 33
homes including the real time measurement of four gaseous key pollutants, room
temperature, relative humidity (RH) and usage of the original heater (unflued gas heater
(UGH) or portable electric heater) for up to one week. Airborne fungi level and fungi
level from the floor dust were measured and a visual inspection of fungi was
undertaken. The suitability of the wall environment for fungi development was
estimated via a fungal detector and correlated to wall psychrometric conditions
(temperature, RH). The different fungi assessment methods were compared. The
measurements were repeated in 36 homes, following the replacement of the UGH or
portable electric heater with a higher capacity non indoor polluting heater such as flued
gas heater, wood pellet burner or heat pump in the intervention homes. Of these homes,
27 were monitored for both winters.
Excessive levels of pollutants were found when the UGH was operated, even for short
periods. Acceptable air quality levels were achieved for all replacement heater homes.
The study showed that the replacement heaters were operated for longer periods than
the heaters they replaced. The homes with the replacement heaters installed were
warmer and dryer and had less mould than the homes with UGHs. The replacement
heater also had a positive impact on the wall psychrometric conditions with reduced
water availability for mould to grow.
Replacing the UGH with a higher capacity non indoor air polluting heater reduced the
asthmatic children’s exposure to harmful indoor environment. Unvented gas heating
appliances should be more regulated and ideally should not be operated in homes.
Description
The following have been removed due to copyright restrictions:
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Keywords
Domestic heating, Indoor pollution, Gas heating, Unflued heating, Health effects of domestic heaters, Indoor environment