Eighth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The study was based on field measurements of indoor air quality of six historical buildings in Georgia that are over 100 years old. Three of these buildings went through major weatherization that included reducing the building infiltration, adding HVAC system, adding insulation. The three other buildings were not improved. The field study included measurements of the airborne particle counts for the sizes .3 μm, .5 μm, 1 μm, 2 μm, and 5μm. A measurement of CO2 concentration, the relative humidity, and air temperature was taken. The field test showed significant increase in airborne particles in the buildings that went through major renovation in which the new HVAC system was installed in an unfinished basement (crawl space). However, buildings which did not have HVAC systems in the foundation space and are located in dense populated area had a better indoor air quality (IAQ) than the outside air and also better IAQ than similar buildings which did not receive weatherization measures.