TSI experts author research paper on indoor air quality

Measuring the effects of household appliances on indoor air quality

Indoor air quality, or IAQ, has become increasingly important—both during height of the pandemic as many workers moved their offices to their homes, and now as many return to shared spaces.

This 10-page paper titled, “Investigation of indoor aerosols emitted from electrical appliances,” explains how the TSI team investigated particulate matter (PM) emissions from ordinary household electrical appliances, including a kitchen cooktop, small electric oven, and steam iron.

The researchers used three TSI instruments to measure particles and emissions during the investigation.

• NanoScan SMPS 3910, a portable nanoparticle spectrometer that performs real-time nanoparticle size measurements from 10 nm to 10 µm.
• Optical Particle Sizer 3330, a lightweight spectrometer that measures particles from 0.3 to 10 µm.
• Condensation Particle Counter 3007, a handheld particle counter for field use in indoor air quality, inhalation and exposure, mobile aerosol studies, and more.

Read the abstract or download the full paper

The abstract for “Investigation of indoor aerosols emitted from electrical appliances” is as follows.

Air quality inside a residential apartment has been investigated by measuring the PM emission generated from cooking and ironing using electrical devices. The samples were collected in the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom. The total number concentration, the size distributions and mass concentration PM0.1, PM2.5 and PM10 were measured using portable and compact instruments; a NanoScan SMPS 3910, an Optical Particle Sizer 3330 and a Condensation Particle Counter 3007. The results were analyzed and compared to the WHO guidelines for ambient air quality. In the absence of a standardized method for assessing indoor air quality, a procedure is suggested for a better consideration of the physical properties of the particles. The results obtained showed that an electrical oven with visible heating electrical resistances inside is much more emissive compared to a cooktop plate or a steam-iron were the heating resistances are protected in a steel housing. The emission from the kitchen spreads all over the apartment and the concentration levels remain high for a long time. The dissemination of particles is accompanied by a growth in their size. Ventilating the areas, for example by using a hood or opening a window, seems an efficient measure to reduce the high concentration of particles emitted by residential activities.

Download the full paper from IOP Science, Journal of Physics Conference Series.