Short term measurements of indoor air quality when using the home office in Norway

Abstract

In 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 many workers have been sent home to avoid the sickness spread. As a result, rooms that otherwise had domestic use, living rooms or bedrooms, have become offices. This change has happened in many houses without improving the ventilation systems. In many cases, the rooms were overcrowded, and no attention was paid to ventilation. Thus, this study collects measurements of one to two weeks in different home offices. Measurements were taken in home offices used by one or more occupants. These home offices were designed as bedrooms and living rooms with and without separation from the kitchen. During the pandemic they are used as offices during working hours and as designed otherwise. One or more occupants shared the rooms. Natural and mechanically ventilated and older and newer home offices were studied. Winter measurements of CO2, temperature, relative humidity, particulate matter, formaldehyde and TVOC were collected via low-cost sensors. The sensors were placed on the working space in front of the user to map the exposure to pollutants. The results show an analysis of the concentration of pollutants close to the breathed air. Some users were smart, remembering the aeration, whereas others were exposed to high concentrations of CO2 and other pollutants sometimes higher than the health-based thresholds.