I bought a good little monitor, co2, voc etc & plugged it in. Stayed in the low 400s all night, door, windows closed. Our en suite has mechanical ventilation so air is being drawn in under the door. The apartment as a whole has 3 of these extractor ducts.
I did the experiment, taped cardboard over the mechanical ventilation intake, taped over the ceiling trapdoors. The result: no change! Maybe I didn't seal it well enough.
The room, including en-suite and walk-in robe is 27m2, or 68m3.
I haven't calibrated the monitor, but it went crazy one day and started beeping, sitting on my desk. Couldn't see any reason but when I opened the window the levels went down fairly quickly.
reading topped 2000 and set off the alarm a 2nd time, while I was using the vacuum cleaner, seems strange? This is mainly about validating the test unit, not sure if it's trustworthy.
More on the CO2 meter. Had 12 people around for dinner so I brought the meter into the room. Shot up to over 1500 and still rising. Opened the window, headed back down. So although I can't vouch for the accuracy, it does seem to track CO2. Picked up VOC as well, alcohol on people's breath most likely.
So why was I unable to get a high reading in the bedroom overnight? Possibly the mechanical ventilation is so strong that my taping didn't contain it. Could be pulling in through the light fittings or the sprinklers. The duct is not sealed at the inlet so the -ve pressure spreads through the dropped ceiling space. So your recommendation for apartments could be to emphasise centrally provided mechanical ventilation.
I bought a good little monitor, co2, voc etc & plugged it in. Stayed in the low 400s all night, door, windows closed. Our en suite has mechanical ventilation so air is being drawn in under the door. The apartment as a whole has 3 of these extractor ducts.
That is so fascinating! How big is the room? What happens if the fan is off?
The mechanical ventilation can't be turned off. Maybe I could tape it up as an experiment. Stand by for results. Room is about 12m2
Btw the monitor was $aud25 delivered, on Ali Express.
I did the experiment, taped cardboard over the mechanical ventilation intake, taped over the ceiling trapdoors. The result: no change! Maybe I didn't seal it well enough.
The room, including en-suite and walk-in robe is 27m2, or 68m3.
I haven't calibrated the monitor, but it went crazy one day and started beeping, sitting on my desk. Couldn't see any reason but when I opened the window the levels went down fairly quickly.
reading topped 2000 and set off the alarm a 2nd time, while I was using the vacuum cleaner, seems strange? This is mainly about validating the test unit, not sure if it's trustworthy.
More on the CO2 meter. Had 12 people around for dinner so I brought the meter into the room. Shot up to over 1500 and still rising. Opened the window, headed back down. So although I can't vouch for the accuracy, it does seem to track CO2. Picked up VOC as well, alcohol on people's breath most likely.
So why was I unable to get a high reading in the bedroom overnight? Possibly the mechanical ventilation is so strong that my taping didn't contain it. Could be pulling in through the light fittings or the sprinklers. The duct is not sealed at the inlet so the -ve pressure spreads through the dropped ceiling space. So your recommendation for apartments could be to emphasise centrally provided mechanical ventilation.