Risk of Microbial Growth in Ventilation Ductwork Located in the Humid and Cold Conditions

Simple item page
dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorKravchenko, Iliaen_US
dc.contributor.authorPasanen, Perttien_US
dc.contributor.authorLestinen, Samien_US
dc.contributor.authorKilpeläinen, Simoen_US
dc.contributor.authorKosonen, Ristoen_US
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Mechanical Engineeringen
dc.contributor.groupauthorEnergy Conversion and Systemsen
dc.contributor.organizationUniversity of Eastern Finlanden_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-23T06:07:45Z
dc.date.available2023-08-23T06:07:45Z
dc.date.issued2023-07en_US
dc.descriptionFunding Information: The authors acknowledge the Finnish Work Environment Fund, the Aalto University Campus & Real Estate (ACRE), the Senate Properties and the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, for the financial support. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
dc.description.abstractHigh humidity inside ductworks could be a potential risk for microbial growth and there is also a hypothesis that lower night-time ventilation increases the risk of growth. This study investigates the possibility of microbial growth in ventilation ductwork exposed to humid and cold conditions. Two different typical night-time ventilation strategies for public buildings were investigated: ventilation rate was either continuously the same (0.15 L/s, m2) or no airflow during the night-time. Experimental data were collected over a four-month period. In the experiment, microbial media was released inside the ductwork initially. During the test period, air temperature and relative humidity inside the ductwork were controlled between 11–14 °C and 70–90%. Wipe, swab and air samples were taken at the beginning, monthly and at the end of the test period. The study results showed the extinction of colonies by the end of the experiment regardless of the chosen night-time ventilation strategy. The colony count in the air was low throughout the study period. Therefore, the results indicate that the long-term growth on the walls of air ducts is unlikely and the risk of microbial transfer from the air ductworks to room space is low.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationKravchenko, I, Pasanen, P, Lestinen, S, Kilpeläinen, S & Kosonen, R 2023, ' Risk of Microbial Growth in Ventilation Ductwork Located in the Humid and Cold Conditions ', Buildings, vol. 13, no. 7, 1683 . https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071683en
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/buildings13071683en_US
dc.identifier.issn2075-5309
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 603152b1-f45b-4bab-8a83-a7069ee89e20en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/603152b1-f45b-4bab-8a83-a7069ee89e20en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166190869&partnerID=8YFLogxKen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/118721411/buildings_13_01683.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/122640
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-202308234986
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherMDPI AG
dc.relation.ispartofseriesBuildingsen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 13, issue 7en
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.subject.keywordair qualityen_US
dc.subject.keywordductwork mold growthen_US
dc.subject.keywordnight-time ventilationen_US
dc.subject.keywordNordic climateen_US
dc.subject.keywordpublic buildingsen_US
dc.subject.keywordventilation microbial pollutionen_US
dc.titleRisk of Microbial Growth in Ventilation Ductwork Located in the Humid and Cold Conditionsen
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion
Files
Collections
[article-cris] Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu / ENG