Identifying Factors that Impact Portable Air Cleaner Performance

This project examines how people and the environment can impact the performance of portable air cleaners through a literature review, modelling, and an intervention study.

Status: Current

Research themes: Health and comfort

Research areas: Cognitive and physical health in the built environment; Solutions for air leakage, ventilation and filtration; Indoor particulate and gaseous pollutant dynamics; Human-Building Interaction; Equitable and resilient housing for communities

Project objective

Portable air cleaners (PACs) are a promising strategy to reduce indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM), one of the most harmful components of air pollution. PACs can be used in any building, including those without central filtration systems. This, combined with their relatively low cost, makes them a valuable strategy for improving indoor air quality in a scalable and equitable manner. However, there is mixed evidence that PACs can reduce indoor PM concentrations as well as desired and little evidence that they improve health measures. This study examines how this relationship may be confounded by factors related to the environments and individuals who participated in previous studies.

 This project incorporates a literature review, modelling of information extracted from articles in this literature review, and an intervention study in a multi-unit residential building to identify and demonstrate the impact of different factors. This information will be used to provide improved guidance for how PACs can be selected and operated, and to make suggestions for how future intervention studies related to indoor air quality can be strengthened by considering these factors.