Air Cleaning Systems and Indoor Air Quality: A Review.

Abstract : Indoor air quality has an impact on the health and productivity of building occupants and is an important consideration in buildings used by the U.S. Army. The demand for improvements in indoor air quality increases as more is known about how particulate and gaseous contaminants affect human health. There are no universal guidelines for the designing and the operation and maintenance of air cleaning systems, and no U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) guidance specifically addresses these problems. Indoor air quality can be improved by bringing in more outdoor air; however, the outdoor air must be relatively clean. Air filtration systems also can be improved/ increased, although energy consumption may increase. Air filters are installed to protect equipment from large particulates in the air; and they now are being considered an efficient method for protecting human health in office buildings by reducing the contaminants in indoor air.