Use of an Electronic Nose for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

Indoor air quality is important to occupant health because it affects the health and comfort of occupants. Ventilation is the technique used for regulating indoor air quality. Currently, CO2 is the pollutant that is taken as the reference to calculate the makeup air rate and recirculation air rate of indoor spaces. Indeed, the quality of indoor air is affected by all microclimate components of the environment, concentration of odours and toxic materials, number of aerosols and microbes in the air, contamination by radioactive gases, static electricity etc. Regarding air quality, pleasant or unpleasant odours dominate the perception of the environment by the occupant and, among other pollutants that may be present in indoor environments, odour has been considered as one of the causes of different symptoms of the Sick Building Syndrome. This paper discusses the laboratory and indoor field tests conducted measuring both CO2 and odour in order to compare the concentration trends of these two parameters. The indoor air monitoring trial was conducted for a three month period in a university room used by students as a break room. Moreover, the performance of an innovative electronic nose, designed specifically for indoor applications (EOS 101), was evaluated. The tests prove the simplified electronic nose EOS 101 to be effective in the detection of odours in an indoor environment.