Observations and Contributions of Real-Time Indoor Ammonia Concentrations during HOMEChem

Although ammonia (NH₃) is usually found at outdoor concentrations of 1-5 ppb, indoor ammonia concentrations can be much higher. Indoor ammonia is strongly emitted from cleaning products, tobacco smoke, building materials, and humans. Because of ammonia's high reactivity, solubility in water, and tendency to sorb to a variety of surfaces, it is difficult to measure, and thus a comprehensive evaluation of indoor ammonia concentrations remains an understudied topic. During HOMEChem, which was a comprehensive indoor chemistry study occurring in a test house during June 2018, the real-time concentration of ammonia indoors was measured using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. A mean unoccupied background concentration of 32 ppb was observed, with further enhancements of ammonia occurring during cooking, cleaning, and occupancy activities, reaching maximum concentrations during these activities of 130, 1592, and 99 ppb, respectively. Furthermore, ammonia concentrations were strongly influenced by indoor temperatures and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) operation. In the absence of activity-based sources, the HVAC operation was the main modulator of ammonia concentration indoors.