Comparison of cooking emissions mitigation between automated and manually operated air quality interventions in...

We implemented a crossover study design exposing 15 participants to two indoor air quality conditions in the Well Living Lab. The first condition, the Standard Control Condition, resembled the ventilation and air supply of a typical home in the USA with a manually operated stove hood. The second condition, Advanced Control, had an automated: (i) stove hood, (ii) two portable air cleaners (PAC), and (iii) bathroom exhaust. The PM_2.5 sensors were placed in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Once the sensor detected a PM_2.5 level of 15 μg/m³ or higher, an air quality intervention (stove hood, PAC or bathroom exhaust) in that space was activated and turned off when the corresponding PM_2.5 sensor had three consecutive readings below 6 μg/m³. Advanced Control in the overall apartment reduced PM_2.5 concentration by 40% compared to the Standard Control. The PM_2.5 concentration difference between Advanced and Standard Control was ~ 20% in the kitchen. This can be attributed to using the stove hood manually in 66.5% of cooking PM_2.5 emission events for 323.6 h compared to 88 h stove hood used in automated mode alongside 61.9 h and 33.7 h of PAC use in living room and bedroom, respectively.