D-VENT: analysis of air quality in homes

The air quality in the environments is one of the most important parameters to guarantee the health of users in the built environment (ALLARD, 2002; SANTAMOURIS and WOUTERS, 2006; BITTENCOURT and CÂNDIDO, 2008). This was even more evident in the context of a pandemic, generated by SARS-COV-2, when the current functions and the environmental performance of the built space are being questioned by researchers, professionals and managers. Such questions revolve around, mainly, aspects of quality and healthiness of the environments and how they can act in favor of the mental health and well-being of its users. A long time ago, treaties, norms and research already pointed to the influence of the environmental aspects of the built space on various problems that impact human health. The use of natural ventilation to properly renew the air in the environments is, for example, a basic hygiene principle postulated in the 460 century BC in the Treaties of Hippocrates (SPENGLER, SAMET and McCARTHY 2001). Naturally ventilating the rooms that make up a home means, for example, reducing the level of exposure of occupants to chemical and / or organic substances that are harmful to health. As approached by Bischoff et al. (2013), the dissemination of possible pathogens through the air, through droplets and aerosols, such as SARS-VOC-2, is typically due to: coughing, sneezing, breathing, sanitary discharge, close conversation, among others. Thus, in environments with low air renewal or depending solely on an artificial air conditioning system, the transmission of this type of pathogen can occur directly through the airways and / or indirectly through the resuspension of particles accumulated on surfaces. In a broader scenario, exposure to certain levels of concentration of pollutants present in the air can lead to problems ranging from the perception of undesirable odors to the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Such problems can be perceived in the short and medium term, or developed over time (SEPPANEN, 2006; CIB, 2004; CEC, 1993). In a report on internal air quality (QIA) and its impacts on human health, prepared by the European Collaborative Action group (ECA, 2003), some harms related to low IQF in environments are pointed out, such as: insufficient dispersion or dilution of air. airborne viruses and bacteria (cause of infectious diseases); high levels of humidity in environments that favor the growth of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria related to allergic conditions; In 2011, the report of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) already pointed out that air pollutants inside buildings - including infectious aerosols of the SARS-VOC type - were configured as the main factor of death caused by acute respiratory diseases . Such information, at that time, represented a universe of approximately two million premature deaths per year, mainly in developing countries. In addition, poor air quality can also cause more noticeable symptoms on a daily basis, such as those related to Sick Building Syndrome - EDS. Such symptoms interfere with the productivity and performance of tasks, whether in work environments or in homes. In the United States, Fisk (2001) estimated the annual savings potential and productivity gain just by increasing the internal air quality in buildings. That amount, at the time, was estimated at $ 15 to $ 40 billion with the reduction of symptoms of EDS, and $ 20 to $ 200 billion with increased employee productivity. Fisk (2001) also highlights a study developed in typically residential environments - a multi-year study carried out by the North American Army - pointing out that the rates of respiratory diseases, acute with fever, are 50% higher among people living in environments with closed windows and with a low rate of internal air renewal by external (natural) air. Even though the data exposed by Fisk (2001) refer to commercial buildings, the author does not rule out the influence of low air quality on human productivity in homes. According to IBGE data, in 2011, approximately 23% of employed Brazilians worked at home. This universe represented 4.1 million people, 2% more than in 2004. This number tends to increase considerably after the SARS-VOC-2 pandemic. Thus, the observation that the change in the function / performance of the homes will not be the same after the pandemic is clear, with the agents involved being required to re-educate and seek to increase the quality of the homes. In the medium and long term scenario, there will be a strong need to rethink how housing should be designed, built and maintained - in order to fulfill its function as a shelter and element to promote social well-being, sustainability and environmental quality. For this task, the professionals involved, public agents, companies in the construction sector and civil society must have access to tools that have the dual function of re-education and analysis of how environmentally healthy the building they will design, build and inhabit will be. To this end, the present project seeks to adapt and validate the D-VENT algorithm developed by Sales (2016), patented via CDT / UnB with the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI), No. BR 51 2018000004-5, for a tool in the format phone application icon. Such an algorithm will allow the analysis of the number of air renewals per hour and general aspects of air quality, in order, on the one hand, to educate the user of the built space and, on the other, to provide data in a fast and efficient manner that enable improvement actions in projects, construction / renovation and maintenance of residential spaces - helping in the prevention of diseases, among which are the SARS-VOC-2 type.