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Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

nytimes.com

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Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#181

Post by graeme »

ksplice wrote: post #176
graeme wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only solution is moving. Your place probably violates housing code from the sounds of it. But if you want to be sure, you can get a decent co2 monitor for less than $100. I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Autopilot-Desktop-Monitor-L... People on this thread mention co2 monitors can't be so cheap, but I'm under the impression this is actually measuring co2 and not o2/vocs. Can anyone confirm? You're…

Have you tried running one of those near major road intersections, with lots of cars idling? I spend all day in the office with windows looking on a parking lot with two intersections nearby. Considering how much it always stinks of car exhaust right outside, I have a strong suspicion that ventilation that everyone so praises here might not be all that beneficial. But $100+ for CO2 detector is too expensive for where…

An idling truck on my street will fairly quickly raise my indoor co2 levels unless I shut the window. You also get particulate pollution.

My guess is you’re right, and in your local area ventilation may not help. Though it depends on distance from the road. Dissipation happens fairly quickly with distance iirc.

Haven’t been able to test at a freeway, mm co2 meter requires an electric outlet.

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#182

Post by jtms »

k__ wrote: post #10
Mistletoe wrote: post #5

I own a CO2 monitor and it is shocking how high it can get in a house with two people just existing. 800 ppm or more. Outside air is 410. In a car with air on recirculate, it was getting to >1220 ppm, a level that impairs decision making and lowers brain function. I try to drive with air on fresh from now on. I don’t doubt the air in our conference room with 20 people gets super high in CO2 as the meeting goes on, an…

How many plants are needed to counter this?

Some is definitely better than none for more reasons than just air scrubbing, but I believe one of the sibling comments stating “too many to be practical” is probably (and unfortunately) correct

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#183

Post by jtms »

k__ wrote: post #10
Mistletoe wrote: post #5

I own a CO2 monitor and it is shocking how high it can get in a house with two people just existing. 800 ppm or more. Outside air is 410. In a car with air on recirculate, it was getting to >1220 ppm, a level that impairs decision making and lowers brain function. I try to drive with air on fresh from now on. I don’t doubt the air in our conference room with 20 people gets super high in CO2 as the meeting goes on, an…

How many plants are needed to counter this?

Also don’t take my word for it, but I remember reading that the viney/dangley kind are better than average for certain pollutants (and they just look really nice dangling from a ledge or window sill)

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#184

Post by blablabla123 »

mettamage wrote: post #87

I just want to plug a client that I worked for that solves this problem: Healthy Workers. Healthy Workers is a Amsterdam-based startup that measures thing such as: air quality, CO2 and consented employee data (e.g. their sleep and focus) and makes an analysis what parts of the building have an unconductive work environment and how this can be improved. Conference rooms with bad air are the first problem they look at.…

That's such an overlooked problem. Companies with healthy finances might have all the comforts like great chairs, tables and IT equipment but the rooms might just be overheated and have bad air. Would be great if this would be added to the list of ergonomics.

In fact this is probably one of the undisputed pros of an open office, the air quality is most of the times quite good.

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#185

Post by puzzle »

mettamage wrote: post #87

I just want to plug a client that I worked for that solves this problem: Healthy Workers. Healthy Workers is a Amsterdam-based startup that measures thing such as: air quality, CO2 and consented employee data (e.g. their sleep and focus) and makes an analysis what parts of the building have an unconductive work environment and how this can be improved. Conference rooms with bad air are the first problem they look at.…

Google has tracked office air quality for years, e.g. through the Aclima partnership.

That's basically because Larry Page really, really cares about it. He's kinda like your friend with a Kubrick obsession that can't stop bringing up facts:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/727189428142235648

He was on to something! Jokes aside, I think he just has a heightened sense of smell and that's why he had air filters stronger than law requirements installed everywhere, at least in Mountain View.

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#186

Post by jtms »

dredmorbius wrote: post #58
k__ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many plants are needed to counter this?

A typical person exhales just over 1kg of CO2 daily. You'd need emough plants to fix about the same amount of CO2 from the air, under indoor, shaded conditions . https://www.reference.com/science/much-co2-human-exhale-3f8c... The fastest rate of carbon fixation by any plants are photosynthetic algae eds, which fix u to 4.4 kg of carbon per square meter per year, or 16.3kg CO2/(m^2 * yr). http://carbon.ycombinator.com…

Wow - imagine the price of that space in an expensive urban center apartment like NYC

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#187

Post by ajmurmann »

Mistletoe wrote: post #5

I own a CO2 monitor and it is shocking how high it can get in a house with two people just existing. 800 ppm or more. Outside air is 410. In a car with air on recirculate, it was getting to >1220 ppm, a level that impairs decision making and lowers brain function. I try to drive with air on fresh from now on. I don’t doubt the air in our conference room with 20 people gets super high in CO2 as the meeting goes on, an…

Thanks for sharing your experience! What monitor do you recommend?

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#188

Post by jak92 »

asdkhadsj wrote: post #172
jak92 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "house fan" for 15 minutes or so every hour at night just to circulate the air in the house, Depending on your climate, this could significantly raise the humidity in your house. Reason is that moisture from the AC coil are wet after the AC turns off. Typically drips off into the pan until next time AC cycles. If you run the fan you will then evaporate into the air circulating some of the moisture just removed.

Doesn't that heavily depend on the design of the AC system? I know nothing here, so this is heavily a question. I ask because I have a heat pump for cooling/heating, but the furnace is the blower. I thought when the fan ran, it pulled from the outdoor intake which is in a very different location from the actual heat pump coils. Thoughts?

The air handler uses inside air only. The compressor heat pump is outside and either runs its cycle strictly on outside air

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#189

Post by l4yao »

graeme wrote: post #145
marcosdumay wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There must be some shape that can work as both air filter and heat exchange, so one could have ample air circulation while keeping the heat inside, at the cost of having to wash it once every few months. I wonder how expensive that would be.

There are heat recovery ventilators, but they require central ducting. Unsure if any solutions exist for other dwellings.

There exists ductless HRVs too. HRVs are generally quite expensive. https://foursevenfive.com/lunos-e/

Re: Is Conference Room Air Making Us Dumber?

#190

Post by abfan1127 »

jak92 wrote: post #79
Klathmon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I picked up a CO2 monitor a while ago myself, and the biggest surprise was having it on in the morning in our bedroom with the doors closed. It was easily over 1000ppm IIRC. Ever since then I've made sure to set my AC system to run the "house fan" for 15 minutes or so every hour at night just to circulate the air in the house, and while the numbers went down significantly, anecdotally I swear that I wake up easier in…

> "house fan" for 15 minutes or so every hour at night just to circulate the air in the house, Depending on your climate, this could significantly raise the humidity in your house. Reason is that moisture from the AC coil are wet after the AC turns off. Typically drips off into the pan until next time AC cycles. If you run the fan you will then evaporate into the air circulating some of the moisture just removed.

that moisture came from inside the house. When it drips, it usually drains outside the home. Perhaps it just pedantic, but it won't raise humidity, but it may lower less.
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