The health benefits of better air • Hacker News Board

Re: The health benefits of better air

#111

Post by scaladev » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:40 AM UTC

clairity wrote: post #55

tehnub wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice, how does one try to achieve a balance between CO2 and PM? Do you open the windows for a while when CO2 is up and PM is down, and then close them and run your purifiers when CO2 starts to go back down? Is it possible to keep both low with HEPA filters on the windows?

co2 and pm should both go down with windows open. i put my air purifiers on low when the windows are open to deal with the particles i throw up by moving around and doing stuff indoors. with the windows closed (usually only at night), i put the air purifiers on medium/high.

> co2 and pm should both go down with windows open.

Very much depends on where you live. I have a few DIY air quality stations with data being piped to Grafana. I just looked at the latest data, the average outside PM level for the past 5 months has been around 100 µg/m³, while inside it's around 10 µg/m³.

This spring happens to be pretty windy and this skews the outside levels down, otherwise the ratio would be much worse.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#112

Post by pbourke » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:41 AM UTC

hazemotes wrote: post #53

hourislate wrote: post #39

A simple 20 x 20 Box fan with a furnace HEPA filter placed against it (just turn on fan and place filter behind it) will do wonders for your indoor air quality. The 3M 2200 Series Filtrete Filters are amazing. You also always want to cook with the Hood Fan going. The particulate that is created during cooking is so small it can pass through the lungs into your blood stream causing havoc.

How long do the filters last?

We run box-fan filters during wildfire season here in the PNW and change them out after the season ends. Last year they were quite gray after all of the fires. We run Honeywell HEPA cleaners year round and bring the box fans out to supplement as needed.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#113

Post by laurent92 » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:41 AM UTC

simondotau wrote: post #43

tehnub wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice, how does one try to achieve a balance between CO2 and PM? Do you open the windows for a while when CO2 is up and PM is down, and then close them and run your purifiers when CO2 starts to go back down? Is it possible to keep both low with HEPA filters on the windows?

The best case solution would be a passive house with MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) and incoming air filtration. This means your home has a steady flow of fresh, low-CO2 air that is filtered for pollen and other particles (depending on the air filter chosen).

This. Architects now include heat exchangers in houses, so air is renewed at basically the same temperature, ensuring ideal comfort for low CO2.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#114

Post by ahaucnx » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:42 AM UTC

ahaucnx wrote: post #9

Thank you for this extensive resource on air quality. Yes, it needs to get more attention as it is one of the main drivers of mortality of environmental risks. One thing one has to bear in mind is that often when you optmize your home for low PM (e.g. with air purifiers and fixing of air leackage) your CO2 will get very high causing headaches and reduce cognitive performance. So it always makes sense for indoor air q…

Thank you for all of you interested in getting the PCBs. To send me a message please go to https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ and send me a message with the orange chat button. Thanks!

Re: The health benefits of better air

#115

Post by scaladev » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:43 AM UTC

eindiran wrote: post #18

ahaucnx wrote: post #9

Thank you for this extensive resource on air quality. Yes, it needs to get more attention as it is one of the main drivers of mortality of environmental risks. One thing one has to bear in mind is that often when you optmize your home for low PM (e.g. with air purifiers and fixing of air leackage) your CO2 will get very high causing headaches and reduce cognitive performance. So it always makes sense for indoor air q…

How should someone contact you? I looked into setting up something on an Arduino last year, and the CO2 sensor I ended up purchasing was not very good, so it's cool to see someone thinking about this problem domain.

FWIW I've been pretty happy with Senseair S8 0053 for my DIY stations. They're relatively expensive though.

Not affiliated in any way.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#116

Post by ahaucnx » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:44 AM UTC

eindiran wrote: post #18

ahaucnx wrote: post #9

Thank you for this extensive resource on air quality. Yes, it needs to get more attention as it is one of the main drivers of mortality of environmental risks. One thing one has to bear in mind is that often when you optmize your home for low PM (e.g. with air purifiers and fixing of air leackage) your CO2 will get very high causing headaches and reduce cognitive performance. So it always makes sense for indoor air q…

How should someone contact you? I looked into setting up something on an Arduino last year, and the CO2 sensor I ended up purchasing was not very good, so it's cool to see someone thinking about this problem domain.

We use the Senseair S8 CO2 sensor which is very accurate and of high quality. Some of the TVOC sensors give an estimated CO2 level (eCO2) which is not recommended because these values are not very accurate.

To send me a message please go to https://www.airgradient.com/diy/ and send me a message with the orange chat button. Thanks!

Re: The health benefits of better air

#117

Post by antisthenes » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:44 AM UTC

moneywoes wrote: post #37

Is there a consensus verdict on air filters? Seeing a lot of conflicting info

A consensus regarding what specifically?

Air filters do reduce the amount of particles in the air if that's what you're asking.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#118

Post by rantwasp » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:44 AM UTC

ThreeFinger wrote: post #59

Any recommendations for an air purifiers and some devices to measure the air quality?

https://austinair.com/ these are among the best air purifiers. not cheap, but worth it

Re: The health benefits of better air

#119

Post by heipei » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:45 AM UTC

emptybits wrote: post #92

EVs reduce tailpipe exhaust near roads but it's worth noting that brake abrasion dust isn't going away anytime soon and it's considered very bad to breathe, possibly in the same league as diesel emission particles.[1] I guess regenerative braking on an EV reduces this somewhat. Tire dust is also concerning.[2] [1] https://academic.oup.com/metallomics/article/12/3/371/595624... [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2264…

Anecdotal, but since recently getting a plug-in hybrid I've only been using regenerative braking except for the most abrupt stops. Whenever you approach a red light or junction it's not hard to stay within the regen braking zone.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#120

Post by pbourke » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 5:46 AM UTC

briefcomment wrote: post #14

This is a good list. One other important thing to do if you can help it is to never live near a road. Any road, even infrequently driven on ones. If there's only one car per day on a road, but you live ten feet from it, and occasionally the wind blows the exhaust in your direction, you're breathing that in. Walls don't help. Live at least one mile in a straight line from highways.

This is the type of delightfully practical advice that Keeps me returning to HN.