The health benefits of better air • Hacker News Board

Re: The health benefits of better air

#131

Post by ahaucnx » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:01 AM UTC

tehnub wrote: post #21

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…

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?

A solution that one of our customers uses (Prem Tinsulanonda International School) is the installation of a positive pressure system. They are able to achieve near zero AQI in their classrooms when you have more than 300 US AQI outside.

You can read more on it on the See the Air Blog: https://seetheair.wordpress.com/2021/04/26/thailand-school-s...

Re: The health benefits of better air

#132

Post by 14 » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:01 AM UTC

colechristensen wrote: post #108

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…

I have an AirVisual Pro, which is quite expensive, but my half finished air quality monitor project had been on the bench for much too long. I have windows open all the time, air conditioning on too often, and dehumidifiers and HEPA filters as well. It is not efficient or particularly environmentally friendly... but I want a CO2 level My next half baked idea is figuring out a way to have a sealed home and an applianc…

Could you get a few more plants around the house? Plants can remove things like benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene. Maybe not the fastest but certainly don't cost much once you have them.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#133

Post by adrianN » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:04 AM UTC

clairity wrote: post #42

PurpleFoxy wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, following this advice makes the problem even worse as you now require a car to do anything. IMO, cities should just ban almost all car traffic from the centres so people can live car free without being poisoned.

put urban roads (and parking) underground, and use industrial scrubbers at air exchange. expensive but worth it. tax fossil fuels/carbon to subsidize this and internalize the environmental costs.

Where I live it takes several years to paint a pedestrian crossing. Even if we decided to put all traffic underground, nobody alive today would see that project finished.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#134

Post by cja » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:05 AM UTC

randomsquared wrote: post #93

curiousgeorgio wrote: post #34

Having lived in Central America, I can tell you that almost none of the recommendations[1] here are relevant, at least in relation to the kind of air pollution that kills the numbers of people shown in those graphs. Smoky fires (mostly for cooking) inside small huts are everywhere in much of the world, and very few of the affected people understand the risks. Even if they did, they rarely have any viable alternatives…

Even here in Poland. People burn anything to stay warm, oil even. The unhealthy pollution starts in November then ends in March. The entire time everyone, including children, are outside, pretending like it's not a problem. People running in the streets. And when you bring it up to people they get angry. Schools don't close, everyone continues like it's normal. I'm moving back to the west coast USA soon. I could live…

Thank you. I thought I was the only one in Poland with this view! My Polish wife gets angry when I mention it. I'm trying to rescue us (we have a young child) but she is resistant. Well done for escaping.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#135

Post by Tade0 » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:06 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?

Normally they should last a year, but a solid week of 200ug/m3 is enough to clog one. Speaking from experience.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#136

Post by ahaucnx » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:07 AM UTC

simondotau wrote: post #73

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…

That's a great resource, thank you. As a tinkerer who is already quite far down the ESP8266 rabbit hole, are you able to tell me if your software distribution has any particular "special sauce" around the interpretation of the data from these sensors? Or is it predominantly glue between the sensors and the OLED display / your cloud service? I am interested in replicating your hardware stack but implementing the softw…

There is no secret sauce needed. The Plantower sensors tell you the PM2.5 in micrograms directly and we just display it to the OLED display or send it to a server. It is all open source so you can check the code.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#137

Post by cja » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:07 AM UTC

randomsquared wrote: post #103

sneak wrote: post #4

Related: https://samharris.org/the-fireplace-delusion/

> I have discovered that when I make this case, even to highly intelligent and health-conscious men and women, a psychological truth quickly becomes as visible as a pair of clenched fists: They do not want to believe any of it. LOL this happens whenever I talk about this issue with people here in Poland. Part of it is their family is here, it's hard to immigrate, deep down they know it is a problem. It was upsetting…

Yes, to granny's house! So many political issues result from carefully suggesting that the smoky air at home might not be the best for her ill heart.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#138

Post by Qwertious » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:10 AM UTC

Thlom wrote: post #97

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…

One of the problems with EV’s is that the brake discs are rusting because they almost never gets used.

"problems"

Re: The health benefits of better air

#139

Post by ac29 » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:10 AM UTC

datlife wrote: post #50

cubicmeter wrote: post #40

Unless the author is not only a scientist but a really good one, I cannot personally believe any of this material. If particles were as essential to health as claimed, smokers would have a much much shorter life expectancy.

Agree. S/he is selling air filters, so the intention is obvious to me here. Anyways, it's an interesting read but I'll take it with a grain of salt.

I dont see any evidence they are selling anything. No links, or even names of products on the various pages about air filters.

Re: The health benefits of better air

#140

Post by Tade0 » Wed, Apr 28, 2021, 6:10 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #71

jonnycomputer wrote: post #11

I'm curious whether the issue the author identifies (real or not) with ultrasonic humidifiers applies also to humidifiers that simply blow air through a wet membrane..

I found that distilled water does not increase PM0.5 when I run an ultrasonic humidifier, but filtered water causes huge particulate spikes.

I have both a humidifier and purifier working 24/7, several meters apart and I've noticed that tap water in any form does make the purifier work harder, but demineralized doesn't.