Indoor air quality is a growing concern, since it impacts the health and productivity of occupants of indoor areas. Some studies report on the benefits of underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems in removing indoor air pollutants, when compared with overhead systems. The objective of this research study was to verify experimentally and in a non-steady state condition, the contribution of an UFAD system to the removal of particulates and CO2 from the air of a classroom located at the Construction Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of USP. This verification was based on simultaneous measurements of particle concentrations in the breathing zone and at the air exhaust, under six different pre-defined values of air temperature in the occupied zone. Those concentrations enabled the calculation of the Particulate Removal Effectiveness index (PRE), at various points distributed throughout the environment. A similar analysis was performed for CO2. The low concentration levels of Total Suspension Particle suggest that this system does not disperse air pollutants indoors. The PRE indexes near 1.0, for both total suspension particle and CO2, confirmed the positive contribution of this system to their removal, under different operational conditions.
Underfloor air distribution system; Pollutant remova; Indoor air
