Evaluation of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Source Control Measures for Advanced Relocatable Classrooms (RCs)

Goal Statement:
To conduct energy and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) studies on high-performance relocatable classrooms (RCs) in California.

Results:
The following evaluations have been completed:

• Collect and test emissions of RC materials that potentially emit toxic or odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into indoor air. Likewise, collect and test practical alternative materials that may emit significantly lower amounts of selected VOCs into RC interior air. Specify a set of alternative materials for test high-performance commercial building system (HPCBS) RCs per approval of the collaborating school districts.
• Design and begin construction of an energy and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring and data collection package for the HPCBS RCs.
• Construct four HPCBS RCs for study in school settings in Year 2. Construct two of the RCs using selected low-VOC alternative interior materials.
• Use mass balance models to predict indoor VOC levels resulting from construction materials emissions in RCs. VOC data collection in field studies is complete. A database of the measured data was constructed and is being analyzed.
• Computed daily mean and peak value statistics for the following:
  • six-minute-interval data collected for all school hours during 2001-2002 school year (data were collected for four separate time periods: Beginning of school until recess, After recess until lunch, After lunch until p.m. recess, and After p.m. recess until end of school day)
  • Weekly periods by HVAC mode [i.e., indirect/direct evaporative cooler (IDEC) or standard HVAC system week].

The following data analyses are now being conducted:

• Compute measures of variance in the outcomes from the time-series data.
• Compare the means and variance of IEQ outcomes from periods with the reference HVAC system operating to the means and variance with operation of the Package B systems.
• Select subsets of the full data set with closely matched weather and occupancy patterns and perform the same types of comparisons.
• Select subsets of the full data set with closely matched weather and occupancy patterns and perform the same types of comparisons.
• Assess the effectiveness of the source control measures by comparisons of VOC concentrations measured over time in the RCs with alternative low-VOC materials to concentrations measured in the base-case RCs.

Further details on the evaluation of VOC Source Control Measures..

Downloads and Links:

• "Comparison of Predicted and Derived Measures of Volatile Organic Compounds inside Four Relocatable Classrooms Due to Identified Interior Finish Sources", Hodgson, A.T., D.G. Shendell, W.J. Fisk, and M.G. Apte. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California. LBNL-52520. June 2003. (1.19 MB, 35 pp)
   
• Energy Savings and IAQ Report, 2003 (542 KB, 15 pp)
   
• Energy Savings and IAQ Report, 2002 (740 KB, 8 pp)
   
• Report on VOC emission sources in RCs (106.6 KB, 38 pp)

Contact: Michael Apte, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), (510) 486-4669