Study Examines Role of Opening Windows on IAQ

Study Examines Role of Opening Windows on IAQ
ROLLA, Mo.—An environmental engineering professor at Missouri University of Science and Technology is undertaking a research project to study the effect of open windows on the air quality inside a home. Glenn Morrison’s project, Indoor Exposure to Pollutants Associated with Oxidative Chemistry: Field Studies and Window-Opening Behavior, is believed to be the first of its kind. Morrison says studying window-opening behavior is new to everyone—including him. Part of the study will focus on gathering data from throughout the U.S. on window-opening habits in different geographic reasons and different climates. The other facet of the project will be a quantitative analysis of indoor air quality in summer and winter months in specific locales. “If you have the window open even a crack, more outdoor air is coming into the house and that affects the air turnover rate and that alters the air composition,” he says, adding “When chemicals enter and react inside your home, they can actually end up creating a complex smog episode.”