Indoor Air Research Laboratory

This state-of-the-art NRC Indoor Air Research Facility can generate and measure a wide-range of particles — from nano-particles to micro-particles — that can penetrate the lungs, harming human health.

View of Indoor Air Research Laboratory

Indoor air is negatively influenced by a number of irritants such as odour, carbon dioxide, bacteria, viruses, building materials, cleaning products, radon, ozone, pesticides, humidity, dampness, or mould, among others. This is why innovating and commercializing next-generation ventilation products to improve indoor air quality is so important.

Researchers at the NRC Indoor Air Research Laboratory are able to configure the facility's flexible modules to duplicate specific room sizes and home designs, as well as simulate models of heating and air-conditioning systems, and heat-recovery ventilators. This allows air quality experts to study and monitor the impact of ventilation systems on indoor air quality while documenting which ventilation systems and strategies work best to improve air quality and energy consumption.

Researchers are able to simulate indoor environments by producing particles found in homes and offices using aerosols and then monitor how they follow the air stream and how their concentration is influenced by different ventilation scenarios and systems.

Researchers can also demonstrate how high ventilation rates or air speeds sometimes create discomfort and increased dust and particle load in the air which contribute to energy loss.

About NRC Indoor Air Initiative

The NRC Indoor Air initiative represents an $8 million investment over four years by the Government of Canada of which $2 million is dedicated to the NRC Indoor Air Research Facility. The initiative is a part of the Government's Clean Air Agenda, which commits money and resources for government, industry and communities to work together to improve air quality.

Additionally, the NRC Indoor Air Research Facility is being launched with a uniquely designed field study that will be carried out in about 100 homes occupied by families with asthmatic children in the Quebec City area. Partnering with the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and other federal partners, NRC-IRC researchers will assess the physical characteristics of the homes and the quality of their indoor air, while medical professionals from INSPQ assess the health of the children.

Over a three-year period following the initial assessment, modifications will be made to the ventilation and air-distribution systems in the homes to improve indoor air quality and a follow-up assessment will be conducted to measure and evaluate whether there have been any changes in the indoor air quality or the health of the children. It is expected that the results from this study will improve our under­standing of the impact of ventilation and air distribution on indoor air quality.

Meanwhile, to optimize the design of modifications to the homes, the impact of different technologies will be simulated and tested in the new Indoor Air Research Laboratory on the NRC campus in Ottawa.

About the Government of Canada Clean Air Agenda

Through the Clean Air Agenda (CAA), the Government of Canada is working towards meeting its commitments to tangible improvements in Canada's environment, including reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The CAA is a four-year, $1.9 billion strategy. Eight federal departments and agencies are involved in designing and delivering more than 40 programs under eight themes within the overall agenda.

Related Information

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Research in Construction