CO and The Garage Connection
CO and The Garage Connection Stephen Klossner ACT [email protected] 651.261-9721 1 Attached Garages - IAQ issues CO – – Benzene – – – 2 Car exhaust Combustion appliances Gasoline storage Car start/stops Small engines Other stuff ??? CO Response May to April 4000 3500 3000 2500 94/95 95/96 96/97 2000 1500 1000 500 3 0 M J J A S O N D J F M A CO Response By Month January to January 4000 3500 3000 2500 1995 1996 1997 2000 1500 1000 500 0 4 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec More Detail: Response Data 5 Response By Month And Heating Season Responses Where No CO Was Found CO Response May 94 to April 95 Percentages 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr 6 No CO Source Found CO Response May 96 to April 97 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar No CO Source Found 7 Designing A Study What Did We Want To Learn? – – – 8 Were these calls false alarms? What were the sources of CO? Why couldn’t we find it? Developing A Protocol 9 Carbon Monoxide Investigation Protocol Carbon Monoxide Investigations House Testing to be included; – – – – – – – 10 Calibrated blower door test Series leakage, house to garage Pressure measurements in mechanical room Vent pressure measurements under ambient and induced pressures Depressurization from exhaust appliances Depressurization from fireplaces Pressures caused by air handling equipment Carbon Monoxide Investigations Carbon monoxide was tested in the following appliances; – – – – – – 11 Furnaces and boilers (under draft and backdraft) Water heaters (under draft and backdraft) Gas dryers Gas ovens Space heaters Attached garages (if cold vehicle was present) Carbon Monoxide Investigations 12 50 Homes included in this study Homes included in study had 2, or more, carbon monoxide responses from Utility Homes were a cross section of ages Homes were tested in heating season only Carbon monoxide was measured at start of testing The Top Three 13 Automobile Exhaust Infiltration Gas Ovens Backdrafting Carbon Monoxide Investigations Potential source of detector alarm. # 1 is garage (74%) # 2 is cooking (28%) # 3 is backdrafting (18%) # 4 is other sources (6%) # 5 is furnaces producing high levels of CO (6%) 80% 74% 70% 60% 50% 40% 28% 30% 18% 20% 10% 10% 6% 0% Garage 14 Backdraf ting Furnace The Garage Connection Primary Source In 74% Of The Homes Large Leakage Rates Documented – – 15 Garage to house leakage ranged from 124cfm to over 2000cfm Up to 80% of total air leakage into the house (average of 24%) Measured Leakage from Attached Garages 90.00% 75.00% 60.00% 45.00% 30.00% 15.00% 0.00% 16 Attached Garage 17 Attached Garage 18 The Garage Connection 19 Remediation Is A Challenge Sealing the garage wall effectively is difficult May cause problems in the house due to loss of make-up air???? Ventilation of the garage may work, if done properly – May cause backdrafting of combustion equipment if done improperly!! Backdrafting Identified As A Potential Source In 18% Of The Homes Induced Mechanically In The Study Can Occur Due To A Variety Of Interactions – – 20 Exhaust equipment Lack of make-up air Any Combustion Appliance Should Be Inspected Annually Carbon Monoxide during backdrafting (PPM) 8000 7300 7000 6395 6000 5000 3800 4100 4100 4000 3000 2480 2000 1000 0 1675 350 1 2 3 4 Drafting 21 4600 5 6 7 Backdrafting 8 9 Carbon Monoxide Investigations Data Logging of Homes Homes were data logged for: – – – – – – 22 Carbon monoxide (2 locations) Carbon dioxide Temperature Sound Appliance operation (up to 4 appliances) Pressures (2 locations) A Typical CO Event CO Garage & House No Fan 160 140 P P M & P ressu re 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 -20 1 53 105 157 209 261 313 365 417 469 521 573 625 677 729 781 833 885 937 989 Time 23 Pa. CO-H CO-G A Typical CO Event “With Exhaust fan” CO Garage & House - With 120 CFM Exhaust in Garage 250 P P M & P re s s u re 200 150 100 50 0 -50 1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61 66 71 76 81 86 91 96 101 106 111 116 121 126 131 136 141 146 151 156 161 166 171 176 181 Time 24 Pa. CO-H CO-G Closer Look at Pressures CO Garage & House - No Ehaust 5 P re s s u re O n ly 3 1 -1 1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 151 157 163 169 175 181 -3 -5 Time 25 Pa. Closer Look at Pressures CO Garage & House - With 120 CFM Exhaust in Garage 5 P re s s u re O n ly 3 1 -1 1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 151 157 163 169 175 181 -3 -5 Time 26 Pa. Misc. Issues Remedial efforts – – CO during backdrafting Proper adjustment & maintenance – Building & mechanical code implications 27 ALL COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT make-up air garage wall air handling design Central Vacuums Townhomes/Twin home What we do to a house helps/hurts Changes to the house influence the garage connection – – – – Tightening the house Adding continuous exhaust ventilation Sealing versus pressure reductions Who should test 28 What to test Process and levels of concern Conclusions CO diagnostics are highly complex Detectors seem to be reacting to CO Other studies indicate 80% of calls undiagnosed – 29 Are garages the missing 80%? There is a lot left to learn on these issues! Questions? 30 Thanks!
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