Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

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> Normally a high CO2 level will go hand in hand with... other pollutants that build up at the same time

No, I think you've got that backwards. It's other pollutants that may (but also may not) go hand in hand with CO2.

CO2 is the only pollutant constantly produced by people and that works as the main indicator of air quality.

Things like PM2.5 or VOC levels, if they are being produced at all, will also be trapped in stale air. But my apartment, for example, generates virtually none of those, except for when I'm cooking, when it generates massive quantities of PM2.5.

I use a CO2 monitor in my living room and I adjust the crack in the window several times a day to keep it around 550 without wasting too much on heating. It's not even remotely common sense, you absolutely need a sensor.

> I use a CO2 monitor in my living room and I adjust the crack in the window several times a day to keep it around 550 without wasting too much on heating. It's not even remotely common sense, you absolutely need a sensor.

It's more efficient to air out by opening the windows fully and creating a draft for a few minutes several times a day than to leave the window cracked when it's colder outside.

No it's not.

CO2 levels build up higher than I want within half an hour so I'd have to be doing that all day long. And it would result in a periodically freezing apartment.

It's much more efficient for me to keep it open a crack.

Do you have central air, and keep the fan running? I've experimented with this at our place and doing a full cycle for 5 minutes, then turning the fan to "on" rather than "auto" and closing all doors and windows will keep it below 700 everywhere for about 6 hours. Otherwise the second floor climbs into the 1000's while the first floor stays around 500

I mean efficient in terms of heating/energy, not CO2 levels.

I got the window unit version of https://www.openerv.org and it is better than leaving the window open.

That's not adequate, at least for me as a relatively average sized man in a relatively average sized living unit. My respiration is sufficient to raise CO2 levels indoors to over 800ppm from background levels within an hour without constant ventilation.

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