Sensor-based Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Assessment for indoor kitchens in urban India

Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) refers to the deterioration of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of built indoor spaces. It is omnipresent and takes different forms, ranging from smoke emitted from solid-fuel combustion, especially in household kitchens in developing countries, to complex blends of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in modern buildings. IAP has several sources, such as cooking and heating activities, smoking, re-suspension of household dust, in-filtration of outdoor sources, etc. As per prior investigations, cooking is a predominant source of IAP in kitchen microenvironments because of the release of high concentrations of pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), etc. Therefore, burning fuels in enclosed spaces such as small household kitchens is a significant risk factor for the aggravation of respiratory diseases. In India, 89% of the urban population uses Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking. To understand the extent of IAQ deterioration, a study was formulated to use sensor-based monitors for pollutant levels in indoor kitchen microenvironments. Low-cost sensor-based monitors were employed to measure the variations in PM and CO2 levels, along with comfort parameters such as temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Using low-cost sensors makes the study easy to replicate and compare with other parts of the world. The current paper presents the IAQ assessment results of selected household kitchens in Chennai city, Tamil Nadu, India.