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Bayesian Assessments for Acceptable Airborne Bacteria Levels in Air-Conditioned Spaces

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

K.W. Mui

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China, behorace{at}polyu.edu.hk

P.S. Hui

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

W.Y. Chan

Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

The level of indoor airborne bacteria is usually selected as a reference to identify the cleanliness of a Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning system. This study proposes an epistemic approach for assessing acceptance of air-conditioned spaces against certain acceptable airborne bacteria levels. From the thermal environmental conditions and a sample test of the airborne bacteria level, the assessment model can give a rapid estimation of the probability of an unsatisfactory indoor environment. An office having a higher risk of unsatisfactory Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) would require a lower sample test value to fulfill the IAQ acceptance at certain confidence level. The model parameters were determined from databases of 529 air-conditioned spaces in Hong Kong, with airborne bacteria levels ranging from 41 to 2304 CFU · m^-3, air temperatures from 13.4 to 27.8°C and relative humidities from 29 to 88%. This model would be useful to policymakers for making a fast response to the microbiological pollutant problem while avoiding an inappropriate level of reliance on the results.

Key Words: Air-conditioned space • Airborne bacteria level • Bayesian assessment • Humidity • Temperature

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