Slowly but Steadily

By Helen Lu

After going through the stack of room count data from last week, our team has decided on many aspects of what we’re doing for the rest of the quarter. After coordinating with Professor Zhu Yifang and her postdoctoral students, we have managed to borrow a Dylos air quality monitor from them. Starting next week, we are going to take two air quality measurements per day; one in the morning, and one in the evening (minimum usage and peak usage). We’re going to do this every weekday until the end of the quarter. Our team has also decided to apply for the The Green Initiative Mini Fund (TGIF) so we can buy an additional Dylos air quality monitor. A second monitor would make the data collection process smoother by allowing us to leave one at each location– one at Bruin Fitness Center, and one at John Wooden Recreation Center.

Last Friday, Kevin Winder, the building engineer, gave us a walkthrough tour of the John Wooden Recreation Center. He answered a lot of our questions about the filtration system and the filters, and he helped guide us in the direction of our project. Originally, our team had planned on upgrading filters for specific rooms to see if there was any change in the air quality. However, Kevin argued that using HVAC air filters is infeasible: the filters are expensive, require more frequent replacements, and consume more energy. We will have to brainstorm alternative solutions to potential air quality issues. On the other hand, if the air quality turns out to be better than we expected, we may explore ways to make the air filtration methods more energy efficient.

We’re excited to get a tour of the Bruin Fitness Center and start collecting data!