The Improvement of Ventilation Behaviours in Kitchens of Residential Buildings

This research investigated resident behaviours in relation to kitchen ventilation in residential buildings in order to improve kitchen indoor air quality (IAQ) in South Korean living spaces. The research involved a survey study of 182 households, which identified resident behaviour with respect to ventilation, their satisfaction level regarding the IAQ, and their use and maintenance of range hoods in the kitchens. This paper describes the kitchen CO₂ concentrations with both natural and mechanical ventilation. The adequacy of the ventilation behaviour was determined by monitoring the CO₂ concentration and ventilation behaviours in 10 sampled households of residential buildings. The results showed that natural ventilation was conducted for less than 20 min once a day and that 23.3% of respondents used both natural ventilation and mechanical ventilators. Moreover, the results demonstrated that mechanical ventilators were not properly maintained. In addition, the average CO₂ concentration was greater than 1000 ppm during cooking, and natural ventilation was more effective than were mechanical ventilators. Most residents performed inadequate kitchen ventilation to achieve comfortable IAQ. This study suggests ways to improve the ventilation behaviours of residents. The findings of this research should aid in the development of IAQ standards for Korean residential buildings and may contribute to the establishment of ventilation guidelines.