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Measurements of microclimates in beds in relation to the climatic requirements of house dust mites

Svennberg, Kaisa LU and Wadsö, Lars LU (2005) 7th Symposium on Building Physics in the Nordic Countries, 2005
Abstract
House dust mites are animals of a size less than 0.5 mm that can live in beds, carpets and furniture feeding on skin scales. They are a common source of allergy in, e.g., Scandinavia, where their major habitat is in beds. Previous studies show that in drier environments the house dust mite occurrence is lower, and persons with dust mite allergy have fewer symptoms during the winter when the indoor relative humidity (RH) is low. There have also been attempts to alter the microclimatic conditions in beds to reduce the house dust mite occurrence. The microclimatic conditions in beds have been studied both in field measurements and by modeling but there is still a lack of knowledge of how the hygrothermal material properties of the mattress... (More)
House dust mites are animals of a size less than 0.5 mm that can live in beds, carpets and furniture feeding on skin scales. They are a common source of allergy in, e.g., Scandinavia, where their major habitat is in beds. Previous studies show that in drier environments the house dust mite occurrence is lower, and persons with dust mite allergy have fewer symptoms during the winter when the indoor relative humidity (RH) is low. There have also been attempts to alter the microclimatic conditions in beds to reduce the house dust mite occurrence. The microclimatic conditions in beds have been studied both in field measurements and by modeling but there is still a lack of knowledge of how the hygrothermal material properties of the mattress and bedding affect the environmental conditions for the house dust mites. This paper presents diurnal temperature and RH variations in mattresses and beddings under normal use measured for two different mattress types. The climatic results from the beds have been compared to microclimatic requirements that govern the house dust mite activity levels. This study is a part of a multidisciplinary project aiming to find technical solutions for reduction of house dust mites in bedrooms by environmental control. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
house dust mites (HDM), bed, bedding, mattress, relative humidity (RH), measurements, temperature, climatic conditions, material properties.
host publication
[Host publication title missing]
conference name
7th Symposium on Building Physics in the Nordic Countries, 2005
conference location
Reykjavik, Iceland
conference dates
2005-06-13 - 2005-06-15
ISBN
9979-9174-6-6
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5fe2c726-167a-4a44-b307-938ba05a2a2b (old id 1003667)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 13:31:02
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:14:30
@inproceedings{5fe2c726-167a-4a44-b307-938ba05a2a2b,
  abstract     = {{House dust mites are animals of a size less than 0.5 mm that can live in beds, carpets and furniture feeding on skin scales. They are a common source of allergy in, e.g., Scandinavia, where their major habitat is in beds. Previous studies show that in drier environments the house dust mite occurrence is lower, and persons with dust mite allergy have fewer symptoms during the winter when the indoor relative humidity (RH) is low. There have also been attempts to alter the microclimatic conditions in beds to reduce the house dust mite occurrence. The microclimatic conditions in beds have been studied both in field measurements and by modeling but there is still a lack of knowledge of how the hygrothermal material properties of the mattress and bedding affect the environmental conditions for the house dust mites. This paper presents diurnal temperature and RH variations in mattresses and beddings under normal use measured for two different mattress types. The climatic results from the beds have been compared to microclimatic requirements that govern the house dust mite activity levels. This study is a part of a multidisciplinary project aiming to find technical solutions for reduction of house dust mites in bedrooms by environmental control.}},
  author       = {{Svennberg, Kaisa and Wadsö, Lars}},
  booktitle    = {{[Host publication title missing]}},
  isbn         = {{9979-9174-6-6}},
  keywords     = {{house dust mites (HDM); bed; bedding; mattress; relative humidity (RH); measurements; temperature; climatic conditions; material properties.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Measurements of microclimates in beds in relation to the climatic requirements of house dust mites}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/6139350/1003678.pdf}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}