Help lowering my CO2 levels?

• 

  seagatesg1

  Posted: 22.12.2023 23:28

  Modified: 01.05.2024 13:40

  Hey all, I got an Aranet 4 last month and have been doing some testing of ways to lower my CO2 levels (they were extremely high!). I've got some conclusions but am also having some issues and I'm wondering if there's any insight from others as to what I may be able to do, given my unique set of circumstances. 

  I live in a fairly small apartment. If everything is closed, the ambient CO2 levels are hovering anywhere from 1200-1500 - not great. If I open the door to my porch, the levels tend to drop to ~500-600 in about 15 minutes, which is fantastic. The problem is that I live in Florida and suffer from extremely severe allergies year-round. So leaving the door open all the time is not an option (not to mention the extremely hot summers). 

  However, when I close the door and just run my air conditioner, the CO2 levels creep back up to that undesirable level pretty quickly (within 45-60 minutes). I thought I could combat the allergens by installing a specialized allergy screen to my screen door. However while that seems to be blocking out the pollen, it is also reducing my air flow and now my ambient CO2 levels with the door open are in the 900s to low 1000s, which isn't great either.

  Is there anything simple I could do with my air conditioning unit to improve the air flow/quality and lower these CO2 levels? I have the option to put in a different filter (usually my apartment gives us ones for free) but I'm not sure if that'll really do anything. Or is there any other way to keep levels low? Googling hasn't come up with much else. As others have said, I'd need to basically have a jungle in here in order to get levels lowered substantially. 

  Any help or input would be greatly appreciated!

  Edit to add: I should probably also note that turning on my ceiling fans don't seem to make any appreciable difference in CO2 levels. The allergy screen I purchased was this one:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VMHT4ZN?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

  I uploaded some pictures of my AC unit and vents as well over on a Reddit post I made asking for help here:

  https://www.reddit.com/r/aranet/comments/18opf2w/help_lowering_my_co2_levels_pics_of_ac/

   
• 

  aranet-techsupport

  Posted: 27.12.2023 08:48

  Hi!

  The reddit comment on the post you sent, seems like the way to go here, as well as using the filter.
  To get rid of Co2 in your house, it has to be removed. House plants can do that, but keep in mind they only do that in sunlight and during the night they actually emit a bit of Co2.
  So best way to remove Co2 would be to open a door or a window. With the allergy screen the gas exchange might be slower but it still happens. And depending on where the ceiling fan is located, it could help with the air flow, at least to circulate the air around a bit more for a more uniform Co2 distribution.
  
  As for the A/C. Usually the A/C doesn't take fresh air from the outside so turning it on won't help at all here.
  
  My recommendation would be to try and maximize airflow while having the door with the pollen screen open.
  
  Best of luck.

You have to log in to reply.