CO2 and Indoor Air Quality, school me please

[gruesome]

I think you are overly concerned about CO2. To be actually unpleasant (not dangerous or deadly, just unpleasant) the concentration would have to be in the percent region, assuming oxygen is still at 21%. (If I remember correctly, they were debating running some longer term space missions at a few percent, but that could make for a very unpleasant time adjusting to that level.) At 1000 ppm (parts per million) you are still a factor 10 below 1%. As others pointed out, the global average has crept up to 420ppm this year, so you can't really hope for anything lower indoors. The better your house is sealed, the higher the CO2 will go. I wouldn't worry about twice the outdoor value (800 ppm).
If it goes beyond 1000 ppm (0.1%, 1 permille) people can get tired/sleepy; that can easily happen in meeting rooms if the HVAC doesn't control for CO2 concentration.
This all assumes that your indoor oxygen levels are normal. If oxygen drops significantly below 21%, that is a reason to worry.


CO (one O) is a completely different thing (OSHA limit 50 ppm); are you sure you are not confusing the two?

 

[begreen]

It sounds like C02 levels could be much higher in the fall then as plants die off or go dormant.

 

[EbS-P]

It sounds like C02 levels could be much higher in the fall then as plants die off or go dormant.

About a 3 month lag in the mid level of the atmosphere.

Watching Earth Breathe: The Seasonal Vegetation Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | AIRS

In this animation, NASA instruments show the seasonal cycle of vegetation and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

airs.jpl.nasa.gov

 

[begreen]

About a 3 month lag in the mid level of the atmosphere.

Watching Earth Breathe: The Seasonal Vegetation Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | AIRS

In this animation, NASA instruments show the seasonal cycle of vegetation and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

airs.jpl.nasa.gov

I'd be interested to see the graphs from February.

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[stoveliker]

I am surprised that the seasonal photosynthesis effects seem to be larger than winter-heating fossil fuel emissions. At least in the explanations of these videos they mention the former but not the latter.

 

[EbS-P]

I am surprised that the seasonal photosynthesis effects seem to be larger than winter-heating fossil fuel emissions. At least in the explanations of these videos they mention the former but not the latter.

Do we drive less in the winter?

 

[stoveliker]

Do we drive less in the winter?

Maybe not but we do heat more. Including electrically.

Hard to get good data, but transportation is less than "residential and commercial" direct and indirect (i.e. electric generation) emissions.

But that's not heating only.

Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | US EPA

Sources of greenhouse gas emissions, inculding electricity production, tranportation, industry, agriculture, and forestry.

www.epa.gov

My point is that heating is not insignificant (unless in the south...) for emissions, and it goes up exactly when plants don't consume CO2.