Carbon Dioxide

Reference Levels

CO2 molecule

CO2 Molecule

  • 300 - 400 ppm: typical levels outdoors

  • 600 - 1000 ppm: typical levels in properly ventilated buildings

  • > 1000 ppm: this range suggests inadequate ventilation and could result in health effects associated with very high CO2 (e.g., fatigue), this may also indicate that other pollutants might be building up as well

CO2ÌýÌý

The primary source for CO2 indoors is human exhalation.Ìý This compound is a byproduct of human metabolic activity and might be more likely to build up in areas with a lot of people or poor ventilation.Ìý Other sources include those resulting in combustion byproducts: car exhaust, fossil fuel power plants, leaking furnaces, cigarette smoke, etc.Ìý CO2 can be considered one of the primary products of combustion; complete (or ideal) combustion results in CO2 and H2O andÌýenergy.ÌýIn very high concentrations it may cause health effects in humans, but is generally not considered to be dangerous. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change.

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