What Can One Total VOC Figure Leave Out?
A total volatile organic compound (TVOC) figure compresses many measured compounds into one number. By itself, it cannot tell you which compounds contributed, whether some were unidentified, or how the result was produced. The German Committee for Health-related Evaluation of Building Products (AgBB) addresses those questions in a broader product-emissions scheme: its 2026 criteria include a TVOC sum, individual-substance assessment, a limit for VOC without an LCI value, and a defined chamber and reference-room scenario. Ask for those details before treating a total as a complete description. A product test also does not assess the air in your finished home or predict your personal health. [1]
- The 2026 AgBB scheme says its TVOC sum includes identified and unidentified compounds in a defined chromatogram range, but the sum does not identify them for the reader. [1]
- AgBB calls for compounds detected at 1 µg/m³ or more to be identified and listed with CAS numbers; its assessment then applies different rules and thresholds to individual substances and sums. [1]
- Unknown compounds and compounds without an LCI value are not the same category: AgBB groups both as VOC without an LCI value for a limit on their combined concentration. [1]
- A chamber result reflects specified test conditions and a reference-room exposure scenario. It is not a measurement of the air in a completed home or an individual health assessment. [1]
- For EMICODE EC1 PLUS in the published criteria for installation materials and other building products, the 28-day limits include TVOC 60 µg/m³, TSVOC 40 µg/m³, R value 1 and 40 µg/m³ for VOC without an LCI value. [2]
What does a TVOC total combine?
A sum is useful for describing the overall amount within a defined group, but it can conceal the composition of that group. Under AgBB’s 2026 scheme, TVOC is calculated from identified target compounds, identified non-target compounds and unidentified compounds that fall within the specified chromatogram range. Identified target compounds are quantified using substance-specific calibration; identified non-target and unidentified compounds are quantified as toluene equivalents. The total is therefore not a list of substances, and some contributions are estimates based on that common reference response. [1]
Which individual substances and unknowns are reported?
The AgBB scheme provides a useful benchmark for what to look for in a report. It says compounds found at 1 µg/m³ or more are to be identified and listed with their Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers. Listed substances with an LCI value at 5 µg/m³ or more are assessed individually, using their chamber concentration relative to that value; the sum of those ratios, the R value, is limited to 1. The scheme also limits the combined concentration of VOC without an LCI value, which includes compounds that cannot be identified and compounds that can be identified but lack an LCI value. These categories should not be mistaken for one another: “unidentified” describes analytical identification, while “without an LCI value” describes the assessment reference available. [1]
What can a test scheme add beyond the total?
A scheme’s criteria show whether the report considers other measurements and how it evaluates them. As published on EMICODE’s limits page on 1 November 2026, the criteria for EC1 PLUS in “installation materials and other building products” include measurements at three and 28 days. At 28 days, the listed limits are TVOC 60 µg/m³, TSVOC 40 µg/m³, R value 1, and 40 µg/m³ for the sum of VOCs without an LCI value. The same page sets different limits for other classes and for surface treatment products. Do not compare a single reported total with a class limit unless the product group, sampling time, units and test conditions match. [2]
What does the chamber result say about a home?
A product chamber test is evidence about emissions under specified conditions, not a direct reading of a completed building. AgBB’s 2026 assessment uses a reference room and links product emissions to expected room-air concentrations using factors such as room size, air exchange and the amount of emitting surface. Its reference-room assumptions include a 3 by 4 metre floor area, a 2.5 metre height and an air-change rate of 0.5 per hour. The scheme also assumes equal climatic conditions in the test chamber, reference room and real room, and no interactions with other building products. Actual rooms can differ in ventilation, temperature, humidity, material quantities and other sources. AgBB notes that VOCs can be released from many sources and usually occur indoors as mixtures. [1]
What should you request with the result?
Ask for the complete test report, not only its headline TVOC value. Check the product tested and its intended use; the test method and laboratory; the measurement day; the units; the loading factor and chamber conditions; and the table of identified substances with CAS numbers. Ask how unidentified compounds and compounds without LCI values are reported, and whether the report includes TSVOC, individual-substance assessment and the R value. If a label is cited, request its class, product group and applicable criteria. These details help you understand what the product evidence covers; they do not turn it into an indoor-air measurement or a personal health judgment. [1] [2]