indoor air quality

As a consequence of the energy and environmental issues, it is necessary to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. So, the air tightness of building envelopes is being improved and the air change rate due to infiltration is decreasing. It is then even more important than in the past that the buildings are equipped with well designed and working ventilation systems in order that the air renewal within buildings is ensured. In this context, the market of balanced ventilation systems with heat recovery for dwellings is growing. 

The exposure of children to indoor air pollutants in school classrooms might cause them adverse health effects. In order to confront this issue, the in-depth study and evaluation of the indoor air quality in classrooms is necessary. The aims of this study are to characterize the environmental factors that affect indoor air quality.

Air quality in the office room areas, as well as their energy demands for heating and cooling are directly depended on the ventilation levels in those rooms. Specifically, high internal air quality requires high levels of ventilation and therefore high energy demands. On the other hand, high energy savings can be accomplished by full building impermeability, which means low to none ventilation and at the same time low air quality.

The need for more energy efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems led to a search for new systems for heating, cooling and ventilation of buildings. Strong reduction of energy consumption within the built environment is necessary because of the growing effects of depletion of fossil fuel and global warming. This lead to a almost standard concept of energy efficient office buildings in the Netherlands. That concept exists of heat pumps and  LTES aquifers combined with thermally activated building systems (TABS).

Ventilation is especially important to get a good Indoor Air Quality in schools. This is important as the young children have very vulnerable still developing longs which are very sensitive to all kind of pollutions. During the last decade different types of sustainable schools were built. The first schools were like very well insulated schools up to the Passive House standard. The next step in this development are schools which generate more energy hat they need themselves: Plus Energy schools. In 2011 a first school of this type was built in the Netherlands.

Ventilation’s historical goal has been to assure sufficient air change rates in buildings from a hygienic point of view. Regarding its potential impact on energy consumption, ventilation is being reconsidered. An important challenge for low energy buildings lies in the need to master airflows through the building envelope.

The global requirement to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions places an increased emphasis on reducing energy demand associated with dwellings. Where improved energy efficiency is in part achieved by tighter control of ventilation, there is potential for both positive and negative impacts on health from reduced air exchange in the indoor environment. Although increased air tightness may help improve indoor temperatures and reduce the ingress of pollutants from the external environment, it may increase concentrations of those from indoor sources.

This paper describes the results of a Dutch national study into performance of mechanical ventilation systems and its effect on the self-reported health and perceived indoor environmental quality of occupants.

It is widely accepted that ventilation is critical for providing good indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes. However, the definition of "good" IAQ, and the most effective, energy efficient methods for delivering it are still matters of research and debate. This paper presents the results of work done at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to identify the air pollutants that drive the need for ventilation as part of a larger effort to develop a health-based ventilation standard.

As building insulation level increases, the coupling of ventilation systems with building enveloppe airtightness becomes an important issue in order to improve buildings energy performances. A building ventilation model can be built on a set of resistances and generators in order to handle infiltration, natural ventilation as well as fan driven air flows. The model is able to assess the indoor air humidity level and the building energy balance.