smart ventilation

Adaptive comfort technology is reflecting the fact that the human body adapts to changing temperatures. As such, the temperature level where people feel comfortable is not a constant value, but changes with the seasonal variations of indoor and outdoor temperatures. 

Smart-ventilation with airflows adapting to the need of buildings reduces energy consumptions and can improve IAQ. In some countries, smart ventilation strategies have been widely used for a long term (like Belgium, France,…). We still need to quantify IAQ and energy benefits of smart ventilation through a common internationally validated performance assessment scheme, still under development, notably in the framework of the IEA-EBC Annex 86.

The inclusion of health-based performance indicators and metrics in ventilation system design and research is a widely discussed topic in recent years. This is due to increased awareness about the health implication of indoor air quality and due to the need for innovative ventilation system control (smart ventilation) to limit building energy use.  

Smart ventilation which provides air renewal thanks to its variable airflows adjusted on the needs can improve both indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy performance of buildings. However, such performance gains should be quantified with performance-based approaches. In this paper, we propose to extend the performance-based approach with a robust methodology to rank the ventilation systems performance. Such a methodology could be used in a decision-making tool at the design stage of buildings.

The installation of central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) in renovated apartment buildings presents considerable challenges, primarily due to insufficient space for ductwork. Consequently, many renovation projects are installing decentralised MVHR units, catering to individual apartments. Many of these devices offer the option of communicating with their controllers via Modbus, BACnet, KNX, or internet APIs, provided the necessary resources are available for the connection.

The Performance 2 project (2020-2024) is a French national research project that aims to evaluate the durability of Humidity-based Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV) systems installed in two multi-family social housing buildings (Paris and Villeurbanne) over than 10 years ago. This evaluation includes the analysis of continuous measurements performed on the ventilation system (sensors located close to the air terminal devices) and two additional Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) campaigns including two other monitors placed in the “dry” rooms conducted in 13 dwellings.

The buildings ‘sector is facing multiple challenges due to the need to generalize a sober approach and to reduce its energy consumption, its CO2 emissions and its impact on climate change, to reduce its environmental impact and its carbon footprint, to reduce the burden of disease due to exposure to unhealthy indoor environments and to adapt and be resilient in the face of climate change and environmental changes such as the increase in pandemics, the urban heat island and outdoor pollution.