ventilation

In order to better address energy and indoor air quality issues, ventilation needs to become smarter. A key smart ventilation concept is to use controls to ventilate more at times it provides either an energy or IAQ advantage (or both) and less when it provides a disadvantage. This would be done in a manner that provides improved home energy and IAQ performance, relative to a “dumb” base case. This paper highlights that a favourable context exists in many countries, with regulations and standards proposing “performance-based approaches”.

Carbon dioxide included in exhaled breath is often used as a tracer gas when estimation of ventilation aspect in buildings with occupants is performed. Indoor carbon dioxide concentration is also adopted evaluation of ventilation commonly. It is needed for these investigations to grasp occupants’ carbon dioxide production rate accurately. 

An implementation of a Condensation, Damp and Mould (CD&M) Strategy for the Thamesmead estate in south-east London Targeting 2000 homes. The evidence-based strategy is designed to manage CD&M systematically and focus on homes that will not be refurbished or replaced for some time. CD&M risk assessments and surveys are used to identify homes for a range of interventions, including energy advice, smart heating controllers and demand-controlled mechanical extract ventilation, in various combinations.

Surface condensation risk is a fact that has to be dealt with when buildings are airtight. Airtight buildings with lower ventilation rates are the result of applying energy saving policies and criteria. Surface condensation risk depends greatly on the ventilation rates, as well as on another factors such as generation of water vapour, climate, envelope components and U value, etc.

The extremes of arctic climate pose severe challenges on housing ventilation systems, energy consumption and demand for space heating for northern remote community residential buildings. As a part of the overall effort to reduce space heating requirements, dwellings are built air tight to reduce heat losses. However, airtight homes require energy efficient and effective ventilation systems to maintain acceptable indoor air quality and comfort, and to protect the building envelope from moisture damage.

International there are many different requirements and regulations for ventilation.  Sometimes the variation is more than a factor of five. There are strong drivers to reduce energy consumption for HVAC, and therefore the spread in requirements and regulation is worthwhile to study. To reduce ventilation flows there is a necessity to understand the reasons behind. Demand control to reduce this flows is in many countries growing but the control parameters are quite different, for instance humidity versus CO2 control.