Indoor air quality of an energy-efficient, healthy house with mechanically induced fresh air

Issues associated with indoor air quality (IAQ) and its impact on occupant health have prompted research into the design and construction of healthy houses. Most of the houses constructed have been upscale housing. An affordable, energy-efficient, healthy house was built at Tuskegee
University with features that improve IAQ, reduce energy consumption, and do not increase the cost of the house beyond the means of the targeted homeowners. Tests were conducted on the healthiness of the house using a filtered fresh air ventilation system in the heating, cooling, and swing seasons. Initial tests of the Tuskegee healthy house do indicate that meeting the sometimes competing priorities of affordability, energy efficiency, and IAQ will require a more balanced combination of system operation than simply keeping the ventilation turned on. Future tests of the house will help to find a balance that best optimizes the combination of affordability, energy
efficiency, and IAQ.