Optimization of Occupancy Based Demand Controlled Ventilation in Residences

Journal Article · Sun May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2011 · International Journal of Ventilation

OSTI ID:1048319

Mortensen, Dorthe K; Walker, Iain S; Sherman, Max H

Although it has been used for many years in commercial buildings, the application of demand controlled ventilation in residences is limited. In this study we used occupant exposure to pollutants integrated over time (referred to as 'dose') as the metric to evaluate the effectiveness and air quality implications of demand controlled ventilation in residences. We looked at air quality for two situations. The first is that typically used in ventilation standards: the exposure over a long term. The second is to look at peak exposures that are associated with time variations in ventilation rates and pollutant generation. The pollutant generation had two components: a background rate associated with the building materials and furnishings and a second component related to occupants. The demand controlled ventilation system operated at a low airflow rate when the residence was unoccupied and at a high airflow rate when occupied. We used analytical solutions to the continuity equation to determine the ventilation effectiveness and the long-term chronic dose and peak acute exposure for a representative range of occupancy periods, pollutant generation rates and airflow rates. The results of the study showed that we can optimize the demand controlled airflow rates to reduce the quantity of air used for ventilation without introducing problematic acute conditions.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: Environmental Energy Technologies Division
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1048319
• Report Number(s): LBNL-4997E
• Journal Information: International Journal of Ventilation, Journal Name: International Journal of Ventilation Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 10; ISSN 1473-3315
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ACUTE EXPOSURE
AIR
AIR QUALITY
ANALYTICAL SOLUTION
BUILDING MATERIALS
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
CONTINUITY EQUATIONS
Demand controlled ventilation
air flow rates
equivalent dose
acute to chronic exposure
effectiveness
METRICS
OCCUPANTS
OPTIMIZATION
POLLUTANTS
VENTILATION
VENTILATION SYSTEMS