Building America Case Study: Ventilation System Effectiveness and Tested Indoor Air Quality Impacts, Tyler, Texas

Program Document · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2015

OSTI ID:1225513

?Ventilation system effectiveness testing was conducted at two unoccupied, single-family, detached lab homes at the University of Texas - Tyler. Five ventilation system tests were conducted with various whole-building ventilation systems. Multizone fan pressurization testing characterized building and zone enclosure leakage. PFT testing showed multizone air change rates and interzonal airflow filtration. Indoor air recirculation by a central air distribution system can help improve the exhaust ventilation system by way of air mixing and filtration. In contrast, the supply and balanced ventilation systems showed that there is a significant benefit to drawing outside air from a known outside location, and filtering and distributing that air. Compared to the Exhaust systems, the CFIS and ERV systems showed better ventilation air distribution and lower concentrations of particulates, formaldehyde and other VOCs. System improvement percentages were estimated based on four System Factor Categories: Balance, Distribution, Outside Air Source, and Recirculation Filtration. Recommended System Factors could be applied to reduce ventilation fan airflow rates relative to ASHRAE Standard 62.2 to save energy and reduce moisture control risk in humid climates. HVAC energy savings were predicted to be 8-10%, or $50-$75/year. Cumulative particle counts for six particle sizes, and formaldehyde and other Top 20 VOC concentrations were measured in multiple zones. The testing showed that single-point exhaust ventilation was inferior as a whole-house ventilation strategy.

• Research Organization: NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1225513
• Report Number(s): NREL/FS-5500-64363; DOE/GO-102015-4693
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
?Residential
Airborne particles
BSC
Building America
Formaldehyde
Indoor air quality?
Particulate
Particulate matter
Residential Buildings
TVOC
VOC
Ventilation
Ventilation air distribution
Ventilation air source
Ventilation effectiveness
Ventilation system factors
Volatile organic compound
Whole-building ventilation