Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

U.S. Commercial Building Stock Analysis of COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies: Preprint

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1890457
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of improving building indoor air quality to reduce occupants’ chances of contracting airborne illness. The ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force (ASHRAE-ETF) released several COVID-19 mitigation strategies at the onset of the pandemic. This study explores four of those recommendations for reducing transmission of COVID-19 inside buildings: (1) 100% outdoor air ventilation, (2) MERV-13 or better filters, (3) demand control ventilation removal, and (4) HVAC flushing mode. These recommendations were simulated and assessed using ComStock, a model of the U.S. commercial building stock. The study showed the 100% outdoor air ventilation recommendation had the largest impact on energy consumption, noncoincident peak demand, and thermostat violations. Removing demand control ventilation had the smallest national aggregate impact, installing MERV-13 filters led to slight increases in energy use and peak demand, and HVAC outdoor air flushing led to modest energy use and peak demand increases.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1890457
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-5500-82515; MainId:83288; UUID:fcca2d5a-dd92-4357-a2aa-6c57aa6904ca; MainAdminID:67546
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English