commercial building

The influence of air infiltration and window opening on the indoor air quality in Austrian residential buildings was investigated. During the heating season, air infiltration plays a major role in securing hygienic conditions of indoor air and acts as basic ventilation. Air tight windows in new or renovated buildings do not provide this basic ventilation and can give rise to poor indoor air quality unless acceptable fittings for permanent ventilation are provided. Window opening can not replace the effect of permanent ventilation but plays a role as comfort ventilation.

A miniature passive perfluorocarbon tracer system was successfully applied to the determination of air infiltration and exfiltration rates from each zone of a multizoned structure, as well as the air exchange rates between zones inhomes, multiple unit condominiums, naturally ventilated apartment buildings, and large commercial buildings with multiple air-handling systems. Use of the multizone technique in indoor air quality assessments and air-handling system stratification studies appears to be quite feasible with the availability of this measuring system.

A subcommittee of the Nordic Committee for Building Codes has released guidelines for building regulations regarding indoor air quality, especially concerning ventilation. The main features of the guidelines, such as acceptable outdoor air quality for ventilation and minimum outdoor air flows for dwellings and offices, are presented and discussed. Mechanical ventilation is, in principle, required in all buildings including dwellings, due to therequirement of a minimum outdoor air change of 0.5 h-1 and the normal highly airtight nature of new buildings.

An increasing incidence of 'building illness' is being noted among white-collar workers due to the high pollutant content of air in modern energy-efficient office buildings. 

Presents a control system for mechanical ventilation of large rooms such as meeting rooms, cinemas, department stores, etc, based on air quality. Gas sensors are used to measure the pollutant levels and regulate the air flow in the room in relation to the number of people, level of tobacco smoke and other pollutants. The CO2 levels are also recorded. The resulting energy saved is given for three Norwegian buildings.

Discusses strategy for dealing with indoor air pollution in office and similar buildings, including verification of the mechanical ventilation system, measurement of building pressure, problems due to stack effect, presence of moisture. Suggests that the causes and cures of indoor pollution are diverse and surprisingly simple. Mechanical ventilation systems should be less complex, have dynamic stability and correct uncontrolled excessive moisture.

The various meanings of ventilation efficiency are briefly summarised. The residual life time of a released tracer gas is chosen as the most meaningful and convenient basis for local efficiency measurements in large, occupied, mechanically ventilated buildings. Measurements were carried out in ten public swimming pool halls. Sulphur hexafluoride tracer gas was released from a 20 ml syringe at various locations around the pool hall and the integrated concentration with respect to time was measured at the exhaust air duct. This was extrapolated to infinite time using the measured decay rate.

Ventilation can be advantageous as opposed to adventitious and, with careful building design, can eliminate the need for air conditioning in summer. This paper discusses the general principles of design for ventilation, inparticular the removal of excess heat, and presents two examples of buildings designed to eliminate air conditioning. One is a deep plan office block, the other an exhibition hall. In both cases ventilation models featured strongly in the design.

Distinguishes two categories of leaks in buildings for cold storage. Thermal leaks through parts of the construction with poor thermal insulation and air leaks through openings in the walls allowing a more or less free flow of air. Outlines principles of infrared radiation and thermography. Discusses applications for both types of leaks. Under the conditions of high emissivity of the surface to be studied, and absence of local heating or cooling (sun,wind, rain), thermography is an effective method for the detection of thermalleaks and a powerful tool for localizing air leaks.

Deals with a code providing directives for design and construction of cold stores, drafted by the Foundation for Development of Refrigeration Technique (Stiftung Ontwikkeling Koeltechniek). Gives threshold values for admissible pressure difference and admissible measure of non-tightness, and values forthe required pressure equalizing opening, depending on nature and size of the cold room.