Mechanical ventilation system performance involves the provision of adequate amounts of outdoor air, uniform distribution of ventilation air within the occupied space, and the maintenance of thermal comfort. Standardized measurement techniques exist to evaluate thermal comfort and air exchange rates in mechanically ventilated buildings; field techniques to evaluate air distribution or ventilation effectiveness are still being developed. This paper presents field measurements of air exchange rates and ventilation effectiveness in an officepibra-y building in Washington, DC.
With a dynamical model, the thermal behavior of a single office room is simulated. The model includes among other things the behavior of occupants, the heat production of machines and lights, the heat flux into masses, real weather data (hourly observations) and different HVAC and control systems. The computer program calculates monthly and yearly energy consumption and a statistical distribution of the room air temperature. It can also be used to investigate the time evolution of physical processes for short periods.
Management for acceptable indoor air quality in office buildings requires that the buildings are properly designed, operated and maintained, and that property managers have the knowledge necessary to respond to changes in building operation and use. Although most property managers are non-technical people, with clearly defined guidelines they are capable of achieving this objective. This paper presents an IAQ guide for such a purpose. The guide has been tested by four property managers for accuracy in detecting potential problems and ease of use.
In an experimental facility, we studied the performance of a task ventilation system designed for use in office buildings. With this system, occupants can adjust the flow rate and direction of air supplied to their work space through four floor-mounted supply grills. Air typically exits the ventilated space through ceiling-mounted return grills. To study indoor air flow patterns, we measured the age of air at multiple indoor locations using the tracer gas stepup procedure.
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