The Advanced House represents the next generation of energy-efficient housing. The total energy requirements of the house have been reduced to an estimated 31 % of the needs of a conventional home. This has been accomplished by incorporating such features, as a prototype, an Integrated Mechanical System (IMS), high-performance windows, energy-efficient lighting and appliances, high levels of insulation, airtight construction, and an energy-efficient fireplace.
ASHRAE has long been in the business of ventilation, but most of the focus of that effort has been in the area of commercial and institutional buildings. Residential ventilation traditionally was not a major concern because it was felt that between operable windows and envelope leakage, people were getting enough air. In the quarter of a century since the first oil shock, houses have become much more energy efficient. At the same time, the kinds of materials and functions in houses were changing in character in response to people's needs.
Air exchange rates of ten residential buildings were measured according to ASTM-E741-83 using SF6 as a decaying tracer. Air exchange rates were also predicted based on the characteristics of the HVAC system, openings (such as windows), leakage areas, pertaining average wind speed, average indoor/outdoor temperature difference and wind and stack coefficients. It was found that measured air exchange rates were higher by 34% than those predicted if the literature coefficients were used.
Measurements of ventilation rates and indoor climate parameters were carried out in fiveEstonian residential buildings. The purpose of the study was to investigate potentialdifferences-between residences in former eastern Europe and Scandinavia, as regards theindoor environment. Air change rates were measured both during wintertime and springtime,and the air temperature and relative humidity were monitored both outdoors and indoors overextended periods of time. A variety of both organic and inorganic air pollutants weremeasured using both passive sampling and continuous monitoring.
In recent years, increasing importance has been placed on energy efficiency in residentialbuildings. This has resulted in tighter buildings, which raises concerns about the amount ofventilation required to provide acceptable indoor air quality. Relatively few studies have beenconducted on multifamily buildings, where the multiple zone interaction makes testing andanalysis difficult. In order to address this problem, detailed testing of air flows, pressures, andtemperatures was done at three electrically-heated multifamily buildings in the U.S.
Based on concerns about indoor air quality and trends towards tighter envelope construction,there has been increasing interest in mechanical ventilation of residential buildings in the UnitedStates. This paper reports on a situation study of indoor air quality, ventilation and energyimpacts of several mechanical ventilation approaches in a single-family residential building Thestudy focuses on a two-story house in the northwestern United States and employs themultizone airflow and contaminant dispersal model CONTAM96.
Within an International Energy Agency (IEA) project (Annex 27) experts from 8 countries(Canada, France, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, UK, and USA) have developed toolsfor evaluating domestic ventilation systems during the heating season. Building and useraspects, thermal comfort, noise, energy, life cycle cost, reliability, and indoor air quality(IAQ) tools were developed.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the indoor air quality parameters in a residentialdwelling using information from the field. The subject was a typical example of the modernItalian dwelling stock, built in the 1980s in a residential area in the northernpart of Rome.The dwelling was constructed from pre-cast panels using industrial building techniques. Thewindows were steel-framed and painted. Airtightness was measured to obtain the ACH (airchanges per hour) at 50 Pa pressure difference, and ELA (equivalent leakage area).
Until now, there is no widely accepted way to express any index for this purpose and takinginto account the large variety of possible pollutants. Things can be simptied if the aim k tocompare different systems and strategies rather than to give an absolute value of quality.For the study of a pollutant source, the main important point for comparison is the pattern ofits production, whatever this pollutant is. The detailed data for each inhabitant is the curve ofthe number of hours above a pollutant level concentration.
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