residential ventilation

IEA-EBC Annex 86 “Energy Efficient IAQ Management in residential buildings” aims to propose an integrated rating method for the performance assessment and optimization of energy efficient strategies of managing the indoor air quality (IAQ) in new and existing residential buildings. Our goal is to work in an international collaboration so that the different approaches to design and operation of ventilation in different countries are accounted for.

This paper reports the results of an interview survey conducted among different stakeholders involved in design, installation and operation of residential ventilation in seven European countries. In total 44 interviews were performed. The results provide a valuable snapshot of current practices and insights into potential barriers and challenges regarding installation of mechanical ventilation in low-energy residences to maintain high indoor air quality (IAQ). The results show that mechanical ventilation with heat recovery is becoming a common choice in new low energy residences in Europe.

AIVC Technical Note 68 (TN 68) "Residential Ventilation and Health” is one of the outcomes of the work performed under the framework of AIVC’s project “Ventilation & Health” and benefited from contributions by several authors and many structured discussions held during specific sessions at AIVC events. TN 68 summarised studies that prioritise pollutants in the indoor environment and presented a

Advancing energy efficient renovation solutions in buildings necessitate adopting high-insulation and airtightness to avoid heat loss through transmission and infiltration, which can result in overheating. Elevated indoor temperatures have a highly negative effect on building occupants’ health, wellbeing and productivity. With the possibility of remote working, people spend more time at home, and therefore addressing the elevated indoor temperatures and the overheating risks in residential buildings proves to be essential.

Balanced ventilation units are well known to provide a sufficient amount of fresh air in residential buildings in a controlled way, without relying on ever-changing naturally driven forces. During colder periods, heat recovery ensures a reduction of the ventilation heating load. Outside the colder periods, recovery is reduced or shut off automatically, providing mechanical ventilative cooling. During warmer periods, the recovery is used again to provide a comfortably cool supply of fresh air.

Balanced ventilation with heat recovery is an efficient way to maintain low heating demand for ventilation in residential buildings. Laboratory measurements of today’s heat recovery ventilation units show high temperature recovery efficiency during standard conditions. In practice, however, the recovery efficiency may decrease due to circumstances that deviate from the standard laboratory conditions.

In the context of the PREVENT project, preparing a possible revision of the Belgian residential ventilation standard, the way of expressing ventilation requirements, among others in terms of ventilation flow rates, needs to be investigated. The aim of this paper is to propose and compare ways of expression of the ventilation requirements in terms of flow rates with respect to their robustness across dwellings.

One of the key objectives of the IEA Annex 68 research programme entitled “Indoor Air Quality Design and Control in Low Energy Residential Buildings” is to provide a generic guideline for the design and operation of ventilation in residential buildings. They need to have minimal energy consumption, and at the same time maintain a high level of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The paper reports on preliminary results of an interview survey conducted among different stakeholders involved in design, installation and operation of residential ventilation in countries involved in the Annex.