ventilation systems

AIVC's Ventilation Information Paper #48.1 summarizes current knowledge on trends in building ventilation requirements and inspection in Spain. More specifically, the paper aims to cover the following national trends:

• IAQ requirements and market,
• energy requirements and market,
• inspection of ventilation systems,
• innovative systems and market, and
• impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Particulate matter (PM) is one of the most critical pollutants affecting indoor air quality (IAQ). Hence, reducing the exposure of occupants to indoor PM pollution is critical. Ventilation systems for commercial and residential buildings are instrumental for achieving this goal.

Various field studies have shown that in a vast majority of European countries the quality of installed residential ventilation systems is poor, with a large proportion of systems having significantly lower installed flow rates than the required values, or having poor energy performance due to flaws in design, installation or operation. This paper analyses the potential impact of different policy options for an EU-level approach for inspection of stand-alone ventilation systems in residential buildings until 2050.

Trends in home heating and cooling in the US are resulting in less mixing of air within dwellings, either due to not using central forced air systems, or to reduced loads and runtimes in high performance homes. This study examined the use of zoned ventilation systems using a coupled CONTAM/EnergyPlus model of new California dwellings, including a 1-story single-family dwelling and a single apartment unit. Zoned and unzoned ventilation systems were simulated for exhaust, supply and balanced fan types.

The primary purpose of ventilation and air-conditioning system is to ensure internal comfort conditions through a continuous supply of air and maintaining the assumed indoor parameters. High air velocity in the occupied zone may result in an uncomfortable feeling of the draft, cooling effect, or local discomfort. The subjects of the study are linear diffusers, which depending on the purpose, are installed in ceilings, floors, or walls. Models may vary widely in their shape, number or size of slots/nozzles, and the length or shape of the deflector blades.

The book of proceedings of the 13th International BUILDAIR Symposium "Airtight Buildings, Thermography and Ventilation Systems in Practice",  held on June 2-3  2023 in Hannover, Germany. Contains 36 abstracts.

Worldwide, the demand for airtightness tests of tall buildings with a height of approximately 100 m is increasing. This report provides information on the planning and measurement concept for testing the entire building as a “single-zone” and presents the results and findings of the airtightness tests. The test set-up and the tests as such are based on the Passive House Institute's Guide to Measuring Tall Buildings [5] which includes recommendations that go beyond the ISO 9972 standard.