Tools for evaluation of domestic ventilation systems.

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 IAQ tool accounts for constant emission sources, CO2,cooking products, tobacco smoke, condensation risks, humidity levels (i.e., for judging therisk for mould and house dust mites), and pressure difference for identifying the risk for radonor land fill spillage to enter the dwelling or problems with combustion appliances indoors.An elaborated set of design parameters were worked out, that resulted in about 17000combinations. By using multi variat analysis it was possible to reduce to 174 combinations forIAQ. A sensitivity analysis was made for 990 combinations. The results from all the runswere used to develop a simplified tool and a set of equations.The results can be used both for dwellings to be constructed and existing dwellings. Thetools give immediate answers and indications, when discussing with the client about theconsequences of different choices. Within this project also a computerised energy tool hasbeen developed taking into account air tightness, climate, window airing pattern, outdoor airflow rate, heat exchange efficiency.This paper presents an introduction of the tools and demonstrate their applications.