An investigation of MVHR system performance based on health and comfort criteria in bedrooms of low-carbon social housing in Wales

Literature on the in-situ performance evaluation of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) in low-carbon social housing suggests that they can maintain a healthy ventilation rate in bedrooms in the UK. However, issues with noise and draught have been reported frequently. These issues may affect the sleep quality of occupants and have a detrimental effect on health and wellbeing. This research aims to present a quantification of these issues by carrying out detailed monitoring and evaluation at two case study sites in Wales, UK. The objectives are to calculate ventilation effectiveness via tracer gas experiment; predict thermal comfort using Predict Mean Vote (PMV); and predict acoustic comfort by measuring MVHR noise under different modes of operation. Results show that ventilation is effective despite the proximity of the supply vent to the door undercut; 90% of occupants are predicted to be thermally satisfied according to Fanger’s thermal comfort model; and sound levels remain under the recommended value of 30dB(A) for bedrooms in all the cases. Results are followed by a discussion on experimental limitations and identification of opportunities for further investigation of the comfort indices mentioned.