The importance of performance-based regulations for residential ventilation. State of the art

The context of climate change and the need of saving energy has required rethinking the ventilation and the air change rates in buildings, because of their increased impact on thermal losses. Indeed, ventilation plays a crucial role estimated around 30-50% of the energy delivered to buildings, becoming an even higher part in high-efficient buildings.  
Indoor air quality is another major area of concern in buildings which is influenced by ventilation. Because people spend most of the time in residential buildings and 60-90% of their life in indoor environments (homes, offices, schools, etc.), indoor air quality is a major factor affecting public health. Logue et al. estimated that the current damage to public health from all sources attributable to IAQ, excluding second-hand smoke (SHS) and radon, was in the range of 4,000–11,000 μDALYs (disability-adjusted life years) per person per year. By way of comparison, this means the damage attributable to indoor air is somewhere between the health effects of road traffic accidents (4,000 μDALYs/p/yr) and heart disease from all causes (11,000 μDALYs/p/yr). According to the World Health Organization, 99,000 deaths in Europe and 81,000 in the Americas were attributable to household (indoor) air pollution in 2012.  
Thus, by optimizing airflows where and when needs are higher, a smart ventilation system can truly improve IEQ while significantly minimizing energy consumption.