Numerical Assessment of the Performance of Ventilation Strategies in a Single-Family Building

Ventilation systems are primarily designed for ensuring good indoor air quality (IAQ). However, building energy requirements tend to put demand on reducing air change rates. The assessment of the performance of ventilation systems over long periods has thus become a subject of importance. In this framework, five ventilation systems were investigated for a heating period in a single-family house using a representative occupancy and pollution schedule. This was undertaken using SIMBAD, a combined mass and heat transfer toolbox. This paper compares the different results. For the studied climate, the best air quality and energy performances were obtained with mechanical balanced ventilation; the total energy savings that can be expected, compared to the reference system, is more than 20% depending on the efficiency of the heat exchanger. Also, it has been found that humidity-controlled ventilation systems could allow a similar reduction of energy consumption but in contrast fails, at times, to provide good IAQ. Finally, the studied natural ventilation system provides excessive airflow rates and obviously great energy losses, yet not the expected air quality.