ASHRAE Standard 62

Whole-house ventilation systems are becoming commonplace in new construction, remodeling/renovation, and weatherization projects, driven by combinations of specific requirements for indoor air quality (IAQ), health, and compliance with standards, such as ASHRAE 62.2. At the same time we wish to reduce the energy use in homes and therefore minimize the energy used to provide ventilation. This study examined several approaches to reducing the energy requirements of providing acceptable IAQ in residential buildings. Two approaches were taken.

The goal of this study was to develop a Residential Integrated Ventilation Controller (RIVEC) to reduce the energy impact of required mechanical ventilation by 20%, maintain or improve indoor air quality and provide demand response benefits. This represents potential energy savings of about 140 GWh of electricity and 83 million therms of natural gas as well as proportional peak savings in California.

Calculating contaminant concentrations in or the required ventilation for a space has been a difficult and confusing part in the application of the IAQ Procedure of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004; Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Appendix D of ASRAE Standard 62 presents one method for performing these calculations, but it is limited to the steady-state analysis of a single zone. More recently, two software tools have been developed by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to facilitate these calculations and to include transient effects.