Indoor Air Quality Impacts of Residential HVAC Systems. Phase I Report. Computer Simulation Plan.
Indoor Air Quality Impacts of Residential HVAC Systems.
Phase I Report. Computer Simulation Plan.
(4206 K)
Emmerich, S. J.; Persily, A. K.
NISTIR 5346; 117 p. February 1994.
Sponsor:
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB95-135596
Keywords:
air flow; heating; ventilation; air conditioning; indoor
air quality; computer models; residential buildings;
computer simulation; quality control
Abstract:
NIST has completed the first phase of a project to study
the impact of HVAC systems on residential indoor air
quality and to assess the potential for using
residential forced-air systems to control indoor
pollutant levels. This project will use computer
simulations to assess the ability of modifications to
central forced-air heating and cooling systems to
control the concentrations of selected pollutants in
single-family residential buildings. The first phase
consisted of three major efforts: conducting a
literature review, developing a plan for computer
analysis, and holding an expert workshop to discuss the
plan. The second phase of the project will involve
performing the computer simulations and analyzing the
results. This report details the results of the Phase 1
efforts. The objective of the literature review was to
obtain information for planning computer simulations
that will be performed in Phase 2 of the project.
Specific subjects reviewed include indoor air quality
simulation tools, previous studies of the impacts of
residential HVAC systems on indoor air quality,
residential pollutant sources, and indoor air quality
control technologies associated with residential HVAC
systems. The development of the plan for the computer
simulations included the following items: selection of
appropriate computer simulation techniques, definition
of buildings to be analyzed in the simulations
(including building and HVAC system designs and building
locations), specification of pollutant source profiles,
and selection of HVAC technologies for indoor air
quality control. After the initial plan was developed,
an expert workshop was held at NIST to discuss the
proposed project plan and obtain feedback on its
technical merit and relevance to residential indoor air
quality issues. The overall reaction to the project
objective and approach was positive and most of the
workshop discussion focused on the details of the plan
or on potential follow-up work. The workshop
discussions were considered in developing the final plan
as presented in this report.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899