Effectiveness of a Heat Recovery Ventilator, an Outdoor Air Intake Damper and an Electrostatic Particulate Filter at Controlling Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings.
Effectiveness of a Heat Recovery Ventilator, an Outdoor
Air Intake Damper and an Electrostatic Particulate
Filter at Controlling Indoor Air Quality in Residential
Buildings.
(1139 K)
Emmerich, S. J.; Persily, A. K.
Implementing the Results of Ventilation Research. AIVC
Conference, 16th. Proceedings. September 19-22, 1995,
Palm Springs, CA, 263-275 pp, 1995.
Sponsor:
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
Keywords:
residential buildings; effectiveness; heat recovery;
dampers; filters; air quality; air pollution
Abstract:
A preliminary study of the potential for using central
forced-air heating and cooling system modifications to
control indoor air quality (IAQ) in residential
buildings was performed. The main objective was to
provide insight into the potential of three IAQ control
options to mitigate residential IAQ problems, the
pollutant sources the controls are most likely to
impact, and the potential limitations of the controls.
Another important objective was to identify key issues
related to the use of multizone models to study
residential IAQ and to identify areas for follow-up
work. The multizone airflow and pollutant transport
program CONTAM93 was used to simulate pollutant
concentrations due to a variety of sources in eight
houses with typical HVAC systems under different weather
conditions. The simulations were repeated after
modifying the systems with three IAQ control
technologies - an electrostatic particulate filter, a
heat recovery ventilator (HRV), and an outdoor air
intake damper (OAID) on the forced-air system return.
Although the system modifications reduced pollutant
concentrations in the houses for some cases, the HRV and
OAID increased pollutant concentrations in certain
situations involving a combination of weak indoor
sources, high outdoor concentrations, and indoor
pollutant removal mechanisms. Also, limited system
run-time during mild weather was identified as a
limitation of IAQ controls that operate in conjunction
with forced-air systems. Recommendations for future
research include: simulation of other buildings,
pollutants, and IAQ control technoligies; model
validation; sensitivity analysis; and development of a
database of important model inputs.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899