Evolution of Ventilation Measures and Energy Performance in Buildings with High Ventilation Demands: A Critical Review

Ehsan Mousavi (), Arup Bhattacharya, Fred Betz and Roger Lautz ()
Additional contact information
Ehsan Mousavi: Nieri Family Department of Construction and Real Estate Development, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Arup Bhattacharya: Bert S. Turner Department of Construction Management, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Fred Betz: NeuModlabs Inc., Madison, WI 53719, USA
Roger Lautz: Affiliate Engineers, Madison, WI 53719, USA

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-22

Abstract: Ventilation performance has historically been assessed using diverse metrics, ranging from air change rates and contaminant concentrations to occupant perception. This paper traces the evolution of these performance measures across research and practice, highlighting the progression from simple ventilation rate benchmarks to more sophisticated indicators like contaminant removal effectiveness (CRE), air exchange effectiveness (AEE), and age of air. The limitations of conventional metrics—particularly their inability to capture spatial variability, energy implications, and real-time contaminant removal—are critically examined. In addition, the historical evolution of these metrics and the rationale for their adoption is studied, specifically in the context of building codes and standards in the United States. A framework is proposed to categorize performance measures into ventilation rate-based, contaminant-based, air distribution-based, and perception-based groups, facilitating their comparison and selection. This critical review aims to support the development of more effective and context-sensitive ventilation assessment strategies, with implications for future research and building standards.

Keywords: ventilation measurements; ventilation efficiency; air change rate; ventilation evolution; literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3603/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/14/3603/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:14:p:3603-:d:1697320

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().