Research on Best Solution for Improving Indoor Air Quality and Reducing Energy Consumption in a High-Risk Radon Dwelling from Romania

Ion-Costinel Mareș, Tiberiu Catalina, Marian-Andrei Istrate, Alexandra Cucoș, Tiberius Dicu, Betty Denissa Burghele, Kinga Hening, Lelia Letitia Popescu and Razvan Stefan Popescu
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Ion-Costinel Mareș: Faculty of Building Services, Technical University of Civil Engineering, 66 Pache Protopopescu Blvd., RO-021414 Bucharest, Romania
Tiberiu Catalina: Faculty of Building Services, Technical University of Civil Engineering, 66 Pache Protopopescu Blvd., RO-021414 Bucharest, Romania
Marian-Andrei Istrate: Faculty of Building Services, Technical University of Civil Engineering, 66 Pache Protopopescu Blvd., RO-021414 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandra Cucoș: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Street, RO-400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Tiberius Dicu: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Street, RO-400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Betty Denissa Burghele: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Street, RO-400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Kinga Hening: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Street, RO-400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Lelia Letitia Popescu: Faculty of Building Services, Technical University of Civil Engineering, 66 Pache Protopopescu Blvd., RO-021414 Bucharest, Romania
Razvan Stefan Popescu: Faculty of Building Services, Technical University of Civil Engineering, 66 Pache Protopopescu Blvd., RO-021414 Bucharest, Romania

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The purpose of this article is the assessment of energy efficiency and indoor air quality for a single-family house located in Cluj-Napoca County, Romania. The studied house is meant to be an energy-efficient building with thermal insulation, low U-value windows, and a high efficiency boiler. Increasing the energy efficiency of the house leads to lower indoor air quality, due to lack of natural ventilation. As the experimental campaign regarding indoor air quality revealed, there is a need to find a balance between energy consumption and the quality of the indoor air. To achieve superior indoor air quality, the proposed mitigation systems (decentralized mechanical ventilation with heat recovery combined with a minimally invasive active sub-slab depressurization) have been installed to reduce the high radon level in the dwelling, achieving an energy reduction loss of up to 86%, compared to the traditional natural ventilation of the house. The sub-slab depressurization system was installed in the room with the highest radon level, while the local ventilation system with heat recovery has been installed in the exterior walls of the house. The results have shown significant improvement in the level of radon decreasing the average concentration from 425 to 70 Bq/m 3 , respectively the carbon dioxide average of the measurements being around 760 ppm. The thermal comfort improves significantly also, by stabilizing the indoor temperature at 21 °C, without any important fluctuations. The installation of this system has led to higher indoor air quality, with low energy costs and significant energy savings compared to conventional ventilation (by opening windows).

Keywords: energy consumption; indoor air quality; radon mitigation; simulation program; experimental measurements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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