A Graphical Tool to Estimate the Air Change Efficiency in Rooms with Heat Recovery Systems

Alberto Meiss, Miguel Ángel Padilla-Marcos, Irene Poza-Casado and Antonio Álvaro-Tordesillas
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Alberto Meiss: E.T.S. Arquitectura, Universidad de Valladolid, 47014 Valladolid, Spain
Miguel Ángel Padilla-Marcos: E.T.S. Arquitectura, Universidad de Valladolid, 47014 Valladolid, Spain
Irene Poza-Casado: E.T.S. Arquitectura, Universidad de Valladolid, 47014 Valladolid, Spain
Antonio Álvaro-Tordesillas: E.T.S. Arquitectura, Universidad de Valladolid, 47014 Valladolid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Indoor air quality in buildings must be guaranteed for the health and comfort of the occupants. In order to assess the ventilation strategy of a considered room, the parameter of the air change efficiency ( ε a ) can be used. The objective of this work is to provide designers with a graphical tool for a reliable estimate of the value of ε a of a room. The temperature gradient between the outdoor air supply and the indoor air is so low that the ventilation flow can be assumed as isothermal when high-efficiency heat recovery systems are used. By means of charts, the optimal location of the openings for a better ε a can be determined during the design process, in order to subsequently apply them. It is concluded that it is very important to consider the ε a in the case of openings located in facing walls given that its range varies between 40% and 65%. In contrast, its use can be obviated in the case of openings located in non-facing walls, as the value of ε a obtained is close to 50%; this means a perfect mixing air flow pattern, which is the reference value for the estimation of the indoor air quality (IAQ) in the different national regulations.

Keywords: ventilation; tracer gases; CFD; IAQ; design strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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