Experimental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems in a Single-Family Dwelling

TL;DR

This study experimentally evaluates how different ventilation systems and parameters like door opening and wind affect pollutant transfer in a house, highlighting the effectiveness of balanced ventilation in limiting pollutant spread.

Contribution

It provides empirical data on the influence of ventilation types and building parameters on pollutant transfer in residential buildings.

Findings

Balanced ventilation reduces pollutant spread when doors are closed.

Door opening significantly increases pollutant transfer across rooms.

Pollutant transfer is limited in balanced ventilation regardless of heating or door status.

Abstract

The French regulation on residential building ventilation relies on an overall and continuous air renewal. The fresh air should enter the building through the "habitable rooms" while the polluted air is extracted in the service rooms. In this way, internal air is drained from the lowest polluted rooms to the highest polluted ones. However, internal pressure equilibrium and air movements in buildings result from the combined effects ventilation system and parameters such as wind, temperature difference or doors opening. This paper aims to analyse the influence of these parameters on pollutant transfer within buildings. In so doing, experiments are carried out using tracer gas release for representing pollution sources in an experimental house. Mechanical exhaust, balanced and natural ventilation systems are thus tested. Results show the followings: - For all cases, internal doors' opening causes the most important pollutant spread. - When doors are closed, the best performances are obtained with balanced ventilation. - Independently to heating and doors opening, pollutant transfer from lower levels to higher levels of the building is limited in the case of balanced ventilation. - Pollutant spread is quite similar whether the whole building is heated or not.