Annex68-Indoor air quality design and control in low energy resedential buildings

To achieve nearly net zero energy use, all buildings in future will need to be more efficient and optimized. As new buildings are already well insulated in certain industrialised countries, the focus is shifting to limiting space heating energy consumption by reducing ventilation demand. Low energy buildings need to be airtight and energy demand for ventilation is often reduced by lowering the ventilation rate to the minimum necessary. Each of these can have adverse impacts on indoor air quality (IAQ). This project is therefore investigating how to ensure that future low energy buildings are able both to improve their energy performance and to provide comfortable and healthy indoor environments.
Reducing the amount of fresh air supplied to a building would save energy, but however may increase the risk of poor indoor air quality. Therefore, it is very important to find the ideal balance between energy efficiency and the need for ventilation. The aim of this project is to use existing data and tools, which in combination give an integrated picture of the air flow, hygrothermal and air quality conditions in whole buildings with a focus on optimisation of their use and operation. This should achieve energy efficiency alongside providing healthy and comfortable indoor environments.