The Impact of Air Pressure Conditions on the Performance of Single Room Ventilation Units in Multi-Story Buildings

Abstract

Single room ventilation units with heat recovery is one of the ventilation solutions that have been used in renovated residential buildings in Estonia. In multi-story buildings, especially in a cold climate, the performance of units is affected by the stack effect and wind-induced pressure differences between the indoor and the outdoor air. Renovation of the building envelope improves air tightness and the impact of the pressure conditions is amplified. The aim of this study was to predict the air pressure conditions in typical renovated multi-story apartment buildings and to analyze the performance of room-based ventilation units. The field measurements of air pressure differences in a renovated 5-story apartment building during the winter season were conducted and the results were used to simulate whole-year pressure conditions with IDA-ICE software. Performance of two types of single room ventilation units were measured in the laboratory and their suitability as ventilation renovation solutions was assessed with simulations. The results show that one unit stopped its operation as a heat recovery ventilator. In order to ensure satisfactory indoor climate and heat recovery using wall mounted units the pressure difference values were determined and proposed for correct design.

Microclimate in Rooms Equipped with Decentralized Façade Ventilation Device

“…The measured values made it possible to determine the air change rate, which was 2.3 h −1 for the shortest cycle, and 2.7 h −1 for the longest cycle. For comparison, devices with heat recovery exchangers and reversible fans [41] exchange the air with an air change rate of 0.18 h −1 . This could be a sufficient value for living quarters, but for an office room, the number of air changes should be higher.…”

Experimental investigation of a decentralized heat recovery ventilation system

“…In some studies, wall-integrated heat recovery ventilation systems or single-room ventilation systems, especially for decentralized ventilation, were mentioned, and their potential applications for residential ventilation were evaluated [ 16 , 22 , 23 ]. Although there are several studies on the heat recovery systems, there are still shortcomings in the research and development of the use of decentralized ventilation systems in building applications [ 22 , 24 ].…”

Revista de la Universidad del Zulia, Volumen 12, Número 32

“…Civil construction has also been highlighted in different studies, especially when one considers environmental management resources (Rodriguez et al, 2011;Do and Cetin, 2019), energy performance (Poddar et al, 2017) or even economic performance of accessories (Cetiner and Metin, 2017) or reuse of wastes (Yellishetty, 2008). Characteristics of buildings are also considered for purposes of increasing energy efficiency (Mikola, Simson and Kurnistski, 2019;Marcello, Pilloni and Giusto, 2019). This same concern appears in various situations that involve energy management, in the most different areas (Balali et al, 2017).…”