- Author
- Emmerich, S. J. | Persily, A. K.
- Title
- Indoor Air Quality Impacts of Residential HVAC Systems. Phase I Report. Computer Simulation Plan.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
- Report
- NISTIR 5346, February 1994, 117 p.
- Contract
- CPSC-IAG-93-1124
- Keywords
- air flow | heating | ventilation | air conditioning | indoor air quality | computer models | residential buildings | computer simulation | quality control
- Abstract
- NIST has completed the first phase of a project to study the impact of HVAC systems on residential indoor air quality and to assess the potential for using residential forced-air systems to control indoor pollutant levels. This project will use computer simulations to assess the ability of modifications to central forced-air heating and cooling systems to control the concentrations of selected pollutants in single-family residential buildings. The first phase consisted of three major efforts: conducting a literature review, developing a plan for computer analysis, and holding an expert workshop to discuss the plan. The second phase of the project will involve performing the computer simulations and analyzing the results. This report details the results of the Phase 1 efforts. The objective of the literature review was to obtain information for planning computer simulations that will be performed in Phase 2 of the project. Specific subjects reviewed include indoor air quality simulation tools, previous studies of the impacts of residential HVAC systems on indoor air quality, residential pollutant sources, and indoor air quality control technologies associated with residential HVAC systems. The development of the plan for the computer simulations included the following items: selection of appropriate computer simulation techniques, definition of buildings to be analyzed in the simulations (including building and HVAC system designs and building locations), specification of pollutant source profiles, and selection of HVAC technologies for indoor air quality control. After the initial plan was developed, an expert workshop was held at NIST to discuss the proposed project plan and obtain feedback on its technical merit and relevance to residential indoor air quality issues. The overall reaction to the project objective and approach was positive and most of the workshop discussion focused on the details of the plan or on potential follow-up work. The workshop discussions were considered in developing the final plan as presented in this report.