Advances in environmental research

Techno-Press (테크노프레스)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Indoor air quality and ventilation requirement in residential buildings: A case study of Tehran, Iran

  • Ataei, Abtin (Department of Energy Engineering, Graduate School of the Environment and Energy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University) ;
  • Nowrouzi, Ali (Department of Energy Engineering, Graduate School of the Environment and Energy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University) ;
  • Choi, Jun-Ki (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Dayton)
  • Received : 2015.06.14
  • Accepted : 2015.07.05
  • Published : 2015.09.25
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

The ventilation system is a key device to ensure both healthful indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort in buildings. The ventilation system should make the IAQ meet the standards such as ASHRAE 62. This study deals with a new approach to modeling the ventilation and IAQ requirement in residential buildings. In that approach, Elite software is used to calculate the air supply volume, and CONTAM model as a multi-zone and contaminant dispersal model is employed to estimate the contaminants' concentrations. Amongst various contaminants existing in the residential buildings, two main contaminates of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and carbon monoxide (CO) were considered. CO and $CO_2$ are generated mainly from combustion sources such as gas cooking and heating oven. In addition to the mentioned sources, $CO_2$ is generated from occupants' respirations. To show how that approach works, a sample house with the area of $80m^2$ located in Tehran was considered as an illustrative case study. The results showed that $CO_2$ concentration in the winter was higher than the acceptable level. Therefore, the air change rate (ACH) of 4.2 was required to lower the $CO_2$ concentration below the air quality threshold in the living room, and in the bedrooms, the rate of ventilation volume should be 11.2 ACH.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Supported by : Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

References

  1. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (1997), ASHRAE Handbook, Atlanta, GA. USA.
  2. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (2001), ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62-2001, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.
  3. Axley, J. (1988), Progress Toward A General Analytical Method for Predicting Indoor Air Pollution in Buildings, Indoor Air Quality Modeling Phase III Report, NBSIR 88-3814; National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  4. Bortoli, M.D. and Colombo, A. (1992), Characterization of Organic Emissions from Indoor Sources.(1992), pp 49-58.
  5. Chithra, V.S. and Shiva Nagendra, S.M. (2012), "Indoor air quality investigations in a naturally ventilated school building located close to an urban roadway in Chennai, India", Building Environ., 54, 159-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.01.016
  6. Colome, S., Wilson, A.L. and Tian, Y. (1994), Carbon Monoxide and Air Exchange Rate: A Univariate & Multivariate Analysis, California Residential Indoor Air Quality Study; Volume 2, CA, USA.
  7. Dutton, S.M., Mendell, M.J., Chan, W.R., Barrios, M., Sidheswaran, M.A., Sullivan, D.P., Eliseeva, E.A. and Fisk, W.J. (2015), "Evaluation of the indoor air quality minimum ventilation rate procedure for use in California retail buildings", Indoor Air, 25(1), 93-104. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12125
  8. Energy Saving and Environmental Study in Household Sector, Iranian fuel conservation company (IFCO) (2008), Tehran, Iran.
  9. Emmerich, S.J. (1997), Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to Analyze Indoor Air Quality Issues, NISTIR 5997; National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  10. Frontczak, M., Schiavon, S., Goins, J., Arens, E., Zhang, H. and Wargocki, P. (2011), "Quantitative relationships between occupant satisfaction and satisfaction aspects of indoor environmental quality and building design", Indoor Air, 22(2), 119-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0668.2011.00745.x
  11. Gilham, S., Deaves, D.M. and Woodburn, P. (2000), "Mitigation of dense gas releases within buildings: validation of CFD modelling", J. Hazard. Mater., 71, 193-218. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3894(99)00079-5
  12. Hekmat D., Feustel, H.E. and Modera, M.P. (1986), "Impact of ventilation strategies on energy consumption and indoor air quality in single-family residences", Eng. Buildings, 9(3), 239-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-7788(86)90024-1
  13. Joo, J., Zheng, Q., Lee, G., Kim, J.T. and Kim, S. (2012), "Optimum energy use to satisfy indoor air quality needs", Eng. Buildings, 46, 62-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.10.045
  14. Kim, M.J., Kim, Y.S., Ataei, A., Kim, J.T., Lim, J.J. and Yoo, C.K. (2011), "Statistical evaluation of indoor air quality changes after installation of the PSD system in Seoul's metro", Indoor Built. Environ., 20(1), 187-197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X10392011
  15. Langer, S. and Beko, G. (2013), "Indoor air quality in the Swedish housing stock and its dependence on building characteristics", Building Environ., 69, 44-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.07.013
  16. Mueller, E.A. (1989), Indoor Air Quality Environmental Information Handbook, Combustion Sources; U.S. Department of Energy Washington D.C., USA.
  17. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), (1987), Guidance for Indoor Air Quality Investigations; Cincinnati, OH, USA.
  18. Pepper, D.W. and Carrington, D. (2009), Modeling Indoor Air Pollution, Imperial College Press, UK.
  19. Rackes, A. and Waring, M.S. (2014), "Using multiobjective optimizations to discover dynamic building ventilation strategies that can improve indoor air quality and reduce energy use", Eng. Buildings, 75, 272-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.02.024
  20. St-Jean, M., St-Amand, A., Gilbert, N.L., Soto, J.C., Guay, M., Davis, K. and Gyorkos, T.W. (2012), "Indoor air quality in Montreal area day-care centres, Canada", Environ. Res., 118, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2012.07.001
  21. Swami, M.V. and Chandra, S. (1988), "Correlations for pressure distributions on buildings and calculation of natural-ventilation airflow", ASHRAE Trans., 94(1), 243-266.
  22. Trading Standards Institute (TSI) (2013), Indoor Air Quality Handbook: A Practical Guide to Indoor Air Quality Investigations; TSI Incorporated, USA.
  23. Uhde, E. and Salthammer, T. (2007), "Impact of reaction products from building materials and furnishings on indoor air quality-A review of recent advances in indoor chemistry", Atmos. Environ., 41(15), 3111-3128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.05.082
  24. Walton, G.N. (1989), AIRNET - A Computer Program for Building Airflow Network Modeling, NISTIR 89-4072; National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  25. Xiong, Y., Krogmann, U., Mainelis, G., Rodenburg, L.A. and Andrews, C.J. (2015), "Indoor air quality in green buildings: A case-study in a residential high-rise building in the northeastern United States", J. Environ. Sci. Health. Tox. Hazard. Subst. Environ. Eng., 50(3), 225-242. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2015.981101
  26. Zheng, Q., Lee, D., Lee, S., Kim, J.T. and Kim, S. (2011), "A health performance evaluation model of apartment building indoor air quality", Indoor Built. Environ., 20(1), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X10393719