Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study
To maintain proper indoor air quality and increase energy efficiency, a demand-control ventilation (DCV) system has become a popular solution. This paper reports the findings of a field study conducted on the performance of the DCV systems in eight public buildings in southern Finland. We conducted...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/3/378 |
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| author | Weixin Zhao Simo Kilpeläinen Wertti Bask Sami Lestinen Risto Kosonen |
| author_facet | Weixin Zhao Simo Kilpeläinen Wertti Bask Sami Lestinen Risto Kosonen |
| author_sort | Weixin Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To maintain proper indoor air quality and increase energy efficiency, a demand-control ventilation (DCV) system has become a popular solution. This paper reports the findings of a field study conducted on the performance of the DCV systems in eight public buildings in southern Finland. We conducted the measurements in two stages. In the first stage, we made a site visit and measured the airflow rates in the design operation conditions of the chosen space. For the second stage, we left temperature/humidity data loggers to monitor the thermal conditions during the normal operation mode of the space. The results indicate that, out of the eight studied spaces, only one DCV system was performing according to design specifications. While the systems were operating in a suboptimal way, the flaws in functionality were mostly minor, and none of the sites had perceived indoor-air-quality- and/or thermal-condition-related problems during the time of measurement. Nonetheless, this result shows that the potential benefits of DCV were partially lost due to malfunctioning systems. Additionally, by only monitoring room air temperature (or IAQ) without airflow rate measurements in different operation modes, it is not possible to conclude whether the DCV system works properly or not. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:02:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1deef876225747dd8ca44e1df3d6c815 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:02:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-1deef876225747dd8ca44e1df3d6c8152023-11-24T00:39:41ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092022-03-0112337810.3390/buildings12030378Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field StudyWeixin Zhao0Simo Kilpeläinen1Wertti Bask2Sami Lestinen3Risto Kosonen4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, FinlandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, FinlandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, FinlandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, FinlandDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, FinlandTo maintain proper indoor air quality and increase energy efficiency, a demand-control ventilation (DCV) system has become a popular solution. This paper reports the findings of a field study conducted on the performance of the DCV systems in eight public buildings in southern Finland. We conducted the measurements in two stages. In the first stage, we made a site visit and measured the airflow rates in the design operation conditions of the chosen space. For the second stage, we left temperature/humidity data loggers to monitor the thermal conditions during the normal operation mode of the space. The results indicate that, out of the eight studied spaces, only one DCV system was performing according to design specifications. While the systems were operating in a suboptimal way, the flaws in functionality were mostly minor, and none of the sites had perceived indoor-air-quality- and/or thermal-condition-related problems during the time of measurement. Nonetheless, this result shows that the potential benefits of DCV were partially lost due to malfunctioning systems. Additionally, by only monitoring room air temperature (or IAQ) without airflow rate measurements in different operation modes, it is not possible to conclude whether the DCV system works properly or not.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/3/378demand-control ventilationperformance of ventilation systempublic buildingsfield study |
| spellingShingle | Weixin Zhao Simo Kilpeläinen Wertti Bask Sami Lestinen Risto Kosonen Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study Buildings demand-control ventilation performance of ventilation system public buildings field study |
| title | Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study |
| title_full | Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study |
| title_fullStr | Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study |
| title_short | Operational Challenges of Modern Demand-Control Ventilation Systems: A Field Study |
| title_sort | operational challenges of modern demand control ventilation systems a field study |
| topic | demand-control ventilation performance of ventilation system public buildings field study |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/3/378 |
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