An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration
The primary measures against radon in buildings are a tight contact structure or venting the subsoil beneath the building. In many cases, ventilation systems used in buildings to ensure good indoor air quality can also be used to reduce the radon concentration. This study aims to evaluate the enviro...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/11/2706 |
| _version_ | 1827640370093096960 |
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| author | Licia Felicioni Martin Jiránek Barbora Vlasatá Antonín Lupíšek |
| author_facet | Licia Felicioni Martin Jiránek Barbora Vlasatá Antonín Lupíšek |
| author_sort | Licia Felicioni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The primary measures against radon in buildings are a tight contact structure or venting the subsoil beneath the building. In many cases, ventilation systems used in buildings to ensure good indoor air quality can also be used to reduce the radon concentration. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of residential ventilation systems for their ability to lower the concentration of this gas. The life cycle assessment methodology was used to assess two kinds of ventilation systems. The results indicate that 95% of environmental impacts are associated with operational emissions, while 5% are associated with embodied ones. Moreover, an increase in radon supply rates resulted in an increase in energy consumption and related emissions, for example, the operational energy of an exhaust ventilation system aimed for a reduction to 200 Bq/m<sup>3</sup> in a 9/15 cyclic mode range from 9.69 for a radon supply rate of 50 Bq/m<sup>3</sup>h to 32.27 for 200 Bq/m<sup>3</sup>h. These simulations show that ventilation systems cannot be considered universally suitable measures to reduce the radon concentration because they may become very energy demanding, and their environmental impact may be significant even considering the type of energy source. Based on this study, we can determine whether it makes sense for a given radon supply rate and energy source to use a ventilation system to reduce the radon concentration in residential buildings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:57:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ccfe227ae9048da859ec35cb0e4d64e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:57:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ccfe227ae9048da859ec35cb0e4d64e2023-11-24T14:33:03ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-10-011311270610.3390/buildings13112706An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon ConcentrationLicia Felicioni0Martin Jiránek1Barbora Vlasatá2Antonín Lupíšek3Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 2077/7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicFaculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 2077/7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicUniversity Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings, Czech Technical University in Prague, Třinecká 1024, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech RepublicUniversity Centre for Energy Efficient Buildings, Czech Technical University in Prague, Třinecká 1024, 273 43 Buštěhrad, Czech RepublicThe primary measures against radon in buildings are a tight contact structure or venting the subsoil beneath the building. In many cases, ventilation systems used in buildings to ensure good indoor air quality can also be used to reduce the radon concentration. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of residential ventilation systems for their ability to lower the concentration of this gas. The life cycle assessment methodology was used to assess two kinds of ventilation systems. The results indicate that 95% of environmental impacts are associated with operational emissions, while 5% are associated with embodied ones. Moreover, an increase in radon supply rates resulted in an increase in energy consumption and related emissions, for example, the operational energy of an exhaust ventilation system aimed for a reduction to 200 Bq/m<sup>3</sup> in a 9/15 cyclic mode range from 9.69 for a radon supply rate of 50 Bq/m<sup>3</sup>h to 32.27 for 200 Bq/m<sup>3</sup>h. These simulations show that ventilation systems cannot be considered universally suitable measures to reduce the radon concentration because they may become very energy demanding, and their environmental impact may be significant even considering the type of energy source. Based on this study, we can determine whether it makes sense for a given radon supply rate and energy source to use a ventilation system to reduce the radon concentration in residential buildings.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/11/2706LCAindoor environmentventilation systemsenvironmental impactoperational impactsresidential buildings |
| spellingShingle | Licia Felicioni Martin Jiránek Barbora Vlasatá Antonín Lupíšek An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration Buildings LCA indoor environment ventilation systems environmental impact operational impacts residential buildings |
| title | An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration |
| title_full | An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration |
| title_fullStr | An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration |
| title_short | An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration |
| title_sort | environmental evaluation of ventilation systems aimed at reducing indoor radon concentration |
| topic | LCA indoor environment ventilation systems environmental impact operational impacts residential buildings |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/11/2706 |
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