Block C:

Energy Efficient Mechanical Ventilation

General principles of mechanical
ventilation are described,
The tasks of different airflows in the
system are illustrated.
Hygienic principles are explained.
Equations for the heating and energy
demands of ventilation are presented.

Chapter C1: Principles of mechanical ventilation

Buildings with mechanical ventilation use fans to supply air to, and exhaust air from,
the rooms.

Depending on demand, the supply air may be heated, cooled, humidified, or dehumidified.
The ventilation system may be equipped to recover heat from the exhaust air.
The system may also re-circulate extract air. Windows may be sealed or operable.

During the last decade, major developments have taken place or been further refined,
such as various kinds of demand controlled ventilation, systems with improved air
flow characteristics at room level (e.g. displacement ventilation), heat recovery
systems with efficiencies up to 90%, major developments in fan characteristics (e.g.
direct current and inverter drive variable speed fans), low pressure air distribution
systems, etc.

In mechanically ventilated buildings, the ventilation air may also be conditioned

before it is supplied to the rooms via duct systems.

Because of supply and exhaust air fans the system is more flexible in respect to building
design, and more energy efficient than other systems if heat recovery means are used.
However, studies in many European countries have shown that mechanical ventilation
systems also may cause adverse health effects. The reasons for those are not yet well
known, but the following have been suspected: air handling system may itself be a source of
pollution, moisture in air handling system can cause mould growth, ventilation system
generates and transfers noise, ventilation air supply is poorly controlled, occupants cannot
influence the ventilation. These issues have to be solved to achieve good indoor air quality.
Poor maintenance, inappropriate location of air intakes and a lack of understanding of the
importance of ventilation.

Definition of air flows in the mechanical ventilation system

Various air flows in a mechanical

ventilation system (EN 13779).

No. in Type of air

fig. 1

Abbreviation

Definition

outdoor air

ODA

supply air

SUP

3
4

indoor air
transferred air

IDA
TRA

5
6

extract air
ETA
recirculation air RCA

air taken into the air handling system or opening

from outdoors before any air treatment
airflow entering the treated room, or air entering the
system after any treatment
air in the treated room or zone
indoor air which passes from the treated room to
another treated room usually adjacent rooms
airflow leaving the treated room
extract air that is returned to the air treatment
system

7
8

exhaust air
secondary air

EHA
SEC

leakage

LEA

10

infiltration

INF

11

exfiltration

EXF

12

mixed air

MIA

airflow discharged to the atmosphere.

airflow taken from a room and returned to the same
room after any treatment (example: fancoil unit)
unintended airflow through leakage paths in the
system
leakage of air into the building through leakage
paths in the elements of structure separating it from
the outdoor air
leakage of air out of the building through leakage
paths in the elements of structure separating it from
the outdoor air
air which contains two or more streams of air

Supply air flow rates

The ventilation rate (supply air flow rate) is

determined using the following criteria:
Human occupancy with or without smoking
Heating or cooling load that shall be
dissipated by ventilation system
Other emissions.
However, at all cases the national regulations
for minimum ventilation rates must be fulfilled.
In order to prevent uncontrolled loss of supply
air, the ductwork shall be airtight according to
Chapter C4.

Human occupancy
Table C1.1a3 Rates of outdoor air per person (EN 13779:2004)

Category

Unit

Rate of outdoor air per person

non-smoking area

smoking area

typical
range

default
value

typical
range

default value

72
20

> 108
> 30

144
40

IDA 1

m3 h-1 person-1
Ls-1 person-1

> 54
> 15

IDA 2

m3 h-1 person-1
Ls-1 person-1

36 54
10 15

45
12.5

72 108
20 30

90
25

IDA 3

m3 h-1 person-1
Ls-1 person-1

22 36
6 10

29
8

43 72
12 20

58
16

IDA 4

m3 h-1 person-1
Ls-1 person-1

< 22
< 6

18
5

< 43
< 12

36
10

Table C1.1a4 Classification of indoor air quality (IDA) (EN13779:2004).

Category

Description

IDA 1
IDA 2
IDA 3
IDA 4

High indoor air quality

Medium indoor air quality
Moderate indoor air quality
Low indoor air quality

Human occupancy
CO2 is a good indicator for the emission of human bio-effluents and is therefore
suitable for use as a proxy indicator of IAQ within buildings that are occupied by
people. Classification by the CO2-level is well established for occupied rooms, where
smoking is not allowed and pollution is caused mainly by human metabolism. Typical
specifications for the total CO2-concentration in rooms, mainly caused by people.

Table C1.1a5 CO2-level in rooms (EN 13779:2004).

Category

CO2-level above level of outdoor air in ppm

(parts per million)
typical range

default value

IDA 1

400

350

IDA 2

400 600

500

IDA 3

600 1 000

800

IDA 4

> 1 000

1200

The outdoor CO2-level varies normally between 350 420 ppm.

Known emissions

q v , suo =
qv,sup
G
cida
csup

G
c ida c sup

is the volume flow rate of supply air in m3 s-1

is the mass flow rate of emission in the room in mg s-1
is the allowed concentration in the room in mg m-3
is the concentration in the supply air in mg m-3

c ida (t ) = c sup

cida(t)
csup
qv,sup
G
Vr
t

1 e
+

q v ,sup

qv , SUP
Vr

is the concentration in the room at time t in mg m-3

is the concentration in the supply air in mg m-3
is the volume flow rate of supply air in m3 s-1
is the mass flow rate of emission in the room in mg s-1
is the volume of air in the room in m3
is the time in s

The adjacent equation is valid for a

steady-state situation (default situation)
with a long lasting constant emission. It
also assumes that all pollution generated
in room is carried out with air flow - no
other sinks are assumed to be in the
room.

When the emission-period is short, the

stationary equilibrium-concentration may
not be achieved or the airflow can be
reduced for a given maximum
concentration level. The timedependence of the concentration level in
the room is given by the adjacent
equation when initial concentration
indoors is the same a supply air
concentration (supply air rate = extract
air rate):

Heating and cooling load

qv ,SUP =
qv,sup

c pa ida sup

is the volume flow rate of supply air in m3 s-1

is the thermal load in W

is the density of air in kgm-3

cpa is the thermal capacity of air in Jkg-1 K-1
ida is the temperature of the room air in C
sup is the temperature of the supply air in C

In some cases the heating or cooling load that has

to be dissipated by the ventilation system
determines the ventilation rate. If for this reason the
ventilation rate becomes much higher than that
given by air quality criteria described above, an
alternative solution for the dissipation of the heat
may be more energy efficient.
The required ventilation rate for heating or cooling is
calculated from the adjacent equation.
This assumes there is no change in the moisture
content (absolute humidity) of the air. The density
and the thermal capacity of air are dependent on its
temperature, pressure and absolute humidity.

Extract air flow rates

Table C1.2 Design values for extract air rates (EN 13779).
Kind of use

Unit

Kitchen
- simple use (tea kitchen)
-

Default value
for design

Ls

> 20

30

Ls

-1

> 6.7

10

Ls-1m -2

> 1.4

2.0

professional use

Toilet/Washroom **
- per room
(minimum)
- per floor area

-1

Typical range

In a balanced mechanical ventilation system with supply and extract air, the extract air flow rate is
given by the supply air flow rate and the pressure conditions needed.
For extract air systems the extract air flow rates shall be calculated according to the principles
given in previous chapters. Typical design values for kitchen and toilets/washrooms are given in
table C1.2. The extract air can be replaced by outside air or by transfer air from other rooms.

Air balance, direction of the air flows and air quality

Most important principle in the design for good indoor air quality is to try to avoid
unnecessary pollutant generation and spread of pollutants in or between rooms. To
achieve this
low pollution products and material should be used whenever possible
escape of pollutants from processes to the room air should be prevented by
sealing the processes as much as possible
the processes causing pollution shall be equipped with local exhaust systems
pollution generating processes should be located in separate rooms whenever
possible to minimise the spread of pollutants to other rooms
the air balance (difference between supply and exhaust air flows) of the rooms
should be so that air flows from less polluted rooms to more polluted rooms
supply air jets should be directed so that they do not increase the spread of
pollutants but decrease it.

The air balance principle of the ventilation means that air always flows from room with
higher air quality to the rooms with lower air quality and higher pollution generation.
This means that clean air is supplied in the cleaner rooms and exhausted from the
polluted rooms, and air is transferred from clean to dirty rooms.

In residential building this means that outdoor air is supplied to bedrooms and living
rooms and exhausted from kitchens, bathrooms and toilets, etc.

Air balance, direction of the air flows and air quality

In commercial buildings air is supplied to the occupied zones and exhausted from rooms with
pollution generation so that air balance is positive in the occupied rooms and negative in rooms
with higher pollution generation. The following principles should be applied. They are illustrated in
Figure below:

1.
2.
3.

pollution generation processes are equipped with local exhaust;

air grilles and openings are located above the warm pollution generation sources;
air is supplied in the occupied zone in the rooms with high pollution generation to reduce exposure
of the occupants to pollutants;
clean air is supplied to rooms with no specific pollution generation;
total exhaust air flow is larger than the supply air in the rooms with high pollution generation;
air is transferred from cleaner areas to more polluted areas through the openings in walls or
doors.

4.
5.
6.

Heating demand and energy use for ventilation

vent = c pa qm (tsup t out )
vent
cpa
qm
tsup
tout

is the heating demand, kW

is the specific heat capacity of air = 1 kJ/kgK
is the mass flow to the air, kg/s
is the supply air temperature, C
is the outdoor temperature, C

Qvent = c pa
cpa
Qvent
qm
tsup
tout

(t s tu )

is the specific heat capacity of air, cpa = 1 kJ/kgK

is the heating energy for the air flow during time , kWh
is the mass flow to the air during time period , kg/s
is thesupply air temperature, C
is the outdoor temperature, C
is the time period during which the air flow and temperatures occur, h

Heating demand and energy use for ventilation

In practice the density of the air is assumed usually constant and the
relation is used in the following format:

Qvent = c pa qv (t sup t out )

When the air flow is constant, the formula gets the form:

Qvent = c pa qv (t sup t out )

In the above equation the term is the sum of temperature differences over
the selected time period. This is graphically illustrated below
Temperature of supply air and room air, tida tsup
Heating degree hours =

Temperature. C

(tsup tout )

Outdoor temperature, tout

Time of the year, %

Ventilation and pressure differences in the building

Ventilation affects also the pressure differences over the building structures. This can be beneficial or harmful.
In situations with no special requirements or emissions, ventilation systems should be designed for neutral
pressure conditions in the building.

One of the most important issues in respect of healthy buildings is to keep building structures dry and prevent
the condensation in and on structures. In cold climates the water content of the air is usually higher indoors
than outdoors. If the pressure is higher indoors the air with high moisture content may flow into the cold
structure and water vapour may condense and cause mould growth, reduce the thermal insulation properties
and lead to other harmful effects. To decrease the risk of condensation these buildings should have higher
exhaust flow rates than supply flow rates.

A slight under pressure in relation to outdoors especially in severe climates can help to avoid damage to
structure caused by moisture but should not exceed 20 Pa. In hot, humid climates, the problem is reversed,
and supply air flow should be greater than the exhaust air flow.

The pressure difference may cause other harmful effects. If the pressure inside is lower than that of outside
the pollutants in the structures or in the other side of the structures may be drawn in. One example of this is
the entry of radon into the buildings from the ground in houses with basement or slab on the ground
construction or poorly ventilated crawl space. This is a common problem in the buildings with exhaust
ventilation built on ground with high concentration of radon in soil gas. A similar problem is faced if the house
is constructed on polluted ground such as old dumpsite.

Moisture damage in the structure often causes the growth of mould. If the air flows through the mouldy
structure it may carry also harmful pollutants inside. It has been shown that the mould spores can be carried
inside through a base floor in a building with mould growth in the crawl space.

Certain spaces (including buildings for human occupancy) should be designed for overpressure in relation to
outdoors or adjacent spaces. Clean rooms, rooms for sensitive electronic/data processing equipment and
operating theatres in hospitals are examples for such spaces.

Pressure conditions should be continuously monitored in spaces where heavy emission of impurities occurs.
The air pressures in stairways, corridors and other passages should be designed so that they will not cause
airflows from one room or apartment to another.

Questions
8.

Dust is generated in the room with a rate of 10 mg/h. The dust

concentration of outdoor air is 0.1 mg/m3. What is the
concentration in the room:

9.

10.

with supply air flow of 30 m3/h without cleaning the supply air flow
with supply air flow of 30 m3/h and a filter in supply air flow reducing
the concentration of dust in outdoor air with 50% efficiency
with supply air flow of 60 m3/h and outdoor air flow of 15 m3/h and a
filter with efficiency of 50% in outdoor air flow and a filter with
efficiency 80% in recirculation air flow

The heated air volume of a house is 300 m3. What is the heating
demand for ventilation of 0.6 ACH (air changes per hour), when
the design indoor temperature is 21 C and the design outdoor
temperature is 10 C?
What is the annual heating energy use for ventilation in the
previous problem, when the average outdoor temperature is 10 C
during the heating period and the average indoor temperature is
21 C, and the heating period is from Nov 1 to March 31.