Demand-Controlled Ventilation

When a building is occupied, it is unlikely that every room is at occupant capacity at any given point in
time. As the number of people in a zone varies, the quantity of outdoor air required to properly ventilate
that zone also varies. However, most buildings are ventilated at design occupancy levels in all spaces at
all times, resulting in over-ventilated buildings.
Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) is a strategy that attempts to dynamically reset the outdoor airflow
delivered to a zone based on the changing population within that zone. DCV strategies include time-ofday schedules, occupancy sensors, and CO2 sensors.
This article discusses strategies for implementing CO2 based DCV and how to model these strategies in
TRACE 700.

Minimum Breathing Zone Requirements

ASHRAE Standard 62.1 states that amount of outside air required to properly ventilate a space is the sum
of the outside air required to dilute volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off by paints, wall paper,
furniture, etc., and the outside air required to dilute bioeffluents from the occupants in a space. In
addition, the standard also permits dynamic reset of intake (outdoor) airflow as operating conditions
change, as long as the system provides at least the required breathing zone outdoor airflow whenever a
zone is occupied.
The minimum breathing zone outdoor airflow (Vbz), is determined using Equation 6-1:
Vbz = (Rp Pz ) + (Ra Az )
Where:
Vbz = breathing zone outdoor airflow
2
2
Az = zone floor area: the net occupiable floor area of the ventilation zone ft (m )
Ra = outdoor airflow rate required per unit area as determined from Table 6-1
Pz = zone population: the number of people in the ventilation zone during typical usage.
Rp = outdoor airflow rate required per person as determined from Table 6-1

TRACE Scenario
Lets take a look at how equation 6-1 comes into play in TRACE, using an example break room that is
20 ft. by 14 ft.
In TRACE, the Apply ASHRAE Std621-2004/2007 field must be set to Yes
on the Create Rooms-Rooms tab.
The values for Ra and Rp are set on the
Create Rooms - Airflows tab. In this
example, Rp = 5 cfm per person and
Ra = 0.06 cfm per square foot.

Area can be calculated from the room

dimensions:

= 20 14 = 280

Knowing the population density, the

design population can also be
calculated:

= 280 200 =
1.4

The design ventilation for the break room can then be calculated by solving equation 6-1:

= (5 1.4 ) + (0.06 280 ) = 23.8

The result is a linear relationship between the outdoor air requirement and the zone population.

Outside Air vs Population

140
Outside Air (Vot)

120
100
80
60
40
24

20

34

44

54

64

74

84

94

104

114

124

Vot - Vbz

0
0

10

15
# of People

Figure 1
TRACE will recalculate the zone
ventilation requirement on an hourly
basis during the simulation phase
when the system ventilation flag on
the Create Systems Advanced
screen is set to ASHRAE Std 62.1
2004/2007 w/ Vent Reset.

Because the values for Ra, Rp and the

square footage are fixed for a given
room, the only variable in equation 6-1
is the zone population (Pz). In this
example, the population varies
according to the People Office
schedule.

20

25

The hourly ventilation airflow is calculated by multiplying the design ventilation airflow by the percentage
from the people schedule. For this example, the hourly weekday ventilation when DCV is enabled is
shown in Table 1:

Time

Percentage

Design
Ventilation
(cfm)

Hourly
Ventilation
(cfm)

Mid - 7 am

23.8

7 am - 8 am

30

23.8

7.14

8 am - 5 pm

100

23.8

23.8

5 pm - 6 pm

30

23.8

7.14

6 pm - 7 pm

23.8

0.238

7 pm - Mid

23.8

Table 1

CO2 Based DCV

Just as our surroundings outgas volatile organic compounds (VOCs), humans are also a source of
pollution. This is especially apparent when large numbers of people live or work in enclosed, poorly
ventilated areas for extended periods of time.
The substances we emit into the air through normal biological processes are called bioeffluents. Studies
have found that bioeffluents emitted from each person into the air can contain as many as 150 volatile
substances. Principal among these are acetone, human skin, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, and ethyl
acetate.
CO2 based DCV assumes that people produce both bioeffluents and CO2 in proportion to their activity
level and as a result, the concentration of CO2 in a space accurately represents the concentration of
human bioeffluents. It is also assumed that CO2 based steady-state equations can be used to estimate
the people component of the ventilation load.
Equation C-1 in Appendix C of ASHRAE 62.1 provides the following mass balance equation to calculate
the outdoor airflow rate needed to maintain the steady-state CO2 concentration below a given limit.

Where:
Vo = outdoor airflow rate per person
N = CO2 generation rate per person
Cs = CO2 concentration in the space
Co = CO2 concentration in the outdoor air

CO2 based DCV makes one additional assumption: occupant activity level in a zone (in terms of metabolic
rate, m) can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. Then the CO2 generation rate per person (N) can be
expressed in terms of metabolic rate (m) and the per person CO2 generation rate (k):
N=mxk

Where:
N = CO2 generation rate per person
m = activity level of occupants, met
k = 0.0084 cfm per met per person for healthy people
The outdoor airflow rate per person (Vo ) can be expressed in terms of Vbz and Pz:

Where:
Vbz = the minimum breathing zone outdoor airflow
Pz = the zone population
Rewriting equation C-1 and substituting for N and Vo yields equation 1:
=

Proportional Control DCV

This control strategy varies the intake airflow in direct proportion to the actual differential CO2 level. Two
control points (min CO2 concentration, min ventilation airflow) and (max CO2 concentration, design
ventilation airflow) establish a linear relationship between the CO2 concentration in the space and the
ventilation airflow. A CO2 sensor in the space measures the concentration and reports this value to a
controller programmed with this relationship which resets the outdoor requirement in the space. (See
Figure 2)

Outside Air (cfm)

(max CO2, design OA)

(min CO2, min OA)

CO2 Concentration

Figure 2
The minimum CO2 concentration is generally accepted to be that of the outdoor air (350
ppm - 400 ppm). The minimum ventilation airflow and maximum ventilation airflow are

calculated using equation 6 -1, selecting Pz values of zero and the design occupancy
respectively. The maximum CO2 concentration is calculated using equation 1 as shown in the
following example.
Applying the proportional control strategy to the break room example the calculations yield the
following results:
Minimum CO2 concentration
CO2 min = 400 ppm (Assumed)
Minimum ventilation airflow (Vbz min)
= (5 0 ) + (0.06 400 ) = 24

Maximum ventilation airflow (Vbz max)

= (5 20 ) + (0.06 400 ) = 124

To calculate the maximum CO2 concentration it is first necessary to determine the metabolic
rate (m) using Figure C-2 from Appendix G in ASHRAE Std. 62.1. Choosing an activity level of
office work for the break room the metabolic rate is determined to be 1.2 met units. (See
Figure C.2)

The maximum CO2 concentration can now be calculated for the design occupancy using
equation 1.
=

0.0084 1.2
106 + 400 = 2025.8
124 20

The resulting ventilation is plotted along with the ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation
requirements in Figure 3.

Outside Air vs Population

140

Outside Air (Vot)

120
93

100

102

108

113

80

80

60

60
40 24
24

20

34

44

54

74

64

116

84

119

94

122
104

124
114

124

Vot - Vbz
Vot - CO2

0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 3
The difference between the two lines is an excess amount of outside air the space will receive
for any given population. The reason for the over ventilation is that the controller models the
change in CO2 as a linear function. A plot of the total CO2 in the break room versus population
shows that it is not. (Refer to Figure 4)

Total CO2 vs Population

2500

Total CO2

2000

1520

1316

1500

1660

2026
1901 1951 1992
1762 1840

993

Co2

1000
500

Linear

400

0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 4
To understand how the controller determines the ventilation airflow, choose a discrete value for
the number of people currently in the space. For this example it will be assumed that there are
four people in the break room. The resulting CO2 level in the space will be 1316 ppm. (See
Figure 5)

Total CO2 vs Population

2500

Total CO2

2000
1316

1500

1520

1660

2026
1901 1951 1992
1840
1762

1316 ppm

993
1000
500

Co2
400

0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 5
A controller employing proportional control DCV will sense 1316 ppm of CO2 in the space but
has no knowledge of the actual population. The only thing it can do is control based on where
the CO2 level intersects linear function shown in Figure 4. In this example, the CO2 level of
1316 ppm corresponds to 11.3 people in the space. (Refer to Figure 6)

Total CO2 vs Population

2500

Total CO2

2000
1500

1316 ppm

1000
500
0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 6
Plotting the calculated population of 11.3 people against the minimum ventilation requirements
calculated using equation 6-1 results in an outside air requirement (Vot) of 80.3 cfm. (Refer to
Figure 7)

Outside Air vs Population

140

Outside Air (Vot)

120
100
80
60
40
24

20

34

44

54

74

64

84

94

104

114

124

Vot - Vbz

0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 7
The outside air requirement (80.3 cfm) can now be plotted against the break room population of
four people. (See Figure 8)

Outside Air vs Population

140

Outside Air (Vot)

120
100

80.3

80
60
40
24

20

64

54

44

34

74

94

84

104

114

124

Vot - Vbz
4 People

0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 8
Plotting the outside air requirements for the entire population results in the curve shown in
Figure 9 along with ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation requirements.

Outside Air vs Population

140

Outside Air (Vot)

120
93

100

102

108

113

80

80

60

60
40 24
24

20

34

44

54

74

64

116

84

119

94

122
104

124
114

124

Vot - Vbz
Vot - CO2

0
0

10

15
# of People

Figure 9

20

25

Single Setpoint CO2 DCV

This single setpoint strategy requires the user to enter only one value, the zone population for
which both the fixed CO2 setpoint and minimum ventilation airflow limit are to be calculated.
The controller adjusts the outdoor airflow intake to maintain a fixed CO2 level in the space,
thereby maintaining a fixed outdoor airflow rate per person. A minimum ventilation airflow limit
is enforced if CO2 levels in the space fall below the setpoint.
Figure 10 illustrates how CO2 levels will change in response to varying populations in the break
room example with a setpoint population of 10 people.

Total CO2

Total CO2 vs Population

2000
1762
1626
1800
1490
1600
1354
1217
1400
1081
1200
945
1000
809
672
800
536
600 400
400
200
0
0
5
10

1762

Co2

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 10
The fixed CO2 setpoint is calculated for the setpoint occupancy using equation 1.
=

0.0084 1.2
106 + 400 = 1762.2
74 10

Where the minimum ventilation airflow (Vbz min)

= (5 10 ) + (0.06 400 ) = 74
The resulting ventilation is plotted along with the ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation
requirements in Figure 11.

10 People Single Setpoint

160
140
Outside Air (Vot)

120
100
80

Min 10

60

Vot

40
20
0
0

10

15

20

25

# of People

Figure 11
The difference between the two lines is the excess amount of outside air the space will receive
whenever the space population is above or below the setpoint population. Figures 12 and 13
illustrate how different setpoint populations will affect the amount of excess ventilation for
different populations.

5 People Single Setpoint

250

Outside Air (Vot)

200
150
Min 5

100

Vot

50
0
0

10

15
# of People

Figure 12

20

25

15 People Single Setpoint

140

Outside Air (Vot)

120
100
80
Min 15

60

Vot

40
20
0
0

10

15
# of People

Figure 13

Modeling CO2 Based DCV in TRACE 700

On the Rooms tab of
Create Rooms (or on the
thermostat template),
select a CO2 Sensor
location (either Room or
None) for the rooms that
will have demand-control
ventilation control.

On the Airflows tab of

Create Rooms, select Yes
in the Apply ASHRAE Std
62.1-2004/2007 field.

20

25

The DCV Min OA Intake

field must now be edited to
calculate the appropriate
setpoint according to the
CO2 based DCV control
strategy that is going to be
implemented.
DCV Min OA Intake options
% Room Population
Best practice is to select % Room Population for both proportional control and single
setpoint DCV.
When % Room Population is selected, the percentage is multiplied times the design
occupancy of the space to determine the number of people at which to calculate the
minimum ventilation airflow using equation 6.1.
Vbz = (Rp Pz ) + (Ra Az )
Where:
Vbz = breathing zone outdoor airflow
Az = zone floor area: the net occupiable floor area of the ventilation zone ft2 (m2)
Ra = outdoor airflow rate required per unit area as determined from Table 6-1
Pz = zone population: the number of people in the ventilation zone during typical
usage.
Rp = outdoor airflow rate required per person as determined from Table 6-1
When using Single Setpoint control, the number of people is also used to calculate the
fixed CO2 setpoint. (Refer to the Single Setpoint CO2 DCV section of this document.)

% Dsn OA Airflow

Note: % Dsn OA Airflow is only applicable with proportional control DCV. The reason is
that population is required to calculate the fixed CO2 setpoint for single setpoint

control.

% Dsn OA Airflow allows the user to calculate a minimum ventilation airflow based on
the design outside airflow rather than using equation C-1.

Default Values
CO2 based DCV method: None or Proportional Control
If the field is left blank, the program will default to 0%
CO2 based DCV method: Single Setpoint
If the field is left blank or set to 0%, the program defaults to 40%.
If the value field is left blank the default of zero will be used.

Selecting Proportional Control or Single Setpoint

On the Selection tab of
Create Systems, click the
Advanced button. Select the
option ASHRAE Std 62.12004/2007 w/ Vent Reset in
the System Ventilation Flag
field.
Note: System-level ventilation reset is required for the system to be able to handle zone-level
demand-control ventilation.
At the bottom of the screen, select the desired C02-based DCV option (None, Proportional
Control, or Single Setpoint).