Federation of European Heating, Ventilation

and Air-conditioning Associations

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Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

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Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

Ventilation Effectiveness
REHVA Guidebook no 2

AUTHORS

Elisabeth Mundt, Professor, KTHRoyal Institute of Technology,

Stockholm, Sweden (editor)

Hans Martin Mathisen, Ph.D.,

Sintef, Trondheim, Norway

Peter V. Nielsen, Professor,

Aalborg University, Denmark

Alfred Moser, Ph.D., ETH, Zrich,

Switzerland

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

CONTENTS
1.

VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS IN A NUTSHELL (3 p)

2.

SYMBOLS AND TERMINOLOGY (4 p)

3.

WHY VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS (5 p)

4.

TYPICAL CONTAMINANTS AND CONTAMINANTS

DISTRIBUTION IN VENTILATED ROOMS (6 p)

5.

THEORY AND DEFINITIONS (8 p)

6.

MEASUREMENTS (12 p)

7.

PREDICTION OF AIR QUALITY BY COMPUTATIONAL FLUID

DYNAMICS (4 p)

8.

CASE STUDIES (21 p)

9.

DEFINITIONS OF VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS IN

DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (1 p)

10.

APPENDIX 1 (1 p)

11.

REFERENCES (4 p)

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS
includes

A
Indices representing the
ability of a system to
exchange the air in the room

B
Indices representing the
ability of a system to remove
air-borne contaminants

air change efficiency,

contaminant removal
effectiveness (CRE), c

local air change index, P

a

local air quality index, Pc

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS
1. VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS IN A NUTSHELL
2. SYMBOLS AND TERMINOLOGY
3. WHY VENTILATION EFFECTIVENESS
Distributed source Q, mean concentration

Concentration field resulting from point source Q

ce

ce

c
cs
Distributed source Q

Point source Q

Keep concentration low

ce

ce

Pa

cs

Pc

Point sensor P

Point sensor P

cs

Point source Q

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

cs

4 TYPICAL CONTAMINANTS AND CONTAMINANTS

DISTRIBUTION IN VENTILATED ROOMS
cP ce

Return opening

The location of a return

opening may have a very
large influence on the
concentration
distribution, although it
only has a small influence
on the velocity
distribution.

0
-5

10

15

20 s e

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

4 TYPICAL CONTAMINANTS AND CONTAMINANTS

DISTRIBUTION IN VENTILATED ROOMS
Displacement ventilation and vertical concentration gradient
The idea behind displacement ventilation is to accept a variation in the
concentration distribution with a high value below the ceiling and a low
value in the occupied zone.

0,95
0,90
0,80
0,70

cexp
0,73

0,95
0,90
0,80
0,70

cexp
0,76

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

5 THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

Air Change Efficiency

a
qv

a=

Mean age of air in the exhaust n

2 x Room mean age of air
2

P
qv

The mean age of air in the exhaust

is always equal to the nominal time constant n

Age
0

n=V/qv

What is the mean age of the air in the

room?
The room mean age of air can not be less than half the nominal time constant!
Thus the air change efficiency < 100 %
Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

5 THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

Air Change Efficiency
Piston flow

Fully mixed flow

n
n 2

a 100 %

a 50 %

Displacement flow

Short-circuit flow

n
n 2 n

50 % a 100 %
Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

n
n

a 50 %

THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

Contaminant Removal effectiveness, CRE

Concentration in the exhaust ce

CRE =
c
Mean concentration in the room

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

5 THEORY AND DEFINITIONS

Contaminant Removal effectiveness, CRE

Contamination source in a stagnant zone

Contamination source close to exhaust

ce

ce

c ce

c ce

Contamination source in a stagnant zone

Contamination source close to exhaust

ce

ce
c ce

c ce

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

6 MEASUREMENTS

Pressure control valve

Closing
valve
Injection of tracer gas

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

Injection
point
Flowmeter
(Rotameter)
or mass flow
controller

6 MEASUREMENTS
Exhaust air
concentration

Analyser
Switch

Alternative 1
Tube from gas bottle

Local room air concentrations

Alternative 2
Tube from gas bottle

Routines for how to measure and calculate the ventilation effectiveness

Concentration (ppm)

c0 14
12
10

ci-1
ci

This part of the curve could be

used to calculate the decay

8
6

For calculation of the tail the

calculated decay is used

4
2
ti-1 ti

10

Time (minutes)

15

20

cn

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

6 MEASUREMENTS
Planning

1. Develop team
2. Incorporate commissioning
specificati ons

Design
3. Review p roject design

Commissioning

4. Develop commissioning plan

Installation

5. Develop prefunctional checklist

6. Execute prefunctional checklist

7A. Correct deficiencies
7. Are expected
results realised?
No
Yes
8. Approve prefunctional checklist
9. Develop functi onal tests and
di agnostic monitoring pl an

Acceptance

10. Execute monitoring and

functional pl ans
11A. Co rrect deficiencies
11. Is equi pment
in compliance?
No

Post-acceptance

12. Accept equi pment performance

13. Develop final co mmissioning report

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

7 PREDICTION OF AIR QUALITY BY

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

Contaminant distribution around a sedentary person, contaminant source at the floor

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

7 PREDICTION OF AIR QUALITY BY

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

The exposure of a standing person from different surfaces with the same emission

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Description and Design Values, Measured Results, Discussion of Results

3,6 m

3,8 kW ceiling light

6m

Auditorium

21,5 m

320 seats

Measurement column

15,8 m

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Auditorium
Temperature, C
22,4 C

20

25

24,8 C
23,8 C

20,7 C

Local air quality index

890 ppm CO2

0,56-0.82
0,85- 0,97

19 m
Room width: 21.5 m

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

420 ppm CO2

8 CASE STUDIES
Office in town hall

Office in town hall

Full scale experiments

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Office in town hall

Winter case

Summer case

Warm supply air jet

Cold
down-draught
from windows

Draught from
the subcooled
supply air jet

Flow pattern before reconstruction of the ventilation system

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Office in town hall
3

Height (m)

New system
Old System

0
0

Carpet as contaminant source

1
2
3
4
Dimensionless concentration (c/c e )

Concentration profiles

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Industrial building
8m

5m

Section A-A

25 m

Height (m)
4

Mixing ventilation

Measuring position
24 m

75 mA-A
Section

5m

8m

38 m

25 m

1
A

10

14

18

22

26 P (min)

Displacement ventilation
Mixing ventilation
A
Measuring position

Displacement ventilation

38 m

24 m
75 m

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Homogeneous emission techniques

7m

4m

13,2 m

Laboratory hall

Subdivision of the room

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

8 CASE STUDIES
Homogeneous emission techniques

c/ce
1

0,35
0,28
0,27
0,33

c/ce
1

0,42
0,35
0,28
0,33

0,50
0,45
0,43
0,48

1,33 m above the floor

Computed local mean

age of air in the subvolumes between the
two layers

0,54
0,60
0,63
0,57

c/ce
1

c/ce
1

1,33 m above the floor

The shadowed ellipses

show the positions of
the two 750 W air
convectors at the floor
level

Floor level
The shadowed ellipses
show the positions of
the two 750 W air
convectors at the floor
level

Local mean age of air

Floor level

Local concentrations with point sources

Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations

Thank you for your

attention
The life
Grandchild 2003

Skansen 2004

Great-grandmother 1928

Local mean age

5 months

Local mean age

X years

Local mean age

80 years

Life mean age 40 years?

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Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Associations