Track 3 Trends and Business Prospects

Friday, March 17, 2000 8:30 to 10:00 A.M.

Optimizing Ventilation Performance in Commercial Buildings

David W. Bearg, PE, CIH, Life Energy Associates, 20 Darton Street, Concord, MA 01742
978-369-5680 or sagefarm@aol.com

1.0 Introduction
The goal of Optimizing Ventilation Performance in Commercial Buildings is to achieve and
document the delivery of adequate ventilation to the building occupants in such a way that
no more energy is required to accomplish this task then is absolutely necessary. The delivery of adequate ventilation to building occupants is important because it is a basic requirement for achieving good indoor air quality. As with any other building performance parameter, it cannot be assessed and managed unless the amount of actual ventilation is known
with some degree of certainty. Additional reasons for the understanding of ventilation
performance include the application of a Green Building philosophy, with the HVAC system
functioning as intended both initially and over the life of the building. The ability to assess
ventilation performance can also be considered a component of Commissioning for much the
same reason. This presentation will therefore include a discussion of how ventilation can be
evaluated.

2.0 Assessing Ventilation Performance

The quantity of outdoor air entering the HVAC system does not necessarily indicate how
much outdoor air actually gets delivered to the building occupants as ventilation. This is
because of the critical role of the distribution components of the HVAC system in transferring this outdoor air. In order to assess ventilation, feedback is needed on the quantity of
outdoor air actually delivered to the occupants. One approach to this determination is to
measure some component of the indoor air that is given off by the occupants in some predictable manner. Since people exhale carbon dioxide (CO2) in concentrations that are about
100 times greater than in clean outdoor air, its measurement can provide an excellent assessment of ventilation performance. That is, the exhaled concentration of CO2 is about 38,000
to 40,000 parts per million (ppm), while clean outdoor air has a CO2 concentration of 380 to
400 ppm. Recognizing that there is little hope of fine tuning ventilation performance unless
information on this performance is readily available, one needs to consider the best way to
collect this information.
3.0 Obtaining Information on Ventilation Performance
There are several ways of obtaining information on ventilation performance with the measurement of CO2 concentrations. Options vary from just a few grab samples, up through
continuous monitoring with automatic data logging. In all cases, some information on
ventilation performance is provided. The question remains, however, as to the minimum

There are several ways of obtaining information on ventilation performance with the measurement of CO2 concentrations. Options vary from just a few grab samples, up through
continuous monitoring with automatic data logging. In all cases, some information on
ventilation performance is provided. The question remains, however, as to the minimum
level of CO2 monitoring data necessary for the optimization of ventilation performance. The
criteria for assessing this include both the accuracy of the CO2 monitoring data and how
representative it is of building conditions. Accuracy is a function of the calibration of the
CO2 detector and whether or not it is unduly influenced by the direct exhaled breath of either
the building occupants or the investigator. Unfortunately it has been my experience that CO2
detectors have a definite tendency to drift. Therefore, if one is to have confidence in the CO2
monitoring data obtained, there must be periodic calibration checks of the detector response.
4.0 Representativeness of CO2 Monitoring Data
Since individual CO2 measurements reflect the dynamic interaction of the number and duration of the people present and the ability of the HVAC system to dilute and remove air
contaminants, one should have a continuous polling of CO2 concentrations through the day
to determine both the maximum and minimum differences between indoor and outdoor
values. The focus on the difference between indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations comes
from information in ASTM D6245, Standard Guide for Using Indoor Carbon Dioxide Concentrations to Evaluate Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation. This resource not only points out
that it is this difference that can be used to calculate ventilation rates, it also states that when
using CO2 concentration for the purposes described in this guide, the outdoor CO2 concentration must be measured. This document also mentions a distance of 2 meters from any
occupant as sufficient to avoid the effects of the air exhaled by individual people.
In terms of being representative of the building, the more locations included the better. The
locations monitored should include both those spaces with the greatest potential for the
highest occupancies and those spaces served by the ends of the HVAC distribution system.
5.0 Shared-Sensor, Vacuum-Draw Approach to CO2 Monitoring
One approach to obtaining the information necessary for optimizing ventilation performance
is with a monitoring system that uses a vacuum-draw, shared-sensor technology. With this
approach, just one CO2 sensor is shared among up to 48 locations, with air from all locations
being analyzed by just this one individual sensor. The advantages of this approach over
distributed sensors are significant. This way any
differences observed between differing locations will definitely be real, as opposed to possibly just being due to different responses of different sensors. In addition, the vacuum-draw
approach makes it easier to maintain the single sensor in calibration as compared with maintaining the calibration on numerous distributed sensors. A additional advantage of the
vacuum-draw approach accrues from the greater flexibility of locating the end of the sampling tube approximately 2 meters from the nearest person as compared with distributed
sensors that might be impacted by people much closer than 2 meters.

6.0 Calculating Ventilation Rates from CO2 Concentrations

People generate CO2 as a function of their metabolism. This generation rate is therefore a
function of their activity level. Published values of this generation rate place this CO2 generation rate at 0.0106 cubic feet per minute (0.3 liters per minute). Multiplying this value by
a million, to make it consistent with CO2 readings expressed in terms of parts per million,
yields an equation where at equilibrium the ventilation rate is equal to 10,600 divided by the
difference between indoor and outdoor CO2 concentrations in ppm. For example, if the goal
is to achieve a minimum ventilation rate of 20 cfm of outdoor air per person (for adults
doing light work), then the indoor to outdoor CO2 concentration differential should not
exceed 530 ppm. Thus, if the outdoor CO2 concentration is 370 ppm, then the indoor values
should not exceed 900 ppm.
7.0 Additional Aspects of Ventilation Performance
In addition to the delivery of outdoor air to the building occupants in adequate amounts, the
intended function of ventilation is to maintain the occupied spaces at a positive pressure with
respect to the outdoors so as to prevent the infiltration of unconditioned outdoor air. The
problem with relying on just the measurement of CO2 concentrations to determine this however will be frustrating because it will be impossible to know if the resulting low values are
due to infiltration or just generous ventilation. To better know if infiltration is occurring
then, the monitoring of CO2 concentrations can be supplemented with the monitoring of
absolute humidity levels. Then as the data is viewed over time, if infiltration is occurring it
will be reflected on those days when there is an observable difference in absolute humidity
between the outdoors and core indoor locations. The extent of infiltration will be reflected
by the amount that humidity values approach those of the outdoors as compared with the rest
of the indoor values.
Monitoring of absolute humidity levels will provide information on not only the existence of
infiltration but will also permit assessment of humidity control for both dehumidification and
humidification specifications. This monitoring will also provide identification of any indoor
sources of moisture. This information is also import
because the availability of indoor sources of moisture can be a precursor to the indoor
growth of microorganisms.
A vacuum-draw, shared sensor monitoring system has the ability to include not only the
measurement of humidity levels but also the measurement of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations. This monitoring will be very important in buildings with basement garages and
loading docks as well as nearby roadways. Since buildings during the heating season have
the potential for air contaminants at the lower levels to be distributed upward in the building
due to thermal stack effects, these lower level sources of air contaminants can adversely
impact the occupied areas of the building. The monitoring of CO concentrations at these
locations can therefore assess whether the combination of physical isolation and pressure
differentials created by the HVAC system are adequately preventing vehicle related air
contaminants from being distributed to the building occupants. Monitoring of CO levels can
also identify and assess the impact of nearby vehicle exhaust on the air quality of the outdoor
air being drawn into the building.

8.0 Options for Optimizing Ventilation Performance

In addition to monitoring to provide feedback information on ventilation performance there
are several options in the operation and design of buildings that have the potential to improve ventilation performance. In terms of operation, for instance, increasing the supply air
(SA) temperature in VAV systems will cause more air to be provided to achieve the same
degree of cooling as compared with a cooler SA temperature. This resulting increased air
volume may therefore correct the operation of VAV systems where the VAV boxes frequently go to minimums thus causing ventilation deficiencies.
From a design perspective, more options become available. The delivery of outdoor air can
be separated from that of maintaining thermal comfort so that even when thermal conditions
are achieved, there is still adequate ventilation being provided. The geometry between the
location of supply air registers and exhausts can also be modified to provide displacement
ventilation rather than merely dilution ventilation. Displacement ventilation offers benefits
in terms of higher ventilation effectiveness for the air moving through a space to dilute and
remove air contaminants. In addition, better control of pressures in the building can be
achieved with the use of relief fans as opposed to the use of return fans. Using a relief fan
may allow a ducted return air system on a VAV air distribution arrangement without inducing depressurization of the ceiling plenum or building envelope.
Optimizing ventilation can therefore be achieved by a combination of having feedback on
ventilation performance and design details that favor good ventilation performance.