Successful Indoor Ventilation Strategies

Abstract

Indoor ventilation system modifications are the key to practical improve ments in indoor air quality (IAQ). The National Energy Management Institute has been involved in multiple investigations of IAQ in commercial and insti tutional buildings since 1988. These investigations have been conducted in various regions of the United States, and thus reflect a variety of building types and climatic influences. The practical experience gained from investi gations of this type on commercial building reveals deficiencies primarily in the operation and secondarily in the design of the building air distribution systems. Solutions to these air distribution system problems can range from simple adjustments to major retrofit modifications costing more than US$ 100,000. Local regulations concerning ventilation also have an effect on what air distribution solution strategies can be employed. The cost of the IAQ ventilation strategies varies in a nonlinear pattern to the severity of the IAQ problem.