Hybrid ventilation in residential and office buildings

Abstract

This project is focused on hybrid ventilation systems, a combination of natural and mechanical ventilation in residential and office buildings. Especially in dwellings hybrid ventilation systems are quite common. For instance, this can be the frequently occurring combination of exhaust fans in bathroom and toilet and / or a range hood in the kitchen with window ventilation in the other rooms. Currently, these systems are part of the planning reality, however, there are neither planning aids nor focused building standards available. A recently completed research project documents the state of the scientific knowledge, identifies most common planning challenges, and thus provides the basis for future planning aids for hybrid ventilation. This paper sets out to define the term “hybrid ventilation”, presents the most common hybrid ventilation systems in Switzerland and gives planning guidelines for current components of hybrid ventilation systems.