Thermal comfort and indoor air quality in super-insulated housing with natural and decentralized ventilation systems in the south of the UK

Abstract

ABSTRACTImproved energy performance standards are resulting in better insulated and more airtight building. In such buildings, ventilation can be provided by natural means alone or in conjunction with extract mechanical ventilation or with whole-house mechanical ventilation with or without heat recovery. This paper reports on a study funded by the NHBC Foundation of the indoor environment of eight super-insulated homes with natural and decentralized ventilation systems in the south of the UK. The aim was to examine the effectiveness of such ventilation options. The buildings were monitored for one year in relation to temperature, relative humidity, CO2, CO, NO2, CH2O and TVOC. The building occupants’ feedback and IES building modelling triangulated the site data. The study showed that natural and decentralized ventilation systems provided good air quality in the case-study buildings and allowed users to create comfortable thermally differentiate environments in response to their preferences.