Multizone Modeling as an Indoor Air Quality Design Tool.
Multizone Modeling as an Indoor Air Quality Design Tool.
(801 K)
Musser, A.
Health Buildings 2000, 6th International Conference.
Proceedings. Volume 2. Design and Operation of HVAC
Systems. August 6-10, 2000, Espoo, Finland, 455-460 pp,
2000.
Keywords:
air quality; predictive models; building design;
modeling; source control; VOC; depressurization;
ventilation
Abstract:
Increased public awareness and changing industry
standards have highlighted the importance of indoor air
quality in the building design process. At the same
time, many owners would like to construct buildings that
conserve energy and minimize environmental impact. To
accomplish both of these goals, the designer must be
able to understand airflow rates, pressure
relationships, and contaminant transport in buildings.
This paper describes the use of a multizone model to
perform design calculations for a new building on a
college campus in the United States. The building
incorporates a number of environmentally "progressive"
features, such as natural ventilation, energy recovery,
a biological wastewater treatment process, and CO2
demand controlled ventilation. The multizone modeling
tool CONTAM is used to size an exhaust fan for source
isolation, select minimum ventilation quantities to
control building related contaminants, and specify
procedures for flushing out contaminants prior to
occupancy. The multizone model is also used to predict
transient contaminant levels, taking into account
weather and associated infiltration. The generalization
of these design and analysis techniques to a wider range
of indoor air quality design applications is also
discussed.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899