%0 Conference Paper
%K Formaldehyde
%K Particles
%K Nitrogen dioxide
%K Field study
%K Ventilation performance
%A Iain S Walker
%A Brett C Singer
%A Wanyu R Chan
%B 40th AIVC Conference
%D 2019
%G eng
%T Ventilation and Measured IAQ in new US homes
%2 2001246
%X <p>As newer homes are being built tighter than the existing housing stock, questions have been raised about the<br />concentrations of pollutants of concern in new homes and how mechanical ventilation systems can address this<br />issue. This study measured pollutants of concern in 70 new homes with mechanical ventilation in California, USA<br />and compared the results to a previous study of home without mechanical ventilation. The key pollutants were<br />measured using both time-integrated and time-resolved over a one-week period and included formaldehyde,<br />PM2.5 and NO2. Each home was tested for air flows of mechanical systems, together with house envelope and<br />forced air heating and cooling duct leakage. The results show that the homes complied with dwelling unit<br />ventilation fan flows and most of the time with kitchen and bathroom requirements. The measured pollutant<br />concentrations were almost all within acceptable limits and showed that the installed ventilation flow rates (that<br />complied with California building standard and ASHRAE 62.2 requirements) provided acceptable indoor air<br />quality. The mechanically ventilated homes had more consistent ventilation, resulting in less extreme pollutant<br />concentrations. However, there remain issues with system operation, e.g., poor labeling of easily accessible<br />controls led to three-quarters of the dwelling unit ventilation systems being turned off when homes were first<br />visited for this study. This paper summarizes the results of the diagnostic testing and time-integrated field<br />measurements, together with implications for ventilation standards.</p>