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DOE OSTI · 1897828

Pilot Study for Multifamily Building Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality

Merrin, Zachary·Francisco, Paul W.
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Abstract

Weatherization Program Notice (WPN) 17-7 issued by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) requires that buildings have ventilation in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2016 (entitled Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings) in dwelling units weatherized under the program. The 2016 version of the standard expanded its scope of application to include all multifamily dwelling units. This has resulted in concerns for buildings where installing ventilation in individual units is costly or otherwise logistically difficult. Also, excessive ventilation rates could significantly increase energy costs, and may cause indoor air quality issues within the buildings. One deficiency that is noted is that the standard does not provide a credit for existing infiltration in multifamily buildings that reduces the required mechanical ventilation levels. This report details findings from a field study investigating envelope air-tightness, inter-unit connectivity, and indoor air quality in centrally ventilated high-rise multifamily buildings with central ventilation systems serving individual units in the state of New York. As allowed under WPN 17-7, the State of New York has a variance in the application of ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2016 in select types of multifamily buildings to provide time to determine how best to implement the standard. The purpose of this pilot study is to characterize the impact that weatherization and feasible ventilation improvements have on the indoor air quality of large, multifamily buildings with centrally ventilated apartments, as currently performed under WAP in the State of New York under their variance request (i.e., to implement ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2016 “to the greatest extent possible” in this type of multifamily building). A major goal is to determine if these practices improve or at least “do no harm” to the indoor air quality of the weatherized multifamily buildings and to the occupants themselves.

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Merrin, Zachary, Francisco, Paul W.. 2022-09-30. Pilot Study for Multifamily Building Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality. https://doi.org/10.2172/1897828

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