Review of Residential Ventilation Technologies

This paper reviews current and potential ventilation technologies for residential buildings in North America and a few in Europe. The major technologies reviewed include a variety of mechanical systems, natural ventilation, and passive ventilation. Key parameters that are related to each system include operating costs, installation costs, ventilation rates, heat recovery potential. It also examines related issues such as infiltration, duct systems, filtration options, noise, and construction issues. This report describes a wide variety of systems currently on the market that can be used to meet ASHRAE Standard 62.2. While these systems generally fall into the categories of supply, exhaust or balanced, the specifics of each system are driven by concerns that extend beyond those in the standard and are discussed. Some of these systems go beyond the current standard by providing additional features (such as air distribution or pressurization control). The market will decide the immediate value of such features, but ASHRAE may wish to consider modifications to the standard in the future.