Researchers at UC Davis field-tested a novel ventilation controller designed to do two things at once: reduce HVAC energy use and improve indoor air quality.
Typical ventilation controllers are programmed only for energy savings. For example, a demand-control ventilation system with economizer cooling will pull in outdoor air whenever it’s cool enough to give the compressor a break—but it has no idea what’s in that air. On a smoky day, the system will do its job and lower indoor temperatures while filling the building with PM2.5 from wildfire smoke. Traditional controllers simply can’t tell the difference.
The new rule-based controller can. Instead of running at fixed rates, it adjusts ventilation in response to both indoor and outdoor conditions—balancing CO2 buildup, infectious aerosols, and outdoor air pollution in real time.
Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) presents its field-testing findings in Science and Technology for the Built Environment.