Green Building Blog

Energy Recovery Ventilators Can Enhance Indoor Air Quality While Saving Energy and Money

FRESH AIR FUNDAMENTALS. Fresh air being key to good health, it's a shame we cannot rely on the supply and quality of our indoor air these days. Thanks to technology, our building envelopes - the physical separation between the interior and exterior of a structure - have grown significantly tighter. One hundred years ago people enjoyed generous amounts of OA (Outside Air) flowing through gaps in doors, windows, joints, and cracks. A cool draft through an old building was typical and necessary for a good ghost story. However, the cost of energy and technology has changed our perspective on drafts as well as mechanically cooled or heated air. We don't want to pay extra to heat or cool more air than we have to due to excessive outdoor air coming in or conditioned air leaving the building before delivering its full potential. Tighter envelopes lessen the avenues for air entry and escape in order to achieve energy savings. So ... tighter envelopes that reduce energy costs as well as the amount of emissions fleeing into the atmosphere is a good thing, yes? Naturally, but as with most things, you can have too much of a good thing.

According to the EPA, "Indoor levels of pollutants may be 2 to 5 times - and occasionally more than 100 times - higher than outdoor pollutant levels {and} have been ranked among the top five environmental risks to public health."

In my seminars for facility managers and building engineers, I sometimes begin with this: “How are HVAC Systems like Facility Managers?” Then I pause, and say, “Nobody knows they’re there – and nobody cares – until there’s a problem!”

True, in a well-run and comfortable building, the employees, tenants and guests should not notice the HVAC system. They have their own work to do. But the minute they are uncomfortable – too hot, too cold, funny smell – the facility manager or the building engineer hears about it. Right?

On Friday, February 26, Jim Newman was interviewed by Joe Hughes and Cliff "Z-Man" Zlotnick of IAQRadio.com. They asked Jim to join them on air and share more detail from his Keynote presentation at this year's Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) Annual Meeting, held in Orlando, FL, in conjunction with the ASHRAE Convention. After the interview, Z-Man published the following blog. 

And 8 steps you can take to prevent small problems from becoming big – and costly – ones.