4522 -- Indoor Environmental Quality in Elderly Housing Apartment Units in Boston Metropolitan Area: Measurements and CFD Modeling PDF

A field survey in six high-rise apartment buildings for the elderly was performed in the Boston metropolitan area to evaluate the indoor environmental quality. A questionnaire was developed and used during tenant interviews. Ventilation (air exchange rate) measurements were performed in all six high-rise buildings. A novel passive tracer gas method based on a perfluorocarbon tracer gas system (PFT) was used to identify air pollutant pathways in such a building environment. Thorough measurements of fundamental thermal comfort parameters, such as air temperature, relative humidity, floor and wall surface temperatures, operative temperature, and mean radiant temperature, were also performed in apartments in each building. The thermal asymmetry in the units (air temperature difference between head and feet, which was found as high as 6ºC) resulted in local thermal discomfort for the elderly population of the buildings. It was shown that the excessive air exchange rates and the location of the heating equipment can result in unacceptable indoor environmental quality conditions and high energy consumption. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was also used to systematically investigate the impact of the air exchange rate and other ventilation parameters on indoor environmental comfort.

Units: SI