Using Sensor-Based Demand Controlled Ventilation to Realize Energy Savings in Laboratories

The building sector in the United States accounted for 41% of domestic and 7% of global energy consumption in 2010, with heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) activities consuming approximately 41.4% of the total facility energy consumption. Within the HVAC system, the parasitic energy accounts for one-third of the total energy consumed while heating and cooling accounts for the balance. The fan energy is approximately 85% of the total parasitic energy in the HVAC system. In a laboratory, energy related to ventilation can account for nearly half of the electrical energy demand. A carbon dioxide (CO2)-based demand controlled ventilation (DCV) strategy can reduce the ventilation requirement by monitoring the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a space and modulating the ventilation based on the real-time occupancy. This research presents a tool for laboratory managers to quickly determine if employing a DCV system is potentially life-cycle cost effective. The tool presented is not to be used as sole justification for implementing a DCV system; instead, laboratory managers using this tool will be able to quickly determine if further investigation into DCV installation is warranted. The results show that a DCV system is life-cycle cost effective for many different HVAC system total pressure and square footage combinations