Does Mixing Make Residential Ventilation More Effective?

Ventilation dilutes or removes indoor contaminants to reduce occupant exposure. In a multi-zone environment such as a house, there will be different dilution rates and different source strengths in every zone. The total ventilation rate is the most important factor in determining the exposure of occupants to given sources, but the zone- specific distribution of exhaust and supply air, and the mixing of ventilation air can have significant roles. Different types of ventilation systems will provide different amounts of mixing depending on several factors such as air leakage through the building envelope, air distribution systems and the location of sources and occupants. This paper reports recent results of investigations to determine the impact that air mixing has on exposures of residential occupants to prototypical contaminants of concern. Evaluations of existing field measurements and simulations reported in the literature are combined with new analyses to provide an integrated overview of the topic. The results show that for extreme cases additional mixing can be a significant factor but for typical homes looking at average exposures mixing is not helpful and can even make exposures worse