In recent decades, homes and buildings have become progressively more airtight to achieve cost savings, energy efficiency, and home-owner comfort. As a result, a variety of airborne pollutants are reaching high levels inside many of these buildings, sometimes creating health issues or triggering allergies and asthma symptoms for building occupants.
As air infiltration and exfiltration rates decline, there is a greater need and demand for energy-efficient ventilation to both remove and dilute contaminants. Indoor air quality and energy efficiency are important topics for building professionals to understand as demand and concern for each increase.
To educate anyone involved in the building design or construction industry about the importance of indoor air quality and ways to improve it using balanced ventilation systems, David Chouvelon of Zehnder America is offering an online continuing education course through AEC Daily. The curriculum helps provide basic information for building professionals to understand how to improve indoor air quality with an effective ventilation strategy while keeping heating and cooling costs down and satisfying green building certification criteria and local building codes.
This AIA-approved course qualifies for one hour of continuing education credit for AAA, AANB, AIBC, AIBD, AIC, BOMI, CCIDC, CSC, FBPE, GBCI, HSW, ICC, InterNACHI, LU/HSW, NARI(0.1 CEU), NLAA, NWTAA, OAA, OAQ, RCEP, and SAA.
In the course, Mr. Chouvelon explores the definition of indoor air quality and some common causes of airborne contaminants, including furnishings, building materials, fuel-burning combustion appliances, excess moisture, and radon gas. Proper ventilation can dramatically improve indoor air quality, but the effectiveness of different types of systems varies widely by the project and its ventilation needs. Mr. Chouvelon examines different types of systems, including exhaust ventilation, supply ventilation, and balanced ventilation — giving participants a greater understanding of how each system works and the benefits and limitations of each.
Balanced ventilation systems can be very effective in filtering out airborne allergens, preventing excess moisture levels from human activities, saving energy, and improving air quality throughout the entire home. Standards and building codes for ventilation vary widely by location and some green building certification programs such as LEED, ENERGY STAR, and Passive House may have additional requirements beyond what is required by local building codes. Finally, this online course examines heat recovery ventilators, including their benefits, sizing, installation, and how they satisfy certain standards or criteria.