Abstract
Public toilets frequently use considerable amounts of ventilation to ensure appropriate air quality while operating. This obviously results in energy loss and reduces the thermal comfort of the area in the winter. To optimize and improve the ventilation of traditional toilets, this paper uses the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation methods to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the performance of toilet bowl ventilation (TBV) technology under different airflow, odors, and commode models, as well as to compare the exhaust effect of different ventilation schemes and the energy-saving performance of TBV technology. The wind direction for both models was toward the toilet’s inside. Even if the highest mass concentration above the allowable limit, the iso-surface demonstrates that all extra odor volume is controlled inside the toilet bowl. The results show that the application of TBV technology in public toilets can reduce the airflow to 10m3/h during the toilet used and still meet the air quality and energy-saving requirements. This method has a thermal energy saving efficiency of 8.2W/°C. This investigation may efficiently reduce air heat dissipation caused by the ventilation process and fan power consumption while assuring effluent discharge, thereby establishing a foundation for the promotion and use of the TBV technology.