Seasonal Air Quality in Bedrooms with Natural, Mechanical or Hybrid Ventilation Systems and Varied Window Opening Behavior-Field Measurement Results

Abstract

The article presents the results of measurements of temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration in six single-family houses’ bedrooms located in Poland, in Wrocław and vicinity, during two climatic seasons: summer–autumn and winter. Two buildings with natural ventilation (NV) were tested, three with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MV) and one with hybrid ventilation (HV)—mixed mode natural and mechanical. The behavior of residents regarding opening windows was analyzed and the influence of the changing internal and external conditions on their active reactions was examined. The analysis confirms and adds to the global discourse on the key impact of user behavior on securing healthy indoor air quality in housing, regardless of ventilation system or building energy standard. A disconnect exists between the observed window opening practices and typical design principles, assuming adjustment to a given ventilation system or changing weather conditions. The observations showed that in both analyzed seasons it was possible to obtain a good quality internal environment, in terms of CO2 level, regardless of the ventilation system used in the building. However, unfavorable results were observed for one bedroom, in which the inhabitants do not adapt their behavior to local technical conditions. Taking into account the level of relative humidity (RH), much higher values were observed in the NV bedrooms in both analyzed periods. The obtained results were divided into IAQ classes in accordance with the EN 16798-1. The recorded values of the internal temperature confirm the significant influence of the location of the room in the building and the actions taken by the residents.