Development of a Direct-to-Suite Ventilation System for Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofits

战后多单元住宅建筑通常使用集中式补充空气装置（MAU）进行通风，其目的是对公共建筑走廊进行正向加压，并通过门洞向套房提供通风空气。这些建筑的覆层改造越来越受欢迎，因为它们通过提高建筑气密性和绝缘水平提供更好的热舒适性和能源效率。然而，作为这些改造的结果，加压走廊通风策略变得不够。这些建筑对替代通风策略的需求正在打开一个改造市场，Nu-Air通风系统公司计划利用新的低姿态，高效，热/能量回收通风机（H/ERV）。通过这项研究合作，H/ERV单元设计将根据不同系统布局的空气流速要求、单元尺寸（包括高宽比）、与国家标准和激励计划要求相比的热效率以及硬件成本进行优化，以确保获得更大的市场份额。为了确定设计的要求，将使用现场数据校准的计算机模拟。这些模拟将基于安大略省的一个案例研究建筑，代表Nu-Air的目标原型建筑。该过程将利用很少收集的区域间空气泄漏数据和从风机增压和示踪气体测试中获得的气流数据来校准气流模型。与现有模型相比，这种独特的方法将确保这些建筑类型的更真实的表现，有助于开发专门为这种改造应用而设计的第一个H/ERV。该项目将使Nu-Air加强其H/ERV产品线，使其在全球市场上具有竞争优势，同时加强加拿大经济。

Post-war multi-unit residential buildings are typically ventilated using a centralized make-up air unit (MAU), which is intended to positively pressurize the common building corridors and provide ventilation air to suites through door undercuts. Overcladding retrofits for these buildings are gaining popularity as they offer better thermal comfort and energy efficiency by improving building air tightness and insulation levels. However, as a result of these retrofits, the pressurized corridor ventilation strategy is becoming insufficient. The need for alternative ventilation strategies in these buildings is opening up a retrofit market which Nu-Air Ventilation Systems Inc. plans to capitalize on with a new low-profile, high-efficiency, heat/energy recovery ventilator (H/ERV).Through this research partnership, the H/ERV unit design will be optimized with respect to air flow rate requirements for different system layouts, unit dimensions including the height-to-width ratio, thermal efficiency compared to national standards and incentive program requirements, and hardware cost to ensure acceptability by a large market share. To determine the requirements for the design, computer simulations calibrated with field data will be used. These simulations will be based on a case study building in Ontario, representing Nu-Air's target archetype building.This process will leverage rarely collected interzonal air leakage data and air flow data derived from fan-pressurization and tracer gas testing to calibrate the airflow models. This unique approach will ensure a more realistic representation of these building types compared to existing models, to help develop the first H/ERV specifically designed for this retrofit application. This project will allow Nu-Air to bolster their H/ERV product line and give them a competitive advantage in the global marketplace, simultaneously strengthening the Canadian economy.