Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Recently Constructed U.S. Homes: Measured Data From Select Southeastern States: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

Whole building air exchange is an important element to maintain healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) in residential buildings. Air exchange acts to dilute concentrations of indoor air pollutants with outdoor air. In older homes, air exchange occurs in cracks and other openings in the envelope, but in newer buildings with tighter envelopes, mechanical means for ensuring whole building air exchange is necessary. Other components that make up a comprehensive strategy for IAQ include limiting materials and activities providing the source of pollutants, and employing local exhaust in bathrooms and kitchens where intermittent odors and high concentrations of contaminants are likely to occur. The US Department of Energy Building America program conducted a study to characterize IAQ in US homes constructed since 2013, along with presence, functionality, and occupant use of control measures. The Building America New Home IAQ (BAIAQ) study engaged research teams to collect data regionally (Figure 1): Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in OR and CO, representing marine and cold dry climates, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in IL representing cold climate, and FSEC in FL, GA, and SC representing warm humid climates. The data collection protocol was modeled after an earlier study called the Healthy, Efficient, New Gas Homes (HENGH) (Chan, 2020) that was conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and collected data in CA representing mixed dry climates. Specific objectives of the BAIAQ study effort included: Measuring time-integrated concentrations and temporal profiles of established contaminants of concern; monitoring the use of ventilation equipment; and tracking activities that impact air pollutant emissions and removal processes in typical homes in various climate zones. Characterizing the prevalence, type, and installed performance of mechanical ventilation equipment in new homes; exploring regional variations in system designs and performance. Investigating associations of contaminant levels with the presence of control measures including mechanical ventilation. This report introduces the study protocol, and presents and discusses high level results obtained from FSEC's data collection efforts in the southeastern US. Future publications will present more detailed results, combining data collected in all regions. A publically accessible database is being constructed to make detailed data available for other analysis.