Apartment building · Ventilation
Ventilation in apartment building: what the SRI measures
Ventilation is about demand-controlled ventilation: more air when more people are present or CO2 rises, less when a room is empty. Heat recovery, free cooling with outdoor air and air-quality reporting count as well.
In short
- 1The Smart Readiness Indicator also considers ventilation in common areas when assessing apartment buildings.
- 2This domain counts with a weighting factor of 2 out of 3 possible points.
- 3Key components are demand-controlled ventilation, heat recovery, free cooling and indoor air quality reporting.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply air flow control at the room level V-1a · A · 5 levels | No ventilation system or manual control | Local Demand Control based on air quality sensors (CO2, VOC, ...) with local flow from/to the zone regulated by dampers | level 2 or higher |
| Air flow or pressure control at the air handler level V-1c · 5 levels | No automatic control: Continuously supplies of air flow for a maximum load of all rooms | Automatic flow or pressure control with pressure reset: Load dependent supplies of air flow for the demand of all connected rooms (for variable air volume systems with VFD) | – |
| Heat recovery control: prevention of overheating V-2c · 3 levels | Without overheating control | Modulate or bypass heat recovery based on multiple room temperature sensors or predictive control | – |
| Supply air temperature control at the air handling unit level V-2d · 4 levels | No automatic control | Variable set point with load dependant compensation. A control loop enables to control the supply air temperature. The setpoint is defined as a function of the loads in the room | – |
| Free cooling with mechanical ventilation system V-3 · 4 levels | No automatic control | H,x-directed control: The amount of outside air and recirculation air are modulated during all periods of time to minimize the amount of mechanical cooling. Calculation is performed on the basis of temperatures and humidity (enthalpy) | – |
| Reporting information regarding IAQ V-6 · A · 4 levels | None | Real time monitoring & historical information of IAQ available to occupants + warning on maintenance needs or occupant actions (e.g. window opening) | level 2 or higher |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 11 percentage points (from 31 to 42 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
What does ventilation mean for an apartment building?
An apartment building typically has an owner's association or housing corporation as owner. Decisions about installations follow collective decision-making procedures.
The Ventilation domain covers demand-controlled ventilation. This means higher air supply when more people are present or CO2 levels rise, and lower supply in unoccupied spaces.
For this building type, it matters whether there is a collective ventilation system or residents use individual solutions. Common areas and parking garages often fall under collective control.
Which smart-ready services are assessed?
The methodology evaluates six smart-ready services within this domain. Each service has functionality levels from 0 to 4.
- V-1a: control of supply air flow at room level, from manual adjustment to local zone-based control.
- V-1c: control of air flow or pressure at the air handling unit level.
- V-2c: control of heat recovery to prevent overheating.
- V-2d: control of supply air temperature, with or without compensation for outdoor temperature or load.
- V-3: free cooling with the mechanical ventilation system, from night cooling to enthalpy-based control.
- V-6: reporting of indoor air quality information, with or without alerts to users.
These services together determine the score for the Ventilation domain within the Smart Readiness Indicator.
How heavily does this domain count?
For apartment buildings, Ventilation receives a weighting factor of 2 on a scale of 3. This is a moderate weight among the nine domains in the methodology.
A higher score in ventilation therefore contributes significantly to the overall score and the final class of the building.
What this means for you
- Owner
- An owner's association or housing corporation should first inventory which ventilation system is present and whether it operates demand-controlled. This insight helps with investment decisions and justifying choices to residents.
- Tenant
- Residents notice demand-controlled ventilation mainly through less drafts and more consistent air quality in common areas. With failures or high CO2 levels, a system with reporting can also alert them proactively.
- Advisor
- When assessing, distinguish between collective and individual ventilation systems, as this determines which services apply. Also verify that heat recovery and free cooling are actually controlled automatically, not just present.
Next step
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