Ventilationaim

Ventilationaim is a term used to describe a holistic framework for designing, operating, and validating ventilation strategies in built environments. It centers on aligning ventilation supply with occupancy, activity, and pollutant sources to optimize indoor air quality while minimizing energy use.

The approach combines dynamic control, sensing, and modeling. Core principles include occupancy-aware ventilation setpoints, demand-driven ventilation, source control, and verification of performance. Implementations rely on sensor networks (for CO2, VOCs, PM) and building management systems to forecast ventilation needs and adjust air flow in real time, often using predictive or adaptive control methods. It also emphasizes proper air distribution, filtration, and the separation of clean zones from contaminated zones.

Applications span offices, schools, healthcare facilities, laboratories, and industrial settings, where energy efficiency and occupant health are priorities. Metrics used to assess ventilationaim performance include occupancy-adjusted air changes per hour, outdoor air fraction, CO2 concentration, tracer gas age of air, and pollutant exposure indices, alongside total energy consumption.

Challenges include the cost and complexity of sensors and controls, privacy considerations related to occupancy data, maintenance requirements, and the need for standardized guidelines to compare systems. Critics caution that indoor air quality improvements should not come at the expense of thermal comfort or system reliability.

Ventilationaim is a developing concept in building science and occupational health, intersecting with smart buildings, energy retrofit strategies, and IAQ research. Ongoing work aims to establish best practices, performance metrics, and implementation frameworks that can be adopted across different building types and climates.