ventilatiegraden

Ventilatiegraden is a term used in building science to describe the amount of outdoor air that is supplied to or removed from a space over time. They indicate how ventilated a space is and are key factors for indoor air quality and occupant comfort. Ventilatiegraden can be expressed in several ways: as air changes per hour (ACH), as a volumetric flow rate in cubic meters per hour (m3/h), or on a per-person basis in liters per second per person (l/s per person). The choice depends on design goals, occupancy, and the type of space.

In design, the required ventilation rate is used to determine the outdoor air flow needed to dilute pollutants and control CO2 levels. For a room with volume V, an air-change rate r implies Q = r × V (m3/h). Per-person rates reflect occupancy and activity levels. Balanced ventilation systems supply and exhaust roughly equal amounts of air and often include heat recovery to reduce energy use.

Standards and guidelines from international and regional bodies specify minimum ventilation rates to maintain acceptable indoor air quality. Examples include ASHRAE 62.1 and EN 16798-1, which provide frameworks for determining appropriate ventilation levels. National regulations may adapt these guidelines to local climate and building practices.

Practical considerations: higher ventilatiegraden improve indoor air quality but increase energy consumption and can raise humidity or moisture concerns if not managed properly. Design aims to balance ventilation with airtight building envelopes, filtration, humidity control, and, where feasible, heat or energy recovery.

In summary, ventilatiegraden quantify how much outside air is brought into a space, guiding the design, operation, and assessment of indoor environments to ensure health, comfort, and energy efficiency.