A 2011 study, “Improving Central Exhaust Systems for Multifamily Buildings“, concluded that sealing ventilation shafts and installing Constant Airflow Regulators at each exhaust vent can improve ventilation across the building. The study did not however, examine the impact on Indoor Air Quality.
Now a new study, supported by a grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, investigated the impact of various ventilation upgrades such as the installation of Constant Airflow Regulators on indoor air quality (IAQ).
Venting for health: indoor air quality improvements from upgraded ventilation systems in multifamily high-rise housing,” co-authored by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) and the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH), was published by Springer Nature Group on September 25th, 2020.
Marc Zuluaga, CEO of Steven Winter Associates, Inc was one of the authors of the study that examined IAQ outcomes in two groups of high-rise multifamily public housing buildings located in Coney Island, New York. Both the study group and control group received ventilation shaft cleaning. The the study group also received higher horsepower rooftop fans, ventilation shaft sealing, and Constant Airflow Regulators.
The study group observed a significant increase in ventilation performance when compared to the control group. Ventilation upgrades increased airflow inside those dwellings and the airflow in the study group bathrooms was significantly better than the airflow in the control group bathrooms. Dwellings were drier and had less musty odors, adults had fewer sinus infections, and children had fewer ear infections in the year after ventilation work was completed.
Click HERE, to learn more about the study.
