Formaldehyde Concentrations in a Net-Zero Energy House: Real-time Monitoring and Simulation

Published

April 19, 2016

Author(s)

Dustin Poppendieck, Shahana S. Khurshid, William Stuart Dols, Lisa Ng, Brian Polidoro, Steven Emmerich

Abstract

Measured real-time formaldehyde concentrations in a net-zero energy house were compared to simulated concentrations from a recently-developed, coupled building energy and airflow/indoor air quality model. Measured and simulated formaldehyde concentrations in living spaces ranged from 4 ppbv to 10 ppbv while concentrations in the conditioned attic ranged from 13 ppbv to 28 ppbv. During the 15 minutes the heat recovery ventilator was off each hour, the measured concentration in a bedroom increased by 1 ppbv. These results highlight the need for source control and effective ventilation (both outdoor air and air distribution) to reduce the concentration of indoor pollutants, particularly in tighter buildings. In addition, year-long simulations suggest the formaldehyde concentration in the attic may reach almost 50 ppbv during the summer. This finding reaffirms the need to consider buildings as multizone systems and provide adequate ventilation to all building zones, particularly those with low outdoor air change rates.

Proceedings Title

14th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate Conference

Conference Dates

July 3-8, 2016

Conference Location

Ghent, BE

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

Formaldehyde, Net-zero, Model, CONTAM, TRNSYS

Citation

Poppendieck, D. , Khurshid, S. , Dols, W. , Ng, L. , Polidoro, B. and Emmerich, S. (2016), Formaldehyde Concentrations in a Net-Zero Energy House: Real-time Monitoring and Simulation, 14th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate Conference, Ghent, BE, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=920271 (Accessed October 20, 2025)