Measurement and Simulation of the IAQ Impact of Particle Cleaners in a Single-Zone Building

Published

February 1, 2000

Author(s)

Steven J. Emmerich, Steven J. Nabinger

Abstract

This report describes the initial phase of an effort to evaluate the ability of multizone airflow and pollutant transport models to predict the impact of residential IAQ control technologies. Measurements of the performance of several particulate air cleaning devices and related particle transport parameters were performed in a one-room test house. These measurements were used to calculate building air change rates, particle deposition rates and penetration factors, and air cleaner removal efficiencies. Two separate 24 h tests were performed with two of the tested air cleaners, and the measured air change rates and particle concentrations were compared to predicted values obtained with the CONTAM model. For both tests, simulated air change rates were within 5 % of measured air change rates and simulated 24 h average particle concentrations were within 30 % of measurements for all particle sizes. Simulations were also performed to predict the impact of the air cleaners compared to a typical furnace filter.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 6461

Report Number

6461

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

air cleaners, airflow modeling, building technology, computer simulation, infiltration, multizone, residential buildings, validation

Citation

Emmerich, S. and Nabinger, S. (2000), Measurement and Simulation of the IAQ Impact of Particle Cleaners in a Single-Zone Building, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=860808 (Accessed October 18, 2025)