Parameters affecting the most effective ventilation strategy: a comparison between natural, mechanical with heat recovery and ground coupled ventilation

Ventilation is considered as an effective solution to save energy in buildings while ensuring a comfortable and healthy indoor environment. In order to lower energy consumption, design efforts are focused on exploiting techniques that enable the recovery of heat and cool. Basing on the results of a numerical model, the proposed investigation addresses the effects of different ventilation strategies on the overall thermal performance. The analyzed ventilation strategies include heat recovery ventilation, natural ventilation and ventilation by means of earth-air heat exchangers (ground tubes). The following aspects are taken into account as parameters for the comparison: outdoor climatic conditions, building envelope characteristics and building internal heat gains. The thermal model is built up in TRNSYS environment. Natural ventilation calculations are performed by means of CONTAM.