Abstract
The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used in this paper to
assess the environmental impacts of residential ventilation units over a
50 year life cycle in Finland. Quantifying the consumption of the
energy and material resources during the life cycle permits the
estimation of the harmful emissions into the environment (air, water and
soil) and the potential changes in the environment (climate change,
acidification and ozone production). Two different ventilation units are
evaluated, both of which include air-to-air energy exchangers. The
research demonstrates that a residential ventilation unit, with a
function of providing 50 l/s of outdoor ventilation air, but not heating
the air, has a net positive impact on the environment when it is
equipped with a air-to-air energy exchanger with an effectiveness
greater than 15%. The greater the effectiveness, the greater the
positive impact on the environment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 15-27 |
| Journal | Building and Environment |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- life cycle assessment
- ventilation unit
- residential building
- air-to-air energy recovery
- frost protection
