Improving Indoor Air Quality, Energy Efficiency, and GHG Reductions for Multifamily Units

Unlike single-family homes, multifamily units have many shared walls with neighboring units, which provide airflow connections between units and allow for unwanted transfers of air pollutants, odor, noise, and pests. Compartmentalization or increasing air tightness between units is a process to improve the sealing of each multifamily unit (i.e., apartment, condominium, etc.) from adjacent units, other interior spaces, and the exterior, such that each unit is effectively its own compartment. It can reduce air transfer between units and thus provide improved indoor air quality (IAQ), energy savings, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of compartmentalization of multifamily units on IAQ, energy usage, and GHG emissions. Three newly constructed mid-rise multifamily buildings in California, including two buildings with compartmentalization targets and one without compartmentalization targets but rather using modular construction with a balanced ventilation system, were field tested for air leakages, air flow rates, air change rates, and inter-unit air pollutant transfers. For more on this research seminar, visit: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/improving-indo...