Air changes per

hour

Air changes per hour, abbreviated ACPH

or ACH, or air change rate is a measure of
the air volume added to or removed from a
space (normally a room or house) divided
by the volume of the space.[1] If the air in
the space is either uniform or perfectly
mixed, air changes per hour is a measure
of how many times the air within a defined
space is replaced.
In many air distribution arrangements, air
is neither uniform nor perfectly mixed. The
actual percentage of an enclosure's air
which is exchanged in a period depends
on the airflow efficiency of the enclosure
and the methods used to ventilate it. The
actual amount of air changed in a well
mixed ventilation scenario will be 63.2%
after 1 hour and 1 ACH.[2] In order to
achieve equilibrium pressure, the amount
of air leaving the space and entering the
space must be the same.

Where:
 ACPH = number of air changes per hour;
higher values correspond to better
ventilation
Q = Volumetric flow rate of air in cubic
feet per minute (cfm), if using Imperial
units, or cubic meters per minute if
using SI
Vol = Space volume L × W × H, in cubic
feet if using Imperial units, or cubic
meters if using SI

Ventilation rates are often expressed as a

volume rate per person (CFM per person,
L/s per person). The conversion between
air changes per hour and ventilation rate
per person is as follows:
Where:

Rp = ventilation rate per person (CFM per

person, L/s per person)
ACPH = Air changes per hour
D = Occupant density (square feet per
occupant, square meters per occupant)
h = Ceiling height (ft, meters)

Air change rate

This table needs additional citations for
verification.
Learn more
Air change rates are often used as rules of
thumb in ventilation design. However, they
are seldom used as the actual basis of
design or calculation. For example,
laboratory ventilation standards indicate
recommended ranges for air change
rates,[3] as a guideline for the actual
design. Residential ventilation rates are
calculated based on area of the residence
and number of occupants.[1] Non-
residential ventilation rates are based on
floor area and number of occupants, or a
calculated dilution of known
contaminants.[4] Hospital design
standards use air changes per hour,[5]
although this has been criticized.[6]
Basement Parking 15–30

Residential Basement 3–4

Bedroom 5-6

Residential Bathroom 6-7

Residential Living Rooms 6-8

Residential Kitchen 7-8

Residential Laundry 8-9

Business Offices 6-8

Business Lunch Break Rooms 7-8

Business Conference Rooms 8-12

Business Copy Rooms 10-12

Computer Rooms 10-14

Restaurant Dining Area 8-10

Restaurant Food Staging Area 10-12

Restaurant Bar 15-20

Public Hallway 6-8

Public Retail Store 6-10

Public Foyer 8-10

Church 8-12

Public Auditorium 12-14

Commercial kitchens & Restrooms 15–30

Smoking rooms 15-20

Laboratories 6–12[3]

Classrooms 3–4

Warehousing 3-10

Measure of Airtightness
Many if not most uses of ACH are actually
referring to results of a standard blower
door test in which 50 pascals of pressure
are applied (ACH50), rather than the
volume of air changed under normal
conditions. The Passive House standard
requires airtightness so that there will be
less than 0.6 ACH with a pressure
difference between inside and outside of
50 Pa.[7]

Effects of ACH due to forced

ventilation in a dwelling
Forced ventilation to increase ACH
becomes a necessity to maintain
acceptable air quality as occupants
become reluctant to open windows due to
behavioural changes such as keeping
windows closed for security.[8]

Air changes are often cited as a means of

preventing condensation in houses with
forced ventilation systems often rated
from 3 - 5 ACH though without referencing
the size of the house. However, where ACH
is already greater than 0.75 a forced
ventilation system is unlikely to be of use
at controlling condensation and instead
insulation or heating are better
remedies.[8] Seven out of eight houses
studied in NZ in 2010 had an ACH
(corrected for ventilation factors) of 0.75
or greater.[8] The presence of forced
ventilation systems has been shown in
some cases to actually increase the
humidity rather than lower it.[8] By
displacing air inside a dwelling with
infiltrated air (air brought in from outside
the dwelling), positive pressure ventilation
systems can increase heating (in winter)
or cooling (in summer) requirements in a
house.[8][9] For example, to maintain a
15 °C temperature in a certain dwelling
about 3.0 kW of heating are required at 0
ACH (no heat loss due to warmed air
leaving the dwelling, instead heat is lost
due to conduction or radiation), 3.8 kW at
1 ACH and 4.5 kW are required at 2 ACH.[8]
The use of roof space for heating or
cooling was seen as ineffectual with the
maximum heating benefits occurring in
winter in more southerly regions (being
close to the South Pole in these southern
hemisphere reports) but being equivalent
only to about 0.5 kW or the heating
provided by about five 100 W
incandescent light bulbs; cooling effects in
summer were similarly small and were
more pronounced for more northerly
homes (being closer to the equator); in all
cases the values assumed that the
ventilation system automatically
disengaged when the infiltrating air was
warmer or cooler (as appropriate) than the
air already in the dwelling as it would
otherwise exacerbate the undesirable
conditions in the house.[9]

References
1. "ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2013:
Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air
Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings".
Atlanta, GA: American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers. 2013.
2. Bearg, David W. (1993). Indoor Air Quality
and HVAC Systems. CRC Press. p. 64.
ISBN 0-87371-574-8.
3. "Lab Ventilation ACH Rates Standards
and Guidelines" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June
2014.
4. "ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2013:
Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air
Quality". Atlanta, GA: American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-
Conditioning Engineers. 2013.
5. "ANSI/ASHE/ASHRAE Standard 170:
Ventilation for Healthcare Facilities".
Atlanta, GA: American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers. 2013.
6. "Engineers' Perspectives on Hospital
Ventilation" . Retrieved 9 June 2014.
7. "International Passive House Association
- Guidelines" . Retrieved 23 March 2013.
8. Pollard, AR and McNeil, S, Forced Air
Ventilation Systems, June 2010, Report
IEQ7570/3 for Beacon Pathway Limited
9. Warren Fitzgerald, Dr Inga Smith and
Muthasim Fahmy, Heating and cooling
potential of roof space air: implications
for ventilation systems, May 2011,
Prepared for the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority (EECA)

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Air_changes_per_hour&oldid=878638571"
Last edited 1 month ago by X5163x

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless

otherwise noted.