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When a building is occupied, it is unlikely that every room is at occupant capacity at any given point in
time. As the number of people in a zone varies, the quantity of outdoor air required to properly ventilate
that zone also varies. However, most buildings are ventilated at design occupancy levels in all spaces at
all times, resulting in over-ventilated buildings.
Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) is a strategy that attempts to dynamically reset the outdoor airflow
delivered to a zone based on the changing population within that zone. DCV strategies include time-of-
day schedules, occupancy sensors, and CO2 sensors.
This article discusses strategies for implementing CO2 based DCV and how to model these strategies in
TRACE 700.
ASHRAE Standard 62.1 states that amount of outside air required to properly ventilate a space is the sum
of the outside air required to dilute volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off by paints, wall paper,
furniture, etc., and the outside air required to dilute bioeffluents from the occupants in a space. In
addition, the standard also permits dynamic reset of intake (outdoor) airflow as operating conditions
change, as long as the system provides at least the required breathing zone outdoor airflow whenever a
zone is occupied.
The minimum breathing zone outdoor airflow (Vbz), is determined using Equation 6-1:
Where:
Let’s take a look at how equation 6-1 comes into play in TRACE, using an example break room that is
20 ft. by 14 ft.
𝐴𝑧 = 20 × 14 = 280 𝑠𝑞 𝑓𝑡
The design ventilation for the break room can then be calculated by solving equation 6-1:
𝑉𝑏𝑧 = (5 𝑐𝑓𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 × 1.4 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒) + (0.06 𝑐𝑓𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑞 𝑓𝑡 × 280 𝑠𝑞 𝑓𝑡) = 23.8 𝑐𝑓𝑚
The result is a linear relationship between the outdoor air requirement and the zone population.
100 104
94
80 84
74
60 64
54 Vot - Vbz
40 44
34
20 24
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 1
Design Hourly
Ventilation Ventilation
Time Percentage (cfm) (cfm)
Mid - 7 am 0 23.8 0
7 am - 8 am 30 23.8 7.14
8 am - 5 pm 100 23.8 23.8
5 pm - 6 pm 30 23.8 7.14
6 pm - 7 pm 1 23.8 0.238
7 pm - Mid 0 23.8 0
Table 1
The substances we emit into the air through normal biological processes are called bioeffluents. Studies
have found that bioeffluents emitted from each person into the air can contain as many as 150 volatile
substances. Principal among these are acetone, human skin, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, and ethyl
acetate.
CO2 based DCV assumes that people produce both bioeffluents and CO2 in proportion to their activity
level and as a result, the concentration of CO2 in a space accurately represents the concentration of
human bioeffluents. It is also assumed that CO2 based steady-state equations can be used to estimate
the people component of the ventilation load.
Equation C-1 in Appendix C of ASHRAE 62.1 provides the following mass balance equation to calculate
the outdoor airflow rate needed to maintain the steady-state CO2 concentration below a given limit.
N
𝑉𝑜 =
𝐶𝑠 − 𝐶𝑜
Where:
Vo = outdoor airflow rate per person
N = CO2 generation rate per person
Cs = CO2 concentration in the space
Co = CO2 concentration in the outdoor air
CO2 based DCV makes one additional assumption: occupant activity level in a zone (in terms of metabolic
rate, m) can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. Then the CO2 generation rate per person (N) can be
expressed in terms of metabolic rate (m) and the per person CO2 generation rate (k):
N=mxk
Where:
N = CO2 generation rate per person
m = activity level of occupants, met
k = 0.0084 cfm per met per person for healthy people
The outdoor airflow rate per person (Vo ) can be expressed in terms of Vbz and Pz:
𝑉𝑏𝑧
𝑉𝑜 = �𝑃
𝑧
Where:
Vbz = the minimum breathing zone outdoor airflow
Pz = the zone population
Rewriting equation C-1 and substituting for N and Vo yields equation 1:
𝑘 × 𝑚
𝐶𝑠 = + 𝐶𝑜
𝑉𝑏𝑧
�𝑃
𝑧
This control strategy varies the intake airflow in direct proportion to the actual differential CO2 level. Two
control points (min CO2 concentration, min ventilation airflow) and (max CO2 concentration, design
ventilation airflow) establish a linear relationship between the CO2 concentration in the space and the
ventilation airflow. A CO2 sensor in the space measures the concentration and reports this value to a
controller programmed with this relationship which resets the outdoor requirement in the space. (See
Figure 2)
Figure 2
The minimum CO2 concentration is generally accepted to be that of the outdoor air (350
ppm - 400 ppm). The minimum ventilation airflow and maximum ventilation airflow are
calculated using equation 6 -1, selecting Pz values of zero and the design occupancy
respectively. The maximum CO2 concentration is calculated using equation 1 as shown in the
following example.
Applying the proportional control strategy to the break room example the calculations yield the
following results:
To calculate the maximum CO2 concentration it is first necessary to determine the metabolic
rate (m) using Figure C-2 from Appendix G in ASHRAE Std. 62.1. Choosing an activity level of
“office work” for the break room the metabolic rate is determined to be 1.2 met units. (See
Figure C.2)
The maximum CO2 concentration can now be calculated for the design occupancy using
equation 1.
The resulting ventilation is plotted along with the ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation
requirements in Figure 3.
80 94
80 84
60 74
60 64 Vot - Vbz
54
40 24 44 Vot - CO2
34
20 24
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 3
The difference between the two lines is an excess amount of outside air the space will receive
for any given population. The reason for the over ventilation is that the controller models the
change in CO2 as a linear function. A plot of the total CO2 in the break room versus population
shows that it is not. (Refer to Figure 4)
Total CO2 vs Population
2500
2026
1901 1951 1992
2000 1762 1840
1660
1520
1316
Total CO2
1500
993
1000 Co2
400 Linear
500
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 4
To understand how the controller determines the ventilation airflow, choose a discrete value for
the number of people currently in the space. For this example it will be assumed that there are
four people in the break room. The resulting CO2 level in the space will be 1316 ppm. (See
Figure 5)
1316 ppm
993
1000 Co2
400
500
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 5
A controller employing proportional control DCV will sense 1316 ppm of CO2 in the space but
has no knowledge of the actual population. The only thing it can do is control based on where
the CO2 level intersects linear function shown in Figure 4. In this example, the CO2 level of
1316 ppm corresponds to 11.3 people in the space. (Refer to Figure 6)
Total CO2 vs Population
2500
2000
1500
Total CO2
1316 ppm
1000
500
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 6
Plotting the calculated population of 11.3 people against the minimum ventilation requirements
calculated using equation 6-1 results in an outside air requirement (Vot) of 80.3 cfm. (Refer to
Figure 7)
120 124
114
100 104
Outside Air (Vot)
94
80 84
74
60 64
54 Vot - Vbz
40 44
34
20 24
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 7
The outside air requirement (80.3 cfm) can now be plotted against the break room population of
four people. (See Figure 8)
Outside Air vs Population
140
120 124
114
100 104
Outside Air (Vot)
80.3 94
80 84
74
60 64 Vot - Vbz
54
40 44 4 People
34
20 24
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 8
Plotting the outside air requirements for the entire population results in the curve shown in
Figure 9 along with ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation requirements.
80 94
80 84
60 74
60 64 Vot - Vbz
54
40 24 44 Vot - CO2
34
20 24
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 9
Single Setpoint CO2 DCV
This single setpoint strategy requires the user to enter only one value, the zone population for
which both the fixed CO2 setpoint and minimum ventilation airflow limit are to be calculated.
The controller adjusts the outdoor airflow intake to maintain a fixed CO2 level in the space,
thereby maintaining a fixed outdoor airflow rate per person. A minimum ventilation airflow limit
is enforced if CO2 levels in the space fall below the setpoint.
Figure 10 illustrates how CO2 levels will change in response to varying populations in the break
room example with a setpoint population of 10 people.
945
1000 809
800 672
536 Co2
600 400
400
200
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 10
The fixed CO2 setpoint is calculated for the setpoint occupancy using equation 1.
The resulting ventilation is plotted along with the ASHRAE Std. 62.1 minimum ventilation
requirements in Figure 11.
10 People Single Setpoint
160
140
120
Outside Air (Vot)
100
80
Min 10
60
Vot
40
20
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 11
The difference between the two lines is the excess amount of outside air the space will receive
whenever the space population is above or below the setpoint population. Figures 12 and 13
illustrate how different setpoint populations will affect the amount of excess ventilation for
different populations.
200
Outside Air (Vot)
150
Min 5
100
Vot
50
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 12
15 People Single Setpoint
140
120
100
Outside Air (Vot)
80
60 Min 15
Vot
40
20
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
# of People
Figure 13
When % Room Population is selected, the percentage is multiplied times the design
occupancy of the space to determine the number of people at which to calculate the
minimum ventilation airflow using equation 6.1.
Where:
Vbz = breathing zone outdoor airflow
Az = zone floor area: the net occupiable floor area of the ventilation zone ft2 (m2)
Ra = outdoor airflow rate required per unit area as determined from Table 6-1
Pz = zone population: the number of people in the ventilation zone during typical
usage.
Rp = outdoor airflow rate required per person as determined from Table 6-1
When using Single Setpoint control, the number of people is also used to calculate the
fixed CO2 setpoint. (Refer to the Single Setpoint CO2 DCV section of this document.)
• % Dsn OA Airflow
Note: % Dsn OA Airflow is only applicable with proportional control DCV. The reason is
that population is required to calculate the fixed CO2 setpoint for single setpoint
control.
% Dsn OA Airflow allows the user to calculate a minimum ventilation airflow based on
the design outside airflow rather than using equation C-1.
Default Values
If the value field is left blank the default of zero will be used.
Note: System-level ventilation reset is required for the system to be able to handle zone-level
demand-control ventilation.
At the bottom of the screen, select the desired C02-based DCV option (None, Proportional
Control, or Single Setpoint).