Healthy High-rise: Ventilation Issues and Innovations

Over the past several years many issues have come to light that have highlighted the need for improved ventilation in multi unit residential buildings (MURB's). High-rise buildings, for example, are all too often connected with poor indoor air quality. When looking at this issue from the perspective of urbanism and the trend to increasing the density of our urban centres, there is a dramatic need to address the ventilation issue in MURB's. To enhance the success of the 'Open Living' concept, solutions that improve the possibility for the future adaptations of the use of space in buildings need to be developed. Recent research by CMHC has shown that many existing ventilation systems do not perform as intended due to two main factors: lack of envelope air tightness and the strong stack effect in tall buildings. As a result, the extent of ventilation in suites ranges from overventilated to under ventilated, with units often receiving stale ventilation air from other parts of the building during the heating season when windows are closed. In response to the growing recognition of the need for improved ventilation in homes, the federal government department Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and several Canadian manufacturers have teamed up to develop a new category of products that efficiently provide residential space heating, water heating and ventilation with heat recovery for low rise residential buildings under the trade name of eKOCOMFORT. The great versatility of the eKOCOMFORT system, demonstrated in the early testing of the product, initiated a move by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to begin testing of this new product in high-rise applications. This paper looks at the issue of ventilation in high-rise residential buildings, examining the advanced combination heating and ventilation system and the potential for application of this system in the high-rise residential market.