Quantifying the trade-offs between indoor air quality and energy efficiency in a specialised test facility

Frederiksen, C. and Farmer, D. and Whyatt, J.D. and Booker, D. and Sweetman, A. and Fitton, R. (2026) Quantifying the trade-offs between indoor air quality and energy efficiency in a specialised test facility. Atmospheric Environment, 370: 121830. ISSN 1352-2310

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Abstract

Domestic cooking is a key contributor to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and one of the most significant indoor sources of particulate matter, including ultrafine particles (UFPs). Since cooking forms an essential part of domestic life, cost-effective active abatement strategies are necessary to improve IAQ. Increasing the ventilation rate by natural or mechanical means will reduce cooking related UFP concentrations but can lead to domestic heat loss: this represents an IAQ and energy efficiency dichotomy. In this study a specialist test facility is used to explore this dichotomy during short-duration cooking activities replicated under different ventilation scenarios, both related to natural and mechanical ventilation in the kitchen, and the relationship between ventilation and airflow around the home more generally. We relate our results to the recently introduced World Health Organization (WHO) good practice statement on UFPs to determine good IAQ. Energy penalties associated with heat loss are calculated to determine which combinations of behavioural and technological interventions can best balance the competing demands of good IAQ and energy efficiency. It was seen that IAQ benefits were achieved at little detriment to energy efficiency. For natural ventilation, behavioural interventions such as opening windows for 20 minutes yielded significant IAQ benefits, reducing UFPs from peak values by 86%. Similarly, 20 minutes of mechanical extract ventilation operation yielded IAQ benefits, reducing UFPs from peak values by 94%. However, in all ventilation scenarios UFPs remained above the WHO good practice high threshold for ∼1 hour. All mechanical extract ventilation scenarios resulted in lower energy penalties than for natural ventilation. Our experiments also show that airflow within the house is important to consider when looking at the IAQ and energy efficiency dichotomy. Whilst results are primarily concerned with managing IAQ and energy efficiency under domestic cooking scenarios, there are wider implications for balancing IAQ and energy efficiency, which have increasing importance in light of management of the COVID-19 and energy crises and future policy, such as the Future Homes Standard.