INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Abstract

INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY. ABSTRACT The Spanish Building Technical Code, named CTE standard rule, establishes the present safety and habitability requirements in the building projects. This standard has been implemented in several phases since the year 2006. The CTE has adopted recent international approaches to other building standard rules, such as the performance-based codes or objectives,improving the previous prescriptive-based standards.This performance-based behaviour has been reached in some chapters of the standard rule more effectively than in others. The practical application of the standard Basic Documents (BD) HS3 (Indoor air quality), HE1 (Energy demand limits) and HE2 (Ef? ciency of heating/air-conditioning systems), to a specific building project gives place to an incoherent building solution. Moreover, in some cases both standard documents are incompatible.This research paper develops a critical valuation of the three BD’s of the CTE standard rule, showing the interferences in the practical application of the BD-HS3 standard with the other two rules: BD-HE1 and BD-HE2. Authors analyze the problems identified in relationship with the energy efficiency, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. A complete revision and correction measures are proposed for future modifications in the standard BD rules in order to fulfill the basic requirements at the different project, construction and final use phases.The changes in the code that are necessary are suggested, so as the technical systems that are able to satisfy in a performance way the demands resulting from the integral applications of the Basic Documents.