Building Energy Efficiency, Ventilation Strategies, and Indoor VOC Accumulation: A Data-Driven Assessment
Keywords:
building energy efficiency; ventilation; volatile organic compounds; indoor air quality; data-driven assessment; socio-technical systems; building governanceAbstract
The pursuit of energy efficiency in buildings has transformed envelope design, mechanical systems, and operational control strategies. However, the same interventions that reduce heating, cooling, and ventilation energy can also alter indoor pollutant dynamics, particularly for volatile organic compounds emitted by building materials, furnishings, finishes, and consumer products. This paper presents a data-driven assessment of the coupled relationships among building energy efficiency, ventilation strategies, and indoor VOC accumulation. It examines buildings as socio-technical systems in which energy codes, ventilation standards, occupant behavior, sensor infrastructure, and indoor chemistry interact in ways that are not captured by conventional single-domain performance metrics. The analysis addresses emission source behavior, air exchange variability, sensor deployment, machine learning integration, and governance challenges. It further considers structural trade-offs between envelope tightening and pollutant dilution, robustness of automated ventilation, fairness in exposure distribution, and policy instruments needed to avoid unintended health consequences in low-energy buildings. The paper argues that indoor air quality should be treated as a coequal performance dimension with energy efficiency, supported by interoperable data infrastructure, transparent modeling practices, and institutional routines that protect occupants across diverse building types. The assessment highlights opportunities for digital twins, urban-scale building modeling, and dynamic ventilation standards while cautioning against excessive reliance on algorithmic control without independent commissioning and audit structures.
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