Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints

The integration of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems into heritage buildings poses a series of challenges, largely attributable to architectural constraints and conservation requirements. The present study offers an operational campaign of an MVHR system installed during the e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Giraldo Soto, Catalina, Azkorra Larrinaga, Zaloa, Uriarte Arrien, Amaia, Romero Antón, Naiara, Odriozola Maritorena, Moisés
Format: article
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad del País Vasco
Repository:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
OAI Identifier:oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/75139
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10810/75139
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery
heritage retrofit
indoor air quality
energy monitoring
airflow imbalance
sustainable engineering
demand controlled ventilation
historic building conservation
id ES_c3ed8fbcc5cb631200f11e6665ac457a
oai_identifier_str oai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/75139
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct ConstraintsGiraldo Soto, CatalinaAzkorra Larrinaga, ZaloaUriarte Arrien, AmaiaRomero Antón, NaiaraOdriozola Maritorena, MoisésMechanical Ventilation with Heat Recoveryheritage retrofitindoor air qualityenergy monitoringairflow imbalancesustainable engineeringdemand controlled ventilationhistoric building conservationThe integration of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems into heritage buildings poses a series of challenges, largely attributable to architectural constraints and conservation requirements. The present study offers an operational campaign of an MVHR system installed during the energy retrofit of a protected residential heritage dwelling in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Although environmental monitoring was carried out throughout the year, representative spring, autumn and winter days of continuous operation were analysed, as the occupants frequently avoided using the system due to noise perception. This limitation highlights the importance of considering acoustic comfort and user acceptance as critical factors in the long-term viability of MVHR in heritage contexts. The system was assessed under real-life conditions using continuous environmental monitoring, with a focus on indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal efficiency, airflow balance, and pressure losses. Despite the acceptable mean apparent thermal effectiveness (0.74) and total useful efficiency (0.96), the system’s performance was found to be constrained by significant flow imbalance (up to 106%) and elevated pressure drops, which were attributed to the legacy of the duct geometry. The results obtained demonstrate IAQ improved overall, with mean CO2 concentrations below ~650 ppm across the analysed dataset; however, daily means occasionally exceeded 900–1000 ppm during high-occupancy periods and in the absence of spatially distributed demand control. These exceedances are consistent with the measured outdoor baseline (~400–450 ppm) and reflect the need for post-commissioning balancing and room-level sensing to sustain Category II performance in heritage dwellings. This study provides empirical evidence on the limitations and opportunities of MVHR deployment in historic retrofits, thus informing future guidelines for sustainable interventions in heritage contexts.This work was financially supported by the European project ENERPAT, funded under the Interreg SUDOE programme (Ref.: SOE1/P3/F0362), and by the Ensanche 21 Zabalgunea Urban Development Company of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council. Additional support was provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the slogan “A way of making Europe”, and by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU) and the State Research Agency (AEI) (Ref.: PID2021-126739OB-C22 and PID2024-156054OB-C22). The primary author acknowledges the scholarships granted by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the University of Bordeaux through the Euskampus—IdEx Bordeaux collaboration project (Ref.: PIFBUR 16/26), as well as postdoctoral fellowships from the Basque Government (Refs.: POS 2021 1 0019, POS 2022 2 0043, and POS 2023 2 0025).MDPI202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10810/75139reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigacióninstname:Universidad del País VascoInglésinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/PID2021-126739OB-C22/info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/PID2024-156054OB-C22/https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8493info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licenseoai:addi.ehu.eus:10810/751392026-06-18T09:23:17Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
title Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
spellingShingle Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
Giraldo Soto, Catalina
Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery
heritage retrofit
indoor air quality
energy monitoring
airflow imbalance
sustainable engineering
demand controlled ventilation
historic building conservation
title_short Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
title_full Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
title_fullStr Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
title_full_unstemmed Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
title_sort Operational Performance of an MVHR System in a Retrofitted Heritage Dwelling: Indoor Air Quality, Efficiency and Duct Constraints
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Giraldo Soto, Catalina
Azkorra Larrinaga, Zaloa
Uriarte Arrien, Amaia
Romero Antón, Naiara
Odriozola Maritorena, Moisés
author Giraldo Soto, Catalina
author_facet Giraldo Soto, Catalina
Azkorra Larrinaga, Zaloa
Uriarte Arrien, Amaia
Romero Antón, Naiara
Odriozola Maritorena, Moisés
author_role author
author2 Azkorra Larrinaga, Zaloa
Uriarte Arrien, Amaia
Romero Antón, Naiara
Odriozola Maritorena, Moisés
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery
heritage retrofit
indoor air quality
energy monitoring
airflow imbalance
sustainable engineering
demand controlled ventilation
historic building conservation
topic Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery
heritage retrofit
indoor air quality
energy monitoring
airflow imbalance
sustainable engineering
demand controlled ventilation
historic building conservation
description The integration of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems into heritage buildings poses a series of challenges, largely attributable to architectural constraints and conservation requirements. The present study offers an operational campaign of an MVHR system installed during the energy retrofit of a protected residential heritage dwelling in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Although environmental monitoring was carried out throughout the year, representative spring, autumn and winter days of continuous operation were analysed, as the occupants frequently avoided using the system due to noise perception. This limitation highlights the importance of considering acoustic comfort and user acceptance as critical factors in the long-term viability of MVHR in heritage contexts. The system was assessed under real-life conditions using continuous environmental monitoring, with a focus on indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal efficiency, airflow balance, and pressure losses. Despite the acceptable mean apparent thermal effectiveness (0.74) and total useful efficiency (0.96), the system’s performance was found to be constrained by significant flow imbalance (up to 106%) and elevated pressure drops, which were attributed to the legacy of the duct geometry. The results obtained demonstrate IAQ improved overall, with mean CO2 concentrations below ~650 ppm across the analysed dataset; however, daily means occasionally exceeded 900–1000 ppm during high-occupancy periods and in the absence of spatially distributed demand control. These exceedances are consistent with the measured outdoor baseline (~400–450 ppm) and reflect the need for post-commissioning balancing and room-level sensing to sustain Category II performance in heritage dwellings. This study provides empirical evidence on the limitations and opportunities of MVHR deployment in historic retrofits, thus informing future guidelines for sustainable interventions in heritage contexts.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10810/75139
url http://hdl.handle.net/10810/75139
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/PID2021-126739OB-C22/
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/PID2024-156054OB-C22/
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8493
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
instname:Universidad del País Vasco
instname_str Universidad del País Vasco
reponame_str Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
collection Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869418837921759232
score 15,198674

Similar Items