| Abstract | CO₂-based demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) requires placement of CO₂ sensors in air handling units (AHUs) as well as in individual zones. In complex multi-zone systems or across building portfolios, the installation and maintenance costs of these sensors are non-negligible. This study explores how CO₂ sensor grids can be configured in a sparser manner to allow for CO₂-based DCV of spaces adjacent to zones with CO₂ sensors that may not have sensing infrastructure themselves. A simulation-based study of a 26-zone office building was conducted under a variety of occupancy schedules, number and placement of zone-level CO₂ sensors, and with and without motion detectors to determine how RP-1747 DCV impacted heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) energy use and zone CO₂ concentrations when implemented traditionally or with adjacent control, for a total of 29,730 simulations. It was found that CO₂ sensors installed in approximately 31% of zones could effectively enable CO₂-based DCV across the entire floor plate with a negligible impact on the number of hours where CO₂ concentrations were elevated, resulting in 7.3% to 17.4% higher HVAC energy savings compared to individual control of spaces in the case study building. |
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