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Alexander Sylvester, University of British Columbia
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Amin Engarnevis, University of British Columbia
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Ryan Huizing, P.Eng., dPoint Technologies
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Steven Rogak, Ph.D., P.E., University of British Columbia
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Sheldon Green, Ph.D., P.E., University of British Columbia
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From substantial epidemiologic studies that have assessed the risks of passive smoking, it is well known that Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) exposure in indoor environments is a health risk to non-smokers and causes odor discomfort issues and respiratory irritation. Although ASHRAE and many other international institutions have determined smoking bans are the only effective control strategy to minimize the indoor ETS exposure (and its associated health risk) for non-smokers, there are still public places, such as entertainment venues, that are exempted from smoking bans. HVAC systems in such spaces require a significant amount of outdoor air (up to 30 ACH) to dilute ETS and to achieve the typical building code mandate, making them extremely demanding of energy. The use of an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) in such a setting has the potential to substantially reduce the energy cost of the ventilation system. This work investigates the influence of ETS on the performance of paper and polymer-based materials used in plate-type ERVs via accelerated ETS exposure tests.
