Effective Kitchen Ventilation for Healthy ZNE Homes with Natural Gas Appliances
Informing ventilation standards to improve indoor air quality and protect Californians' health.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Recipient
Berkeley, CA
Recipient Location
9th
Senate District
14th
Assembly District
$1,000,000
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The team has completed field, laboratory, and simulation phases of the study. Interim technical reports regarding kitchen ventilation performance in new multifamily buildings, analysis of range hood use and effectiveness, and capture efficiency standards were shared with key stakeholders. Stakeholders and state agency staff involved with Title 24 standards development expressed appreciation for the extensive, ongoing technical support that LBNL has provided to consideration of stronger requirements for kitchen ventilation equipment. Study results demonstrate that current standards may not be adequate to protect people from combustion pollutants emitted by gas cooking burners or from fine particulate matter and other pollutants emitted during cooking on all types of burners. Study also provides quantitative basis for approach based on pollutant removal efficiency.
The Issue
California's Title 24 building code requires installation of a venting range hood or other kitchen exhaust ventilation that meets specific airflow and sound requirements in residential homes. However, the code currently requires airflow rates instead of pollutant removal efficiency. For many range hoods, operation at the minimum code-required airflow capacity removes no more than half of the pollutants emitted from front burners of the cooking stove. In addition, the pollution impact in multi-family homes, and the effectiveness of microwave ventilation systems, are not well understood.
Project Innovation
The objective of this project is to determine the efficiency of current code and potential code changes with field, laboratory, and simulation research to inform developers of residential building codes and standards, such as the Energy Commission's Energy Efficiency Division, on how to protect indoor air quality and health in California zero-net energy (ZNE) homes with natural gas. The research team collected data on usage and performance of kitchen ventilation to mitigate pollutant exposures in recently constructed, ZNE multifamily buildings. The team conducted simulations to determine the exposure and risk reduction benefits resulting from varying levels of range hood capture efficiency requirements. The project also evaluated performance of over-the-range microwave exhaust fans that are not currently compliant with the Title 24 building code but are nevertheless installed in homes to satisfy customer preferences.
Project Benefits
The innovation of this project is in combining initial measurements of installed equipment performance, in-use performance (the degree to which pollutant concentrations are controlled), controlled laboratory study (of microwave exhaust fans), data analysis, and simulations to estimate the distribution of exposure and risk across the population. This project will inform stakeholders, such as the Energy Commission's Energy Efficiency Division, of the advantages and disadvantages to adding pollutant capture efficiency into the criteria of codes and standards development.
Key Project Members
Brett Singer
Subrecipients
Association for Energy Affordability
Match Partners
United States Department of Energy
