Arrangement and method for air management of a room

Abstract

An arrangement (1) for air management of a room (100) comprises ventilating means (10) for enabling exchange of air between the inside environment (102) of the room (100) and the outside environment (103) of the room (100); a stand-alone air purifier (20), which is arranged separately from the ventilating means (10), and which is adapted to remove pollutants from the air in the inside environment (102) of the room (100); and a control system (30, 31, 32), which is in communication with both the ventilating means (10) and the air purifier (20), and which is adapted to control operation of the ventilating means (10) and the air purifier (20) in dependence of air quality data relating to the inside environment (102) of the room and the outside environment (103) of the room, the control system (30,31,32) being configured to control the ventilating means (10) and the air purifier (20) differently depending on whether the air quality data relating to the outside environment of the room (100) is above or below a predetermined reference. Operation of the arrangement (1) is aimed at optimizing indoor air quality and minimizing energy consumption.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to an arrangement and a method for air management of a room.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Indoor air quality is an important issue which is closely related to human health and comfort. Pollution of indoor air constitutes a significant risk factor for various health problems in view of the fact that many people spend most of their time, for example, more than 90% of their time, indoors. In general, air pollutants can be one or more of particle pollutants, gas pollutants and microorganisms.[0003]Many buildings are equipped with a so-called HVAC system, i.e. a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, for providing thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. However, in some surroundings, particularly metropolitan cities, outdoor air pollution can be extremely severe, and it has been found that in such surroundings, the current HVAC systems are not capable of performing filtration of all particles to a sufficient exten...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]On the basis of the invention, it is possible to realize optimal operation of an arrangement comprising both ventilating means and a stand-alone air purifier, so that the indoor air quality is continually at the best possible level and energy consumption can be at a minimum. Also, the controlling algorithms underlying the functioning of the control system can be chosen such as to take a predetermined threshold in respect of the carbon dioxide level in the room into account. Thus, the invention provides a way of avoiding a situation in which the carbon dioxide level in the room can become dangerously high as a result of long term operation of the stand-alone air purifier, avoiding a situation in which energy is wasted, and avoiding a situation in which air cleaning only takes place at a low rate.

[0012]The control system provides for communication between the ventilating means and the air purifier, so that the operation of these components of the arrangement according to the invention can be adapted to each other in order to obtain the best possible air cleaning results at minimum power consumption. Control of the ventilating means and the air purifier includes determining when the ventilating means and the air purifier should be switched on and off, and may also include setting a rate of the air flow, for example. In any case, the control system is adapted to use both air quality data relating to at least one of the inside environment of the room and the outside environment of the room. The air quality data may be collected from suitable sensing means and / or a general data source, wherein the latter is especially applicable to air quality data relating to the outside environment of the room. In general, the data may be obtained through a data collector, which may be a sensor situated at any appropriate position inside the room and / or a website data collector. In a practical embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention, a suitable controller may be applied, which is situated on or near the ventilating means, wherein the controller is arranged to receive information from a sensor situated on or near the ventilating means for detecting carbon dioxide, particles or gas pollutants, and also from a data collector which is adapted to collect data from an official website regarding actual outdoor air quality. Communication between the controller and at least one of the ventilating means and the air purifier may take place in a wireless fashion. In any case, a suitable controller is a controller which is adapted to follow certain algorithms which are aimed at realizing operation of the ventilating means and the air purifier in such a way that the indoor air quality is always at its best under the given circumstances and waste of energy is avoided.

[0017]The control system is adapted to alternate an active status of the ventilating means with an active status of the air purifier in case it is found that the air quality of the outside environment of the room is equal to or better than a predetermined reference. There is no need for operating the ventilating means and the air purifier at the same time, so that energy may be saved. When the air purifier is operated, it is achieved that the indoor air quality is improved. When the ventilating means are operated, carbon dioxide which has accumulated in the room during operation of the air purifier can be discharged from the room. After allowing for exchange between indoor air and outdoor air through the ventilating means, the air purifier may be switched on again.

[0021]The above options in respect of the control system are related to the situation in which a comparison of the outdoor air quality and a predetermined reference shows that the outdoor quality is equal to or better than the reference. Preferably, the control system is furthermore adapted to set an inactive status of the ventilating means and an active status of the air purifier in case it is found that the air quality of the outside environment of the room is worse than the predetermined reference. In that way, a situation in which air of bad quality is supplied to the room is avoided, while the air purifier is used for improving the indoor air quality. However, in order to prevent the carbon dioxide level in the room from getting too high, it is advantageous if the arrangement comprises sensing means for sensing the carbon dioxide level in the room, and if the control system is adapted to change the inactive status of the ventilating means to an active status as long as it is found that the carbon dioxide level in the room is higher than a predetermined reference. In that way, the room is ventilated to a minimum extent, just enough for keeping the carbon dioxide level in the room at an acceptable value.

Problems solved by technology

Indoor air quality is an important issue which is closely related to human health and comfort.

Pollution of indoor air constitutes a significant risk factor for various health problems in view of the fact that many people spend most of their time, for example, more than 90% of their time, indoors.

However, in some surroundings, particularly metropolitan cities, outdoor air pollution can be extremely severe, and it has been found that in such surroundings, the current HVAC systems are not capable of performing filtration of all particles to a sufficient extent, wherein the systems are particularly not effective in removing relatively small particles from the input air.

Furthermore, most HVAC systems are not capable of removing various gas pollutants such as formaldehyde and other VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the indoor air, because the filters used in those systems are not suitable for doing so.

Another shortcoming of HVAC systems is that the systems consume a lot of energy, especially when the systems are continually switched on for maintaining the air quality, which is often the case in practice.

If a stand-alone air purifier would be operated in an open room, the indoor air would be hard to clean by means of the air purifier as the source strength would be too high.

Hence, the carbon dioxide level can become too high in a relatively short period of time, wherein it is no longer possible to comply with national and / or global standards, which are often based on a value of 1,000 ppm as a threshold.

A stand-alone air purifier is not capable of removing carbon dioxide from air.

In general, assuming that the room has windows, ventilation can be realized by opening a window, but this may worsen the indoor air quality if the outdoor quality is very bad.

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