The need to reduce building energy consumption is well-established and has been the subject of research for many decades. More recent policy motivations have made building energy efficiency even more pressing. However, energy savings efforts must be pursued without compromising the indoor environment in ways that reduce the health, comfort, and productivity of the building occupants. Energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality are not necessarily in conflict, but both must be pursued thoughtfully in order to achieve both goals. Research related to building energy efficiency, indoor environmental (including air) quality, the nexus of both, and other building environmental impacts of great interest to NIST and would relate to many existing projects in the Energy and Environment Division.

References

Persily A” "Challenges in developing ventilation and indoor air quality standards: The story of ASHRAE Standard 62." Building and Environment 91: 61-69, 2015

Persily AK, Emmerich SJ: Indoor air quality in sustainable, energy efficient buildings. HVAC&R Research 18(1-2): 4-20, 2012

Ng LC, Musser A, Persily AK, Emmerich SJ: Multizone airflow models for calculating infiltration rates in commercial reference buildings. Energy and Buildings 58: 11-18, 2013