Ventilation tool for improving the usability of ventilation levels related to Spanish regulations

Choosing the right baseline level of ventilation has a big impact in the calculated energy needs of buildings. As designers do usually face usability problems when evaluating this level, they tend to overestimate it, making it needlessly harder to comply with energy efficiency regulations. In order to help designers to better assess ventilation levels in accordance with the Spanish Technical Building Code (TBC) (CTE) we have developed a tool that can also show the impact on ventilation levels due to usability considerations. This paper presents this tool as well as some study cases, from which the impact of more flexible ventilation regulations –performance-based- can be appreciated. The tool is based on existing and in development IAQ regulations