The WELL Building Standard v2 (IWBI) is a performance standard for occupant health, and ventilation is one of its strongest levers. Where energy codes set a floor for “acceptable” air, WELL rewards going well beyond it. This article covers the Air Concept features most relevant to recovery and ventilation design. Feature A06 — Enhanced Ventilation […]
RESET Air Standard
RESET Air is the world’s first sensor-based, performance-driven indoor-air-quality certification. Its Commercial Interiors v2.0 standard is about continuous monitoring and transparent reporting, not a one-time design check. This article summarizes the monitored parameters and the targets a space must hold. What Gets Monitored RESET requires continuous monitors covering at least 80% of occupants across all […]
Passive House Heat Recovery
The Passive House (Passivhaus) standard — from the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Darmstadt — is the most demanding envelope-and-services benchmark in buildings, and continuous ventilation with heat recovery is mandatory. This article covers the recovery requirements and how they compare with code minimums. Core Recovery Requirement Metric PHI limit Sensible heat recovery efficiency (HRV/ERV) […]
Building Decarbonization Heat Recovery
Building decarbonization means cutting the fossil-carbon intensity of how a building is heated, cooled, and powered. Heat recovery is the cheapest decarbonization step there is — it shrinks the load before you ever pay for clean supply. This article frames recovery inside the electrify-and-recover strategy. Recovery First, Then Electrify The decarbonization sequence that costs the […]
Building Performance Standards Carbon
Building Performance Standards (BPS) are laws that cap a building’s greenhouse-gas emissions and tighten the cap over time, with penalties for exceeding it. The flagship is New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) of 2019; this article summarizes how it works and the role of heat recovery in compliance. NYC Local Law 97 — Scope […]
Carbon Accounting HVAC
Carbon accounting for HVAC turns “we upgraded the system” into a defensible number for audits, ratings, and regulation. This article maps the frameworks a building owner or engineer must know to report HVAC-related emissions correctly. GHG Protocol Scopes Scope HVAC relevance Scope 1 On-site combustion: gas boilers, furnaces, backup generators (direct CO2) Scope 2 Purchased […]
EU F-Gas 2024/573: Low-GWP Refrigerants
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 The EU F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 entered into force on 11 March 2024, repealing 517/2014. It drives HFC availability to zero by 2050 through a tightening CO2-equivalent quota schedule, high-GWP refrigerants consume quota faster, pushing the market to low-GWP alternatives. Key Placing-on-Market Bans Equipment Ban Date Single splits under 3 kg GWP 750 […]
Net-Zero Operational Carbon Buildings: Pathway and Verification
Defining Net-Zero Operational Carbon A net-zero operational carbon building is highly energy efficient and fully powered by renewables, with any remaining operational emissions offset. Frameworks include the World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, LEED Zero Carbon, and ILFI Zero Carbon. Operational carbon covers Scope 1, on-site combustion, and Scope 2, purchased electricity. […]
Embodied Carbon of HVAC and Heat Recovery Systems
Embodied vs Operational Carbon in HVAC Whole-building life-cycle assessment per EN 15978 splits carbon into embodied, product, construction, end-of-life, and operational, use. For HVAC, embodied carbon has two big drivers, refrigerant leakage and equipment manufacturing. Refrigerant Leakage Dominates A system lifetime refrigerant emissions are counted as CO2-equivalent using GWP. A leaky R-410A, GWP 2088, or […]
Circular Economy and Reusable Heat Recovery
Circular Principles for Heat Recovery A circular-economy view treats a heat recovery ventilator as a material bank, not waste. The hierarchy is reuse, then refurbish, then recover, keep exchangers, fans, and controls in service, then recover metals and refrigerants at end of life. Design and Policy Levers Design for disassembly: modular cores, standard fasteners, documented […]