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Broan System Automatically Improves Indoor Air Quality
 Exhibiting in Booth C5581 at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Broan will be featuring its new SmartSense Ventilation System.
The Broan SmartSense Ventilation System improves air quality throughout the home — automatically and efficiently. The system provides home owners and contractors with an affordable, energy-efficient solution to meet the intermittent and continuous ventilation requirements of ASHRAE code 62.2, according to Tom Heidel, marketing manager, IAQ, Broan-NuTone. ASHRAE 62.2 is the baseline ventilation requirement for all major green building programs and many building codes.
Mechanical ventilation equipment can also earn a number of points for builders in the Indoor Environmental Quality category under the National Green Building Certification program of NAHBGreen.
“To maintain a healthy home, it is important to exhaust stale indoor air and minimize opportunities for mold and mildew growth with continuous ventilation throughout the day,” says Heidel. “Pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and excess moisture are not removed by the filtration units and air cleaning machines that have become so popular today.”
According to Heidel, this innovative breakthrough in ventilation technology has combined the patent-pending Broan SmartSense technology with Broan Ultra Silent ventilation fans to create an integrated ventilation system in the home. Individual fans that once worked independently now work together to ensure fresh air throughout the day.
The first step in providing intelligent ventilation, Heidel says, is to install Broan Ultra Silent fans throughout the home, wherever ventilation is needed — such as the master bathroom, laundry room, secondary bathrooms, workshop or recreation room.
Then, a Broan SmartSense control is connected to each fan. One control is designated as the master and — using the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE) formula based on the home size and number of bedrooms — the ventilation rate is entered into this control.
The remaining controls communicate with the master control through the use of Broan-NuTone’s LinkLogic System, the INSTEON-enabled residential communication technology that digitally communicates over the power lines already installed in the home. No control wires are needed.
The master control monitors the normal/manual usage of the fans in the home, such as during shower time. It calculates the volume of air ventilated and deducts this from the total ventilation required. If necessary, it will intermittently operate fans throughout the home to achieve optimal ventilation and superior distribution of fresh air.
ASHRAE studies have shown that a single fan system does not provide effective continuous ventilation.
“You wouldn’t expect to be able to heat or cool an entire home from one room; the same concept holds true with ventilation,” says Heidel.
“Another benefit of Broan SmartSense is its efficient management of energy,” he says. “Many ventilation strategies ventilate all the time, regardless of manual usage. This results in millions of cubic feet of excess ventilation per year and many energy dollars to heat or cool the replaced unneeded air. Since Broan Ultra Silent fans are Energy Star-qualified, Broan SmartSense uses less than 35 watts during ventilation cycles compared to others that can use up to 1,200 watts or more.”
Heidel explains that the Broan SmartSense system continually monitors and activates Broan Ultra Silent fans day and night, operating them only when necessary throughout the home to distribute fresh air. The fans operate at a barely audible 0.3 and 0.7 Sones. Even in a bedroom, in the middle of the night, home owners will never know they’re running.
The ASHRAE Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, is the nationally recognized indoor air quality standard for residential applications. Many code authorities use this standard to develop building codes for residential construction in their communities. An ASHRAE study recently conducted in Denmark shows that increasing ventilation in classrooms improves student performance by 10% to 20%.
Additionally, the Broan SmartSense Ventilation System provides valuable points towards indoor air quality and energy efficiency that are part of NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines.
The Broan SmartSense Ventilation System provides home owners with an affordable, automatic ventilation solution that minimizes the presence of pollutants and maximizes energy savings. The system is available in single pack 80-CFM and 110-CFM fans that include controls.
Broan SmartSense fans can be used as a single fan ventilation solution for very small apartments or combined in any combination of up to 10 80-CFM or 110-CFM fans to create an integrated ventilation system for larger homes. Broan SmartSense comes with a three-year warranty and can be purchased through local kitchen and bath showrooms or electrical/lighting retailers.
To locate a dealer, click here ( broan.com). For more information, visit Booth C5581.
This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page.
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