Introduction
 Ventilating Residential Rooms at the YMCA

Abstract

The Berkeley YMCA was tested to analyze the benefits of replacing the windows in the residential rooms, which are in a ninety-year old section of the building. The hypothesis was that installing new windows would cause the ventilation rate of the rooms to fall below acceptable levels (the ASHRAE standard of 30 CFM for hotel rooms). A blower door and CO₂ meters were used to test three residential rooms of varying size for air tightness and natural ventilation rate. The results did not prove the hypothesis correct for all of the rooms tested. Two of the three rooms were over-ventilated, resulting in excessive heat loss during the winter. However, it was observed that many residents leave their windows open during the winter, perhaps for thermal control or for air quality reasons. It was observed that the rooms have no mechanical system for ventilation and no vents for cross-breezes. To improve energy efficiency and comfort in the residential rooms, it was concluded that the windows in the residences should be repaired on an individual basis, as whole scale replacement would not be cost effective. Further investigations into systems for provided cross-ventilation is necessary.

Introduction

The building that we are studying is the Berkeley YMCA located at 2001 Allston Way, Berkeley California. During the building tour by Fran Gallati, the Executive Director of the YMCA, he mentioned that the YMCA was thinking about installing new windows and new radiators in the residential rooms. The 80 residential rooms house both short and long term residence and vary in size from 190 ft² to 230 ft² with a ceiling height of approximately 9 ft. The radiators are steam driven and have no room controls. We decided to test the feasibility of installing new windows and radiators and to see if other alternatives might make the rooms more comfortable.