Hartford, Wis., Feb. 7, 2007 - The Broan® SmartSense® Intelligent Ventilation System improves air quality throughout the home - automatically and efficiently. Now homeowners and contractors have an affordable, energy efficient solution to meet the intermittent and continuous ventilation requirements of ASHRAE code 62, according to Tom Heidel, IAQ product manager.
The Broan SmartSense Intelligent Ventilation System.
"To maintain a healthy home, it is important to exhaust stale indoor air and minimize opportunities for mold and mildew growth through 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 ASHRAE (American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers) Standard 62, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, is the nationally recognized indoor air quality standard for residential applications. Many codes authorities use this standard to develop building codes for residential construction in their communities. Add to this an ASHRAE study recently conducted in Denmark that shows increasing ventilation in classrooms increases student performance by 10 to 20 percent.1
Additionally, the Broan SmartSense System provides valuable points towards indoor air quality and energy efficiency that are part of most Green Building programs such as LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), The National Association of Home Builder's Green Building Guidelines and the ENERGY STAR® Home program.
According to Heidel, it's easy to have intelligent ventilation in your home. The first step 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 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 INSTEON™ technology, a powerful, wireless home control 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.
"Another benefit of Broan SmartSense is its efficient management of energy. Many ventilation strategies ventilate all the time, regardless of manual ventilation usage. This results in millions of cubic feet of excess ventilation per year and many energy dollars to heat or cool the replaced excess air. Since Broan Ultra Silent fans are ENERGY STAR rated, Broan SmartSense uses less than 50 watts during ventilation cycles compared to others that can use up to 1500 watts or more," says Heidel.
Heidel explains that the Broan SmartSense system continually monitors and activates Broan Ultra Silent fans day and night, operating them when necessary throughout the home to distribute fresh air. The fans operate at a barely audible 0.3 and 0.9 Sones. Even in a bedroom, in the middle of the night, homeowners will never know they're running.
The Broan SmartSense Intelligent Ventilation System provides homeowners with an affordable, automatic ventilation solution that minimizes the presence of pollutants and maximizes energy savings. The system is available in convenient 2- and 3-fan kits, which include the fans and controls. Broan SmartSense comes with a 3-year warranty and can be purchased through your local kitchen and bath showroom or electrical/lighting retailer. Log on to www.broan.com to locate a dealer. The new Broan SmartSense System... it just makes sense!
Broan® is a trademark of Broan-NuTone LLC, North America's leading manufacturer and distributor of residential ventilation products including range hoods, ventilation fans, heater/fan/light combination units, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Fresh Air Systems, built-in heaters, whole-house fans, attic ventilators, paddle fans, decorative backsplashes and trash compactors. NuTone® and SmartSense® are trademarks of NuTone Inc, a subsidiary of Broan-NuTone and North America's leading manufacturer and distributor of residential built-in convenience products including door chimes, central vacuum systems, stereo intercom systems, home theater speakers, medicine cabinets, ironing centers and ventilation fans.
Broan-NuTone is proud to be an ENERGY STAR® partner.
INSTEON™ is a trademark of SmartLabs, Inc.
For more information about the full line of Broan-NuTone products,
call 800-558-1711 (Broan), 888-336-3948 (NuTone),
write Broan-NuTone,
926 W. State Street, Hartford, WI 53027 U.S.A.
or visit www.broan.com or www.nutone.com.