Health-equivalent energy efficiency factor, combined metric of harm and energy use

The health aspect is often overlooked in the assessment of ventilation systems on the market today as they focus on providing a comfortable indoor environment in an energy efficient manner. However, to what extent does achieving energy savings justify increasing the concentration levels of unhealthy pollutants? A new metric is introduced and discussed that quantifies the combined performance of energy saving and harm: The health-equivalent energy efficiency factor. Two approaches for the health-equivalent energy efficiency factor are evaluated and compared: the 'fixed target approach' and the 'target reference approach'. These variations of the health-equivalent energy efficiency factor are calculated for eight smart ventilation strategies modelled using Modelica. One system is unable to provide energy efficient health-equivalent indoor air quality.