Healthier air.
Comfortable environments.
Performance you can measure.
Americans spend most of their time indoors – and poor air can negatively impact the health and performance of the occupants. NovelAire delivers fresh, conditioned air while recovering up to 85% of wasted energy, helping buildings boost occupant performance, slash energy costs, and meet ASHRAE standards.
Why Commercial & Institutional Buildings Need Better Ventilation
The Ventilation Dilemma: Fresh Air vs. Energy Costs
Modern commercial buildings face a fundamental tension: occupants need more fresh outdoor air for health and productivity, but conditioning that outdoor air is the single largest energy expense in most HVAC systems. HVAC equipment is typically the largest single source of energy consumption in commercial buildings, and the outdoor air component — heating, cooling, and dehumidifying ventilation air to indoor conditions — can represent 30–50% of total HVAC energy use. Without energy recovery, building owners are forced to choose between adequate ventilation and affordable energy bills.
This dilemma intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened awareness of the critical link between ventilation, indoor air quality, and occupant health. ASHRAE now recommends ventilation rates of 5 cfm/person plus 0.06 cfm/ft² for offices, 10 cfm/person plus 0.12 cfm/ft² for classrooms, and 20 cfm/person plus 0.18 cfm/ft² for gymnasiums — rates that are 2–4× what was common in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Problems Buildings Face Without Proper Ventilation & Humidity Control
- Sick Building Syndrome & Occupant Health — Poor indoor air quality has been directly associated with Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) — a condition marked by headaches, fatigue, throat irritation, and respiratory issues among building occupants. Indoor pollutant levels can be 2–5× higher than outdoor levels (EPA), and inadequate ventilation fails to dilute CO₂, VOCs from building materials and furnishings, and other contaminants.
- Reduced Productivity & Absenteeism — Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that poor IAQ can decrease cognitive performance by up to 50%. In schools, asthma-related complications cause nearly 14 million missed school days annually in the U.S. In offices, lost productivity from poor air quality costs employers billions per year.
- Mold, Mildew & Moisture Damage — In humid climates, outdoor air introduces substantial moisture loads that standard HVAC systems struggle to manage. When relative humidity exceeds 60%, mold and mildew colonize walls, ceilings, ductwork, and insulation. Schools are particularly vulnerable — an estimated 41% of U.S. school districts need to update or replace HVAC systems, many due to chronic humidity and mold issues.
- Humidity Extremes & Comfort Complaints — Summer humidity makes spaces feel clammy and uncomfortable, while winter heating dries air to below 20% RH — causing dry skin, irritated eyes, increased static electricity, and accelerated virus transmission. Both extremes drive occupant complaints and reduce satisfaction.
- Excessive Energy Costs — Buildings that ventilate by simply exhausting conditioned indoor air and replacing it with raw outdoor air waste enormous amounts of energy. In cold climates, heating outdoor air from 0°F to 72°F consumes substantial energy. In warm, humid climates, cooling and dehumidifying 95°F/75°F WB outdoor air is equally expensive. Without energy recovery, higher ventilation rates mean proportionally higher utility bills.
- Code Compliance Challenges — ASHRAE 62.1 mandates minimum outdoor air ventilation rates for virtually all occupied commercial spaces. ASHRAE 90.1 requires energy recovery when systems exceed 5,000 cfm with outdoor air fractions above 70%. Meeting both standards simultaneously — adequate ventilation AND energy efficiency — requires purpose-built energy recovery technology.
Ventilate More. Spend Less. Breathe Better.
NovelAire Technologies solves the ventilation dilemma by recovering the energy that would otherwise be lost through exhaust air — and returning it to the incoming outdoor air supply. Our AHRI-certified Energy Conservation Wheels (ECWs) transfer both sensible heat and latent moisture between exhaust and supply airstreams, pre-conditioning outdoor ventilation air to near-indoor conditions before it reaches the HVAC system. The result: buildings can ventilate at full ASHRAE 62.1 rates without the proportional energy penalty.
For buildings requiring deeper moisture control — high-humidity climates, sensitive archives, critical process environments — NovelAire’s desiccant dehumidification wheels provide an additional layer of precision humidity management that refrigerant-only systems cannot match.
Energy Savings & ROI
ROI Example: 50,000 ft² Office Building
Consider a 50,000 ft² Class A office building in a mixed-climate zone (e.g., Kansas City, Atlanta, or Washington, DC):
- Outdoor air requirement: ~5,000 cfm (ASHRAE 62.1 for 250 occupants at 5/1,000 ft² density)
- Annual ventilation energy cost without recovery: ~$25,000–$40,000 (depending on climate, utility rates)
- With NovelAire ECW at 80% total effectiveness: Ventilation energy reduced by ~$17,500–$32,000/year
- ECW equipment cost (installed): ~$15,000–$25,000
- Simple payback: 1–2 years
- 20-year net savings: $325,000–$615,000 (present value, assuming 3% annual energy cost escalation)
In addition to operating cost savings, the ECW allows the HVAC system to be sized with smaller compressors, condensers, and heating equipment — reducing first cost by an estimated 5–15% on the mechanical package. ECW investments are economically justified on most new and retrofit HVAC systems with 15% or more outdoor air makeup.
Buildings Types We Serve
- Commercial Office Buildings
- K–12 Schools & Universities
- Government & Municipal Buildings
- Healthcare Outpatient & Senior Living
- Libraries, Museums & Archives
- Recreation Centers & Gymnasiums
- Houses of Worship & Assembly Spaces
- Mixed-Use & Multi-Tenant Developments
Ready to Improve Your Building’s Air Quality and Energy Performance?
Whether you’re designing a new building, retrofitting an aging HVAC system, or upgrading to meet ASHRAE standards, our engineering team will help you select and size the right energy recovery and dehumidification solution for your project.