Air changes per hour, abbreviated ACPH or ACH, or air change rate is the number of times that the total air volume in a room or space is completely removed and replaced in an hour. If the air in the space is either uniform or perfectly mixed, air changes per hour is a measure of how many times the air within a defined space is replaced each hour. Perfectly mixed air refers to a theoretical condition where supply air is instantly and uniformly mixed with the air already present in a space, so that conditions such as age of air and concentration of pollutants are spatially uniform.[1]
In many air distribution arrangements, air is neither uniform nor perfectly mixed. The actual percentage of an enclosure's air which is exchanged in a period depends on the airflow efficiency of the enclosure and the methods used to ventilate it. These systems range from a conceptual system of perfect displacement, which removes and replaces all air in a space, to a short circuit flow in which very little of the existing air is replaced.[2] The actual amount of air changed in a well mixed ventilation scenario will be 63.2% after 1 hour and 1 ACH.[3] In order to achieve equilibrium pressure, the amount of return air (air leaving the space) and the amount of supply air (air entering the space) must be the same.
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