Ventilation (architecture)

Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space, mainly to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor effluents and pollutants. It can also be used to control indoor temperature, humidity, and air motion to benefit thermal comfort, satisfaction with other aspects of the indoor environment, or other objectives. Ventilation is usually categorized as either mechanical ventilation, natural ventilation, or mixed-mode ventilation.

It is typically described as separate from infiltration, the circumstantial flow of air from outdoors to indoors through leaks in a building envelope.
When a building design relies on infiltration to maintain indoor air quality, this flow has been referred to as adventitious ventilation.

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