Air conditioning & ventilation Eliminating bad air
John Moss of EnviroVent looks at how housing providers can ensure a better level of indoor air quality in their residents’ homes.
D
ealing with issues caused by condensation and mould growth is a persistent problem for housing maintenance teams. As energy efficient upgrades result in more air-tight homes, this has had a
direct impact on the internal environment by lowering the quality of the indoor air. Looking back at the statistics, it’s clear where the problem lies. Between 2007 and 2012, the number of cavity wall insulation upgrades increased by 31.5 per cent from 8.5 million homes to 11.2 million homes, or 59 per cent of all properties with a cavity wall. The number of loft insulation upgrades went up from 9.5 million to 14.1 million (or 60 per cent of all properties with a loft), an increase of 48.4 per cent. Similarly, the number of solid wall insulations completed in that period
“Ultimately the onus is on social housing providers to upgrade the airtightness of their homes and there is a very real need for ventilation to be given equal consideration”
rose from 65,000 to 122,000. This was largely driven by Government incentives and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) schemes. These schemes offered incentives to upgrade or add insulation and improve air tightness in order to reduce levels of carbon emissions from the UK’s existing housing stock.
Deep-rooted problems
While these energy efficiency upgrades provide clear benefits, the work is often done without adequate consideration to improving the ventilation in the property, which in turn results in a whole host of problems. Without a continuous flow of fresh air to control the relative humidity within a dwelling, the internal atmosphere may reach a high relative humidity of around 70 – 80 per cent, which then leads to condensation. The water droplets that form on colder surfaces can result in mould growth and, in some cases, damage to the building fabric. This is due to the fact that the home can no longer breathe. High humidity can provide a haven for dust mites and their detritus and can exacerbate respiratory conditions, such as asthma. Often the situation is made even worse by modern lifestyles, for example
washing dried on radiators can lead to a build-up of stale or moist air, resulting in a decrease in indoor air quality. To add to this, fans may be
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM May 2017 | 27
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