BSEE-MAR22-PG28-29.qxp_Layout 1 22/02/2022 11:24 Page 28
BSEE
Thanks to the pandemic, almost every building owner in the country is looking at their ventilation strategy, but how do we make sure they make the right choices? Dan Jones, the room units product manager at Swegon looks at the options, pitfalls, and secrets of ventilation success
mproving building ventilation is one of the most important investments a business can make. This is not someone from our industry making this claim, but none other than the Government's chief medical adviser Professor Sir Chris Whitty.
Speaking at the recent Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, he urged business leaders to look closely at how they could improve the indoor air quality (IAQ) in their buildings. Not just to help the country recover from the pandemic and be better prepared for future health crises, but just as importantly, to provide better long-term working conditions for their employees.
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“We have realised the extraordinary importance of improving the ventilation of
FOCUS: HEATING & VENTILATION Ventilation – the choice is yours
workplaces, not just for Covid but also for many other respiratory infections,” he said. “If we invest in that now, we’ll both help the aftermath of Covid, but also cut down on things like flu outbreaks.”
This year will also see the Government’s changes to Parts F and L of the Building Regulations come into force. By working on both parts together, it has sought to balance the need for carbon reductions with improved ventilation in both residential and commercial buildings. New homes will have to cut their carbon emissions by 30% and non-domestic buildings by 27% to meet the requirements of the revised Part L. This is regarded as a first step towards making all buildings ‘net zero ready’ from 2025 when the Future Buildings Standard comes into effect.
Overheating
All new residential buildings, including care and children’s homes, and student accommodation, must also be designed to reduce overheating under changes to Part F and with the introduction of Part O. Higher standards of ventilation will be introduced to improve IAQ and reduce the spread of airborne viruses in new non- residential buildings, including additional standards for recirculating ventilation systems in new offices, along with the compulsory installation of CO2 monitors.
The Government is also proposing to introduce a requirement for trickle vents in all replacement windows and a new method for ensuring ventilation is not compromised when energy efficiency improvements are carried out in existing buildings.
So, there is a growing forward momentum behind better building ventilation, but how do we achieve the optimum indoor climate for every client and all the varieties of building? For one thing, it is important to start planning at an early stage. Each installation has different needs, and the issue of varying occupancy levels is a growing headscratcher for system designers, particularly in commercial offices where the rapid increase in numbers of people working from home is turning demand patterns on their head. It is also important that our industry looks at moving beyond simply complying with regulations because, as Professor Whitty pointed out, there are wider benefits from providing a high standard of indoor comfort – both in terms of occupant health and productivity. These have human and economic benefits which should not be taken lightly when thinking about which solution to go for. We are also becoming more used to air quality monitoring. The widespread availability of CO2 monitors and the like, make it easier to establish even a basic understanding of what air pollutants are around and what impact they might be having on occupants. This means more organisations are well-placed to continually assess the IAQ situation and to be challenged on it by employees and other building users. We are also able to reassess air quality measures on a building lifecycle basis, which means we can make changes if the usage (including occupancy levels, for example) change or the occupant organisation is forced to reorganise layouts and partitions to provide social distancing – as many were during the pandemic. This principle of lifecycle reassessment needs to be part of any initial design plan.
28 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MARCH 2022
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