Key actions recommended on World Ventilation Day


ventilation with formal qualifi cations, agreed standards and best practice,” Taylor said. With more than a quarter of UK homes now suff ering from damp and mould, according


to research by University College London (UCL), the IAQ Group also called for moisture management to become a top priority for all building refurbishment and retrofi t projects. Dr Yasemin Aktas, associate professor in UCL’s Faculty of Engineering Sciences, told


the recent BSRIA Briefi ng event in London that there were now more fuel poor households in the UK than ever before. She said many were not being properly heated – and that 6.5 million homes (approximately 27% of the total) were now aff ected by damp and mould.


Overlooked


“Moisture is a tremendously important element of indoor environmental quality that is often overlooked,” she said. “Modern building materials and furnishings have very little moisture buff ering capacity.” The event heard from a range of experts calling for more concerted action on IAQ and


moisture control in buildings, but Aktas said “poor choices” made by occupants due to their lack of understanding of the problem must also be addressed. Dr Aktas, who is also deputy academic director at the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings (UKCMB), said there was very little research into the issue of moisture in buildings and a lack of quality guidance. “We need to fi nd a way of integrating moisture management into building retrofi ts. We


were very quick to improve insulation for energy effi ciency but without thinking about the impact that would have on moisture levels,” she said. BSRIA chief executive Julia Evans told the Briefi ng that breathing clean air would be enshrined as a “human right” if the proposed new Clean Air Act was passed by Parliament next year. “Humans take 20,000 breaths a day…and IAQ can be as much as 8 or ten times more


polluted than the outdoors, which shows why we need policies on building ventilation,” she told the event which took ‘Cleaner Air Better Tomorrow’ as its theme. BBC environment and energy correspondent Roger Harrabin urged the industry to


take “a more holistic approach”. “There is some great academic work going on in pockets, but please collaborate


more,” he told the BSRIA conference. Harrabin was critical of new legislation designed to force landlords to address mould and damp, which he said, “looks a bit loose…it’s not clear how householders are supposed to report problems”. He added that the government “also scuppered the energy effi ciency rules so landlords are still allowed to leave people in sub-standard homes.” He said a big part of the problem was the building industry’s determination to “resist change” and accused property fi rms of “fi ghting tooth and nail against anything that might add cost to their building work”. Another factor is that IAQ is often perceived as “a local problem aff ected by local


conditions like traffi c and weather”, according to the Met Offi ce’s head of air quality Dr Matthew Hort. “But it’s actually a massive global issue, just like climate change, and needs the same level of concerted action.” Harrabin noted that the government was “very keen to get air quality off its agenda and


leave it to local authorities to sort out, but then didn’t give them enough money to deal with it.” The WV8D website includes a range of free resources including ‘top facts’ about the role


of ventilation, and diff erent methods that can be adapted depending on the age, design, location, and purpose of the building. It also explains how building operators can manage the complex trade-off between


ventilation, energy consumption, climate change, urban pollution, noise, comfort, and security. www.theBESA.com www.worldventil8day.com


To mark World Ventil8Day in November, ventilation manufacturer Vent-Axia has recommended three key actions to take to improve IAQ.


T


hese are to reduce the number of pollutants introduced into the air; dilute the pollutants in the air by ensuring there is adequate


ventilation introducing fresh clean air into the home and buildings; and purify by adding an air purifi er to remove the remaining pollutants from the air.


“Each of us breathes 9,000 litres a day with poor IAQ aff ecting


the health of everyone in our homes. With 70% of the air we breathe in our lifetime being indoor air, it is therefore vital to reduce indoor air pollution by reducing the number of pollutants put into the air, diluting the pollutants in the air with eff ective ventilation and then purifying the air by adding an air purifi er to remove the remaining pollutants from the air you breathe,” said Lena Hebestreit, marketing manager (pictured above). “Our message of reduce, dilute and purify is simple but essential


for achieving a healthy indoor environment.” The UK Government recently launched guidance ‘Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home’ as a direct response to the Coroner’s ‘Prevention of future deaths’ report, aimed at landlords to prevent a tragedy like the death of Awaab Ishak, the two year-old who died of a respiratory condition caused by extensive mould, happening to another family. The guidance aims to ensure that social housing and private sector landlords have a thorough understanding of their legal responsibilities, and of the serious health risks that damp and mould pose. The key messages within the report include: explaining the


health risks of damp and mould; clearly outlining the regulation on damp and mould in social and private rented properties; guidance on how landlords should respond to damp and mould; and how landlords should take a proactive approach to reduce the risk of damp and mould. Ventilation features signifi cantly in the guidance for both preventing and addressing mould issues. Vent-Axia has been committed to improving indoor air since 1936 and off ers a wide range of energy effi cient ventilation and air purifying solutions to suit each home or building. For social housing and private landlords there are diff erent types of ventilation available depending on the property type and whether there is already a mould problem, with Vent-Axia able to off er a range of eff ective, energy effi cient ventilation solutions. These include Vent-Axia’s Heat Recovery Retrofi t Solution


consisting of three diff erent Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery units. Another ventilation option for landlords are intelligent fi lterless unitary fans such as the Lo-Carbon Revive and the Lo-Carbon Response 7. For properties with hard-to-treat mould, Vent-Axia’s PoziDry


range of PIV units are designed to improve IAQ and prevent moisture build-up within social housing properties, providing a highly eff ective solution to help households and landlords control condensation and mould, as well as off ering high levels of air fi ltration.


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