News analysis with BESA
Ventilation is now top of the political and health agenda
The government’s chief medical adviser, Scotland’s First Minister, a leading member of SAGE…even the Prime Minister have made statements recently about the need to improve building ventilation to safeguard people’s health and well-being
havens’ from the threat of airborne contaminants, including viruses.
Benefi ts P
roviding better indoor air quality (IAQ) is even part of the UK government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda in a bid to tackle some of the social inequalities that hold people back and pile up pressure on the NHS. Professor Chris Whitty encouraged business
leaders at the recent Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference to make investment in ventilation one of their top priorities to help the country recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for future health emergencies. “We have realised the extraordinary importance
of improving the ventilation of 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 fl u outbreaks.” He put investment in ventilation as the second most important step businesses could take behind helping their staff get fully vaccinated – and highlighted the direct link between poor IAQ and health conditions that put extra pressure on the NHS.
His words were welcomed by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) which has been developing a range of measures to help owners and managers turn their buildings into ‘safe
“The pandemic has raised the profi le of building ventilation and clearly demonstrated the link between poor IAQ and a range of respiratory infections,” said chief executive offi cer David Frise (pictured left). “Improving indoor ventilation reduces the risk of transmitting diseases between people so investment made now will have signifi cant long-term economic and social benefi ts.” Professor Cath Noakes, who is one of two engineer members the government’s Scientifi c Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), has been a leading voice calling for a national programme of building ventilation improvements in the wake of Covid-19. She told the recent BESA National Conference that the impact of poor ventilation on human health and productivity had been clearly exposed by the pandemic. “Many of our buildings are under- ventilated and there is no excuse for it,” said Noakes, who is Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds. “We know buildings can improve health and that poor indoor air quality reduces productivity by up to 9% - that’s half a working day a week.” She also pointed out that even before the pandemic 5.3 million working days were being lost every year to respiratory infections, according to the Offi ce for National Statistics. However, the challenge for businesses and other building users, including schools, is how to improve ventilation cost-eff ectively. Many are simply resorting to opening windows and doors to try and increase airfl ows, but Professor Noakes says this ‘natural’ approach is often not enough. “The increased amount of indoor air quality monitoring since the pandemic is helping because it is making people more aware of their indoor environment,” she said. “However, it is now clear
that it is very hard to naturally ventilate buildings adequately, particularly in winter.” The Scottish Government has just launched a
£25 million fund to help businesses improve the ventilation in their premises. SMEs are being invited to apply for grants of up to £2,500 to install air quality monitors and carry out remedial work on windows and ventilation systems. The administration points out the importance
of carrying out such work as we enter the winter months when people spend more time indoors and are more likely to keep windows and doors shut. “All of these basic mitigation measures are really important at this stage but some of them are also valuable long-term investments,” said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. “For example, better ventilation won’t just reduce the spread of Covid – it will also help reduce the spread of other airborne viruses, now and in the future.” A study by Coventry University has also established that 40% of primary school buildings are inadequately ventilated against the risk of Covid-19 transmission. The researchers found that this was largely because they rely on natural ventilation and teachers were reluctant to open windows during cold weather. “Ventilation strategies have often been driven by
a desire to save energy, which has created an over- reliance on so-called ‘natural’ systems,” said Frise. “If we follow Cath Noakes’ advice and focus more on health and well-being outcomes for people, we will need an approach that makes far more use of mechanical systems with simple controls that gives people from non-technical backgrounds a better chance of controlling their indoor environment.
Guarantee
“Opening windows does not guarantee better IAQ because you cannot control the direction of the air, or the volume needed to dilute airborne contaminants and viruses. It can also expose occupants to the harmful impact of traffi c pollution and noise.”
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January 2022
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