Ventilation T


hey can no longer rely on just recirculating stagnant air with standard systems, or just opening doors and windows during the


summer, or just making flaunted efforts during a pandemic. They must be emphatically investing in indoor air quality (IAQ) for the long-term. This vital issue has been sidelined for so long due to a rigid combination of costs, attitudes and a lack of education, legislation and public pressure. COVID-19 has taught us that ventilation is


absolutely paramount in so many ways. But it remains a somewhat taboo subject that needs to be tackled head on.


Mental health and productivity


Mental health has never been so positively prevalent in society, partly thanks to the pandemic and its well-documented effects on loneliness and other related issues. This wave of wellbeing awareness is sweeping into workplaces, supported by the new, innovative and certifiable International WELL Building Standard. The rating system aims to improve health and wellness in public buildings using 10 benchmarks including air and mind. Why is this important? It’s because forward-


looking companies are the ones who will benefit. They are assessing where they fall short and taking action to invest in their staff and business outcomes. A recent study by Harvard University found the air quality in an office can have significant impacts on mental agility, the ability to focus, and productivity. The research on 300 office workers in six


countries including the UK in sectors from engineering to architecture found increased concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and lower ventilation rates (using CO2) were associated with slower response times and reduced cognitive accuracy. It will be the progressive, proactive companies


that retain top performers and attract new talent who feel motivated to work to their best in clean, modern environments that promote wellbeing.


Legislation on the horizon


New offices and commercial properties must install better ventilation systems to help reduce the spread of airborne diseases, under government proposals. The Future Buildings Standard consultation


paper, last updated in January 2021, states offices should have systems capable of providing fresh air at rates 50% higher than existing minimum standards. This would enable an “increased ventilation rate to be used during a period when infection rates are raised, such as in a future pandemic”. The proposals acknowledge widespread


concerns over redesigns, such as increasing duct and AHU cross-sectional areas, fan power demand, higher ceiling voids, and larger electrical supply. We await the final Impact Assessment report – not due until at least April 2022 – along with its


24 March 2022 No getting


recommendations and ripple effects. Elsewhere, national newspapers are running


front-page Clean Air campaigns, while in Ireland, proposed legislation seeks to guarantee a certain standard of ventilation in workplaces and would give employees the right to request an official inspection.


“It is quite a crazy situation that we are over 18 months into a pandemic… and we have zero laws in relation to ventilation,” said Paul Murphy, TD (Teachta Dála) of the People Before Profit party.


Low-cost effective measures


Ultimately, cost and redesign implications are the most common barriers to sophisticated ventilation investment. However, while dedicated ventilation budgets are


hopefully being worked on, there are still some very useful temporary low-cost measures that managers and landlords of commercial buildings should take in the meantime.


www.heatingandventilating.net


away with poor ventilation


Shops, offices, restaurants, museums or any other commercial premises where people live and work have exhausted all excuses to not invest in properly designed mechanical ventilation. That’s according to S&P UK


Air purifiers continuously scrub the air and


remove any harmful particles through constant filtration. They are low-cost, small, portable and unobtrusive. We’ve just launched our flagship Airpur range – HEPA filter air purifiers which have a filtration efficiency of up to 99.95%. CO2 monitors are another simple and reassuring


option. Our new wireless AirSens range monitors ambient IAQ and sends a signal to ventilation systems to increase airflow rates if a spike is detected in one of three parameters: carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compound (VOC) and relative humidity (RH). The Government said in recent guidance that CO2 monitors should be used in a range of sectors and settings to help identify poorly ventilated indoor areas.


But ultimately the marriage of vision and


investment will pave the way to a healthier indoor future – where we spend 80% of our time after all. It might just need to be triggered by legal imperatives and moral incentives first.


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