JQ200
as heating would be a positive and easy fi rst step.” BESA also believes overheating should be part of the wider building safety regime. It pointed out that the addition of fi re- resistant insulation was making many more homes liable to overheat, so this needed to be off set by better ventilation and cooling. “Overheating is the most overlooked building safety issue,” said Morrissey. “Improving insulation to reduce heat loss and protect occupants from fi re is extremely important, but in many cases, this is exacerbating growing health problems caused by poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and condensation by raising temperature and humidity and reducing air change rates.” BESA, which manages the UK’s largest refrigeration and air
10,000 children’s nurseries, and a similar number of care homes meaning many of our most vulnerable people are now at severe risk from the eff ects of excess heat. Adaption FoE believes there could be more than 10,000 heat-related deaths annually in the UK by 2050 and is urging the government to address its “climate adaption plans” to take heatwaves into account. “There are multiple technical solutions available, including both passive and mechanical cooling systems,” said Morrissey. “However, to ensure these reach the most vulnerable in our society cooling must now become a central part of the UK’s push to decarbonise the built environment, which continues to focus primarily on how we heat buildings. “Adapting the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to support wider adoption of heat pumps that provide cooling in summer as well
conditioning registration scheme REFCOM, said that the UK’s increasingly intense summers were fuelling growth in demand for residential air conditioning. While this is a positive development for human health and comfort, it must be managed carefully to ensure installations met legal and technical standards, the Association warned. “There is always a risk with any growth market that it attracts the wrong kind of commercial interest,” said Morrissey. “We are seeing a surge in demand for heat pumps and for domestic cooling systems, but these need to be properly designed and appropriate for each project. “People need to be appropriately qualifi ed and registered to handle refrigerant gas and to install cooling equipment. There is a ‘cowboy’ element out there who could do untold damage to this industry and put both the environment and the public at risk of harm, if regulations are not properly enforced. “The Building Safety Act is
beginning to make its presence felt and is driving more responsible behaviour across the construction sector by focusing heavily on competence and compliance. The role of cooling needs to receive a similar level of scrutiny to ensure it can play its part in keeping building occupants safe and healthy.”
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