In a world where we spend most of our time indoors—up to 92% of our lives in the UK—the quality of the air we breathe within our homes, workplaces, and schools is essential to our health, well-being, and productivity.
As we construct new, more airtight buildings and retrofit our existing building stock, balancing energy efficiency, environmental impact and occupant well-being, the importance of a ventilation strategy that effectively controls the supply and removal of air from spaces within a building has never been more critical.
In recent years the provision of mechanical ventilation systems has become a core element of modern building design, with a marked increase in installations in residential settings. This upward trend makes it imperative that the relationship between airtightness and an effective ventilation strategy are treated as a whole building system to mitigate the risk of unintended consequences.
Such consequences can include the build-up of indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, mould spores, and dust mites, contributing to poor indoor air quality (IAQ), which may lead to health issues ranging from allergies to respiratory conditions and even cardiovascular problems.
While effective ventilation helps address these issues, it is essential to ensure air exchange occurs without compromising another vital aspect of indoor environmental quality, thermal comfort. The correct temperature and air movement are key to ensuring that a space is thermally comfortable for occupants.
The UK construction industry has significant room for improvement in delivering effective domestic ventilation systems, with BSRIA test data showing nearly 40% of the systems tested failed to deliver the airflow rates set out in Building Regulations guidance.
Airtightness performance targets are anticipated to become even more stringent when the Future Homes and Buildings standards are launched, which aim for a 75% reduction in carbon emissions compared with the 2013 standards. There is a growing and urgent need to implement more robust controls to ensure ventilation systems comply at a minimum with regulations.
This requires a multi-stepped approach, with a far greater emphasis on assuring the design, installation, measurement technique, and certification of the system to confirm that everyday operation matches the design intention. There is also a need to ensure that occupants/system operators understand the purpose, operation, and maintenance requirements of such a system.
BSRIA is here to help you turn design intentions into real-world results. From laboratory-based testing to onsite inspection, verification and occupancy evaluation to supplying the latest calibrated measurement instruments, together we can reduce the risk of unintended consequences while improving thermal comfort and energy efficiency in the built environment. An effective ventilation system should not be considered a matter of luck or privilege.
Written by Tom Garrigan
You can find all the articles referenced in this blog below:
Air Quality Hub – Click here to explore the Hub
Indoor Air Quality – TG 12 – Click here to see the Topic Guide
Thermal Comfort – TG 22 – Click here to see the Topic Guide
Domestic Ventilation Systems – BG 46 – Click here to see the BSRIA Guide