The 38th AIVC conference "Ventilating healthy low-energy buildings" was held on 13 and 14 September 2017 in Nottingham (UK). It was also the 6th TightVent conference and the 4th venticool conference.

Conference Scope

The need to reduce the energy demand of buildings is reflected in the legislation and policies of many countries. However, there is increasing concern about their adverse effects on occupant health and comfort in low energy buildings. These issues are being considered by some international energy conservation policy initiatives for buildings that seek to simultaneously reduce energy demand and provide acceptable indoor environment quality.

The minimisation of health risks and preservation of thermal comfort require the careful design and implementation of ventilation strategies and systems. There are many factors that must be addressed to achieve this goal, such as limiting occupant exposure to indoor and outdoor pollution sources, determining metrics capable of assessing indoor air quality, identifying factors causing overheating, and increasing envelope and ductwork airtightness.

It is this context that defined the core theme of the joint 38th AIVC, 6th TightVent and 4th venticool Conference as “Ventilating healthy low-energy buildings”. It  placed its focus on:

• thermal comfort and ventilative cooling (the application of ventilation to cool indoor spaces and reduce overheating risk in buildings);
• air infiltration through cracks in the building envelope and ductwork;
• the relationships between ventilation, indoor air quality and health.

Conference concept

The conference consisted of 3 parallel tracks largely devoted to:

• ventilative cooling;
• airtightness issues;
• ventilation in relation to IAQ and health.

The conference consisted of a mixture of:

• Well‐prepared and structured sessions focused on the conference topics;
• Presentations on invitation;
• Presentations arising from the call for papers.

Conference topics

Ventilative cooling:

• Potential for ventilative cooling strategies;
• Ventilative cooling in energy performance regulations;
• Design approaches and control strategies for ventilative cooling and case studies;
• Thermal comfort and ventilation;
• Coupling of ventilation with cooling systems;
• Ventilative cooling technologies and components;
• IAQ and acoustical issues.

Airtightness:

• Durability of building and ductwork airtightness;
• Energy and IAQ impact of envelope and ductwork leakage;
• Field data and case studies;
• Infiltration measurement techniques and IR thermography;
• Design and construction approaches for airtight buildings;
• Risks related to airtightness

Ventilation, IAQ, and health relationships:

• IAQ impacts from outdoor sources;
• IAQ metrics or performance indicators;
• Humidity control and moisture damage;
• Ventilation in renovated buildings;
• Strategies to reduce exposure (filtration, air cleaning, source control);
• Performance of cooker hoods;
• Sleep quality;
• Heat recovery issues (freezing, natural ventilation).

Other appropriate topics:

• Smart ventilation control and smart grids;
• Compliance schemes and barriers to innovation;
• Controls and user interaction;
• Fan energy demand;
• Innovative ventilation concepts and combined systems;
• BIM (Building Information Modelling) and ventilation systems.

Selected papers were invited for submission to special issues of ‘Energy & Buildings’ , the ‘International Journal of Ventilation’ and REHVA journals.

Keynote speakers 

• Sani Dimitroulopoulou, Public Health England
• Cath Noakes, University of Leeds
• Tadj Oreszczyn, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
• Peter Rankin, Department for Communities and Local Government
• Paul Ruyssevelt, University College London (UCL)
• Don Weekes, Indoor Environmental Quality Global Alliance (IEQ-GA)
• Ant Wilson, Aecom

Conference Organisers

The conference was organised by:

• the International Network on Ventilation and Energy Performance (INIVE) on behalf of the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC), TightVent Europe (the Building and Ductwork Airtightness Platform), and venticool (the international platform for ventilative cooling); and
• Brunel University London
• The University of Nottingham
• The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)