Webinars

Progressing the scientific basis of indoor environmental quality is essential to understand which aspects can be better optimised to substantially reduce energy use in buildings. In recent years, IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC) international research projects have been investigating for this purpose both indoor air quality and thermal comfort. The embodied impacts of buildings and their services systems are also a focus of EBC's research.

Setting sustainable urban development goals and developing energy efficient solutions for buildings are crucial elements of climate action. Urban living is introducing new challenges both for architectural design and technical solutions. Ventilation systems have an important impact both on energy use as well as indoor climate and health in buildings. So, how can we develop good home ventilation solutions fit for urban living?

Setting sustainable urban development goals and developing energy efficient solutions for buildings are crucial elements of climate action. Urban living is introducing new challenges both for architectural design and technical solutions. Ventilation systems have an important impact both on energy use as well as indoor climate and health in buildings. So, how can we develop good home ventilation solutions fit for urban living?

The current development in building energy efficiency towards nZEB buildings represents a number of new challenges to design and construction. One of these major challenges is the increased need for cooling in these highly insulated and airtight buildings, which is not only present in the summer period but also in the shoulder seasons and in offices even in midwinter. Ventilative cooling can be an energy efficient solution to address this cooling challenge in buildings.

Setting sustainable urban development goals and developing energy efficient solutions for buildings are crucial elements of climate action. Urban living is introducing new challenges both for architectural design and technical solutions. Ventilation systems have an important impact both on energy use as well as indoor climate and health in buildings. So, how can we develop good home ventilation solutions fit for urban living?

Mandatory or voluntary building airtightness testing has come gradually into force in many European countries mostly because of the increasing weight of building leakage energy impact on the overall energy performance of low-energy buildings. Therefore, airtightness levels of new buildings have significantly improved in the last decade. However, rather limited expertise is available as regards the durability of building airtightness at mid- and long-term scales.

Cooking is a major source of indoor contaminants, including moisture, odors and particles. Proper venting of cooking activities is an essential part of providing acceptable indoor air quality in homes. This webinar will discuss kitchen venting, including measurements of contaminants that are emitted from cooking, discussions of kitchen exhaust ventilation system performance and guidance on best practices for kitchen ventilation.

Various studies have shown that ductwork leakage has a major impact on energy use (i.e. increased fan energy use, heating & cooling losses etc.). However, in most European countries, it is not common to perform ductwork airtightness tests, which is probably due to the lack of awareness on the consequences of ductwork leakage. As follows, ductwork airtightness is not properly taken into account in most Energy Performance Regulations and Calculations.

MOS VOC sensors gain increasing attention in the ventilation community because of their low price and claimed ability to supplement or even substitute CO2 sensors for demand control. Even though there are many “IEQ” meters available on the market, where these sensors are used, the amount of scientific studi`es focused on their reliability and applicability is still limited.

Ventilative cooling reduces overheating, improves summer comfort and decreases cooling loads. It is therefore one of the most efficient ways to improve summer comfort. Conditions on site, thermal inertia, solar control and other constraints have an impact on the choice of the system and its design. The overall performance is linked to good sizing, design, correct usage of thermal storage, and last but not least a correct control, commissioning and maintenance.