Energy & Buildings special issue: “Resilient Ventilation in Relation to Health, Safety, and Climate Change”

We are happy to inform you that the Energy and Buildings special issue: “Resilient Ventilation in Relation to Health, Safety, and Climate Change”, including also further developed papers from the AIVC 2022 conference, has been published.

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ASHRAE Publishes Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols

On July 7th 2023, ASHRAE published its pioneering consensus-based, code enforceable standard, developed to reduce the risk of infectious aerosol transmission in buildings, ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols.

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Health Canada’s Indoor Air Program: Risk Assessment and Research to Support Standards Development

Health Canada, a science-based organization, is the Government of Canada’s federal department responsible for maintaining and improving the health of Canadians. As Canadians spend on average 90% of their time indoors, indoor air quality is an important environmental determinant of health.

Defining Health: Update From ASHRAE SGPC10 Committee, Interactions Affecting The Achievement Of Acceptable Indoor Environments

Healthy Buildings has become the marketing focus, if not the goal, for an increasing number of projects and organizations in the past five years. The current COVID-19 pandemic has placed a new and compelling spotlight directly onto buildings of all types, whether offices, homes, retail, restaurants, hotels, or schools. The issues are no longer limited to the functional parameters of the building design, construction, maintenance, and use.

Impacts of the Indoor Environment in Our Homes and Schools on Child Health

Today, more than 26 million European children are living in unhealthy homes putting them at higher risk of experiencing health problems. Good air quality, sufficient access to daylight and adequate ventilation are important for creating a healthy indoor environment in any home, with the effects reaching far beyond childhood. Our research is based on analysis of the Eurostat microdata from the EU-wide survey “Income and Living Conditions in Europe” (EU-SILC).

Impact of WELL Building Standard v2 on the Office Building Energy Performance

This study aims to use the WELL Building Standard (v2), an internationally recognised rating system for health & wellbeing in buildings, to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effect of wellbeing measures on an office building’s energy use in three different climates. The qualitative analysis was based on literature review and engineering rules of thumb to assess the potential energy impact of WELL’s 120 features.

Study on the Indoor Environment and the Health of Elderly in China

In this study, questionnaire survey and field measurement were conducted for the houses with the elderly in urban and rural areas across 6 regions of China, during heating period. As the results, the prevalence of hypertension was found around 40% in both urban and rural areas. In the northern regions, the room temperature in urban residences was stable at around 20°C, and in rural areas this temperature rarely reached 20°C but it fluctuated greatly.

ASHRAE Completes Draft of First-Ever Pathogen Mitigation Standard

On May 15th, 2023 ASHRAE announced the completion of the first draft of its standard for maintaining healthy indoor air quality (IAQ), with final approval expected in June and publishing anticipated in July.

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Proposed Non-infectious Air Delivery Rates (NADR) for Reducing Exposure to Airborne Respiratory Infectious Diseases

In November 2022, the Lancet COVID-19 Commission Task Force on Safe Work, Safe School, and Safe Travel released a report proposing new Non-infectious Air Delivery Rates (NADR) for Reducing Exposure to Airborne Respiratory Infectious Diseases, exceeding the current minimum standards, and aiming to help mitigate infection risk and promote health.

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Guidance to avoid health risk caused by energy saving measures in homes

Due to extreme increases in energy prices in European countries (as well as other non-European countries), building users may be tempted to take energy saving measures because they can no longer pay their energy bills. This in turn may have adverse effects on the indoor air quality - especially in older and badly insulated homes. This article gives some elementary advice on what people should and shouldn’t do in cold and temperate climates where indoor heating is normally needed in winter.

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