To achieve a high standard of indoor air quality for new building requires a special knowledge of emissions from materials, design of ventilation systems as well as construction practice. Besides regulations, common rules and instructions are needed to be obeyed to achieve a good result. Classification of cleanliness of new ventilation systems is a voluntary document which determines the cleanliness of classified components produced by manufacturers.
What has heat recovery done for the cause or energy efficiency? If some manufacturers or heat recovery equipment are to be believed, the savings in ventilation costs are "quite staggering".
Nothing highlights construction shortcomings like severe winter storms. Too often, possible problems are neglected during the construction season when winter and its bad weather seem far removed. The winter of 1999 produced many ice dams on shingle roofs in central and eastern Canada. The resulting leaks caused widespread damage to ceilings, walls and interior .furnishings of many homes.
The BR E has developed a set of computer-based tools for the management of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. How can designers and facilities managers use them to improve the performance of buildings?
In the past two decades, a group of health problems related to the indoor environment - generally termed sick building syndrome (SBS) - has emerged. We present an investigation of S BS in employees of a ministry working in a naturally ventilated office building that formerly had been used by a pharmaceutical company. A preceding environmental monitoring had failed to identify the cause(s) for the complaints. We conducted a questionnaire-based investigation and categorized the building sections and rooms according to their renovation status and their former use, respectively.