Many buildings in Austria experience poor indoor climate states and critical states of their construction. Possible causes of the high moisture content of indoor air might be bad ventilation or high moisture content of the buildings because of rising damp or weathering. Retrofitting is needed to increase indoor climate comfort levels. It is essential when designing the retrofitting to understand and predict the influences of different actions on the building's indoor climate and behaviour.

In an office renovate one year previously, a study of perceived air quality, sick building syndrome symptoms and subject performance was made. Thirty one female college age subjects were exposed to the conditions in the same office with an outdoor airflow of 280 m3/h and 45 m3/h. The subjects assessed perceived air quality and SBS symptoms while performing simulated work. Formaldehyde and VOC measurements were much higher in the room with lower ventilation rate, though no significant difference was noted in odour intensity.

Considers how ventilation provision affects the indoor air quality in tropical climates, and the energy aspect. Describes a series of research projects aimed at obtaining a detailed database of IAQ, ventilation and energy measurements, carried out in Singapore in the mid to late nineties. Obtained the overall energy consumption of a dedicated air handling unit that served the zones in which the relevant IAQ and ventilation measurements were done. Presents the results for five air conditioned buildings in Singapore.

Describes a study carried out to analyse the findings of VOC levels found in a tropical office building under different conditions of ventilation operation. Twelve target VOCs and TVOC were measured under two scenarios - normal occupancy and with the ventilation system shut down. Suggests evaluating the area-specific emission rates figures (SER) as the better method of determining source indicators.

A multidisciplinary panel of experts in the EUROVEN collaboration evaluated scientific literature on the effects of ventilation on health, comfort and productivity in non-industrial indoor environments. Fourteen papers of the 105 reviewed were judged to provide background information relevant to the objective, and thirty papers were judged conclusive. The group drew their conclusions based on these thirty papers. They agreed that ventilation is strongly associated with comfort and health, and that an association between ventilation and productivity is possible.

Presents CFD simulations and field experiments on ventilation efficiency in an underground car park with natural ventilation. A series of experiments were carried out to validate the results of the CFD calculation, looking at the decay of the concentration of tracer gas (SF6) in the area studied. A long/linear analysis of concentration with time was used to deduce the air change rate. It was found that experimental data were in good agreement with the CFD simulation result.

Reviews several key aspects of ventilation and indoor air quality standards. Also highlights the complexity of the IAQ issues from the standardization viewpoint. Detailed technical solutions are dependent on project-specific criteria including climatic, cultural and other aspects as well as differences in national regulations, standards, guidelines and available IAQ technologies.

Residential buildings in Korea are equipped with only radiant heating systems (Ondol). Fenestration openings alone provide the ventilation, and the system is dependent on occupant control. Describes studies of the ventilation in these buildings carried out to assess the health of the indoor climate. The present study suggests strategies for maintaining the healthy environment and obtains data for the applications of ventilation systems to high-rise apartment buildings. Compares IAQ levels and ventilation rates for natural and mechanical ventilation.

Describes an improved form of the standard k-epsilon model for buoyant room flows and gives an assessment of the results. The improved model is based on the generalized gradient diffusion hypothesis of Daly and Harlow. Compares the results from the computations for three-dimensional flow with temperature measurement performed by the authors in a laboratory room with displacement ventilation. A good agreement is shown by the numerical results, better than the results from the standard model.

Presents the design of latent heat storage with small polyethylene spheres with encapsulated PCM, forming porous media inside the duct of the building ventilation system. The study assumed that ambient air is first heated in the solar roof, then passed through latent heat storage and finally enters the living spaces as preheated ventilation air. This latent heat storage serves to prevent overheating and prolong ventilation system operation till the evening or even the night. The authors have taken a numerical approach to transient heat transfer and melting process calculation.