This paper describes an analysis using the BRE Pollution Dispersion Wind Tunnel to estimate pollution concentration patterns on buildings in urban arrays due to local line sources of pollution, typical of vehicular traffic emissions. The experimental procedure involved measurements of both pressure and concentration patterns on building forms in urban arrays, intended to provide information on the ingestion of pollutants into buildings in urban areas.

Buildings are aired to evacuate indoor pollutants, in particular those produced by the occupants. CO2 is a good indicator of occupancy, as long as there is no other significant source. This is the case in most buildings. Cheap, portable analysers and loggers that allow easy recording of the CO2 concentration in a room or in the exhaust duct of a ventilation system are available on the market. The peak value of CO2 concentration during occupancy is an indicator of the minimum air flow rate per person.

The problem of the hygienic state of air-conditioning installations in many countries is still treated with limited attention and, in general, this issue is disregarded both when systems are designed and when the maintenance of already operating system is performed. In order to highlight problems resulting from contamination of the installation, microbiological assessment of air conditioning systems in a hospital was carried out. The measurements particularly pointed to increased microbiological contamination of air and dust deposited in the system just downstream of the sound attenuators.

It is well known that iterative solution processes can lead to divergence when dealing with coupled airflow and thermal analyses for buildings ventilated either naturally or by a mixed-mode system. The Newton-Raphson method or its variants are used in almost all existing multi-zone airflow models. This paper discusses the qualitative features of the iterative solution processes of the Newton-Raphson method when used for coupled thermal and ventilation analyses of a simple one-zone building with two openings.

Global Information Systems (GIS) are being used to provide data on a wide range of environmental issues, and in the area of climate studies they are being used to determine zones of towns and cities where there are good or poor external environments. From this analysis, planning guidelines can be drawn up to ensure that developments either enhance or do not deter from the environmental quality of the surrounding area.

A Moisture Admittance Model, which takes into account absorption and desorption, has been developed to simulate moisture behaviour in dwellings. The model has been integrated with the BREEZE computer model used to simulate air and contaminant flow. Simulations from the combined model have been compared with predictions using the Louden model and with measurements of vapour pressure taken in a test house. The Louden model tended to over-predict experimental values but there was reasonable agreement between the MAM-BREEZE model results and measured values.

The aim of this work is to investigate turbulent air flows, through measurements inside railway coaches employed for the transport of sick persons. In this kind of environment, assuring occupant comfort and eliminating potentially annoying draught is necessary for safeguarding patients inside the train. As it is known, air velocity is not uniform but, instead, it fluctuates. It is these fluctuations that are the origin of local discomfort. This can result in a draught, which is defined as a local undesired cooling of the body.

This paper examines the impact on domestic background air infiltration of replacing ‘old windows’ with modern double-glazed and draught sealed windows, both with and without controllable ventilation (e.g. trickle ventilators). Methods of estimating the change in infiltration rate produced by such a window replacement are reviewed. A simple model has been developed which, using laboratory measurements of window air permeability, predicts the reduction in infiltration that can be expected when a given number of windows are replaced in a dwelling.

The ventilated ceiling is a flexible solution for kitchen ventilation where heat loads are relatively low and aesthetics is a concern. By using a capture jet in the ventilated ceiling, it is possible to improve the total effectiveness of the ventilation system. This means better indoor air quality and thermal comfort. In addition, the energy consumption of a capture jet ceiling is lower than that of a traditional ceiling concept.

This annotated bibliography reviews current ventilation codes and standards for residential buildings in Europe and North America. It also examines the literature related to these standards such as occupant surveys of attitudes and behavior related to ventilation, and research papers that form the technical basis of the ventilation requirements in the standards.