Airbase publication

The level of airtightness is increasing in newly built Australian apartments. An appropriate ventilation rate is needed to provide occupants with a healthy environment. In 2022, a significant proposed change in the Australian National Construction Code (NCC) would require building tested as achieving less than five air changes per hour at 50Pa to have a continuous flow exhaust.

Mitigating the risk of overheating and associated thermal discomfort inside school classrooms is a global concern due to its significant impacts on students’ academic performance, health and wellbeing. Thus, rising ambient temperatures resulting from climate change can be challenging, especially in low energy schools designed to optimise their heating season performance. According to recent studies, many low energy school buildings fail to meet comfort standards and experience overheating, resulting in low student productivity and the need for using air conditioning systems.

Building designs to be in line with energy efficient and carbon reduction goals, often focus on energy efficient techniques like high insulation, airtightness. However, these buildings are often subjected to overheating risks due to unforeseeable events like frequent heatwaves and power outages even in moderate climate zones like Belgium. Overheating risks in residential buildings have negative impact on the health of the building occupants (especially on the vulnerable occupants like elderly, infants and sick persons), causing sleep deprivation, heat stress and even mortality.

This study aims to develop and evaluate an advanced control method for acceptable indoor air quality (e.g., particulate matter and CO2) with low energy consumption in a residential space. A ventilation system, an air purifier, and a kitchen hood system are installed in the testbed to maintain a healthy IAQ. To accomplish the objective, we use a double deep Q-network (DDQN) which is one of the reinforcement learning. This study utilizes a co-simulation platform with EnergyPlus and Python.

Humidity-controlled mechanical exhaust ventilation (RH-MEV) has been widely used in France for over 35 years, demonstrating high durability and robustness. This exhaust-only ventilation strategy is widely used as an energy-saving measure, replacing constant mechanical exhaust ventilation (Constant-MEV) systems in residential buildings. It demonstrates energy savings due to the restricted airflows, but as a downside, the building's indoor air quality (IAQ) often deteriorates.

This paper shows the results of a survey conducted among 10 AIVC members countries about air quality in garages and current requirements and regulations in this regard. Large differences were found among countries, not only in terms of the scope of the regulations, but also in relation to the parameters that are considered.  

Residential ventilation systems target in an energy efficient manner an indoor atmosphere fulfilling people’s desired comfort requirements with regard to CO2, temperature, and RH. However, the reach of an indoor atmosphere is not limited to comfort only. Ensuring a healthy indoor atmosphere reducing the risk of acute and chronic diseases caused by the inhaled air is also of importance. A number of elements contribute to indoor air pollution, such as: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), infectious aerosols, and Particulate Matter (PM).

The present paper describes an experimental test to identify the possible influences that the presence of plant species may have on the environmental quality of indoor spaces. For this purpose, a selection of houseplants with high air purification capacities was made based on existing literature (Sansevieria, Poto, Spathiphyllum, Ficus Benjamina, Kentia and Areca). Two adjacent rooms within an experimental building were used as test cells. The two rooms have similar characteristics. One room was occupied with the plants and the other was left empty.

Radon is one of the common contaminants inside buildings, with maximum presence in high potential areas classified as radon prone areas. This radioactive gas, which comes from the spontaneous disintegration of radium present in the earth's crust, can penetrate buildings and accumulate inside them. The spaces closest to the ground (basement and first floors) are the most affected. Its inhalation in high doses is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Several techniques are commonly used to mitigate its presence.

This paper investigates the relationship between indoor air quality (IAQ) and overheating in a temperate climate in Spain (Cfb attending to Koppen-Ggeiger classification), in dwellings located in residential buildings and without cooling systems.