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Framing sustainability within the ventilation industry
Bjarne W. Olesen, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Mats Sándor, Senior Technical Director of Systemair discuss the pillars of sustainability in the context of the ventilation industry.
Sustainability
Bjarne W. Olesen, Professor at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Head of International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy (ICIEE), and Mats Sándor, Senior Technical Director of Systemair and President of Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA), discuss the pillars of sustainability in the context of the ventilation industry, and the need to balance energy efficiency with good indoor air quality, given the latter’s impact on human health…
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Sustainability has become increasingly important in the valuation of an organisation. Mats Sándor, Senior Technical Director of Systemair and President of AMCA, says this is observable in both authorities’ and consumers’ proactive move to drive requirements for companies to meet, comply with, and report on sustainability initiatives. “Global concerns related to climate change have underscored the need for accountability among all stakeholders,” he says, “and the ventilation industry must be aware of the role it plays in this unfolding narrative.”
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Providing the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as an example, Sándor highlights how the ventilation industry can contribute to many vital international targets – particularly to 7.3 “Energy Efficiency” and 11.6 “Air Quality”. These goals, he adds, align with the four main objectives of ventilation, which is to create an indoor climate that will ensure “Safety, Health, Productivity and Comfort”.
“We are an important part of the wave of sustainability that is sweeping the world right now,” says Sándor. “Ventilation products can help or hinder these wider climate-change mitigation efforts. The biggest reason we ventilate is to make life better for humans.”
Indoor air quality and the need for greater understanding of ventilation
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Elaborating on the subject is Bjarne W. Olesen, Professor at International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy (ICIEE), the Technical University of Denmark, who warns that indoor climate is critical to occupant health, comfort and productivity. “Ventilation is critical for many people,” he says. “Studies have shown that reduced ventilation decreases the productivity of people and may increase the risk of allergy and asthma, which has grown more common in the last few decades.”f
Although documented studies have quantified ventilation’s importance, Olesen says there is still a need to raise awareness that good indoor air quality (IAQ is not synonymous with thermal comfort, which often receives a higher priority. This is especially of concern in residential houses, says Olesen. “We spend almost half our time at home. Although we may have a bit more influence on the indoor environmental quality in our houses, most people still often prioritise thermal comfort over air quality,” he says.
“Especially in bedrooms, where people spend about 8 hours every day, the ventilation is not sufficient and will influence sleep quality and next-day performance.”
Olesen says that indoor climate often suffers when efforts focus only on thermal comfort and less on ventilation. The trigger for opening windows in homes and schools are, in most cases, caused by people feeling too warm and not because they feel the air quality is bad. Worldwide, there is an increasing need for cooling, especially during the summertime, which further aggravate the misunderstandings related to what it means to achieve good IAQ. “People often forget about ventilation,” he says. “Many of them have a split unit and think that is enough. They believe the cool air is ventilation, but it’s not outside air – it’s just recirculation.” Modern building designs allowing for greater penetration of the sun and the strict requirements leading to well-insulated houses in Nordic countries drive further focus on thermal comfort over ventilation.
Olesen emphasises that temperature and fresh air ventilation are equally essential and can have an immense impact on ensuring the efficiency of students’ learning in schools. “We can see up to 15% reduction in learning efficiency if you don’t have a proper thermal environment and indoor air quality,” he says. The same trend can be seen in offices, with Olesen pointing out a 5-10% impact on productivity and sick leaves if IAQ is not corrected.
The usual culprits
Olesen says the usual culprits behind poor indoor climate typically vary between two elements. The first is related to geographical location. In many areas, he says, a high rate of outdoor pollution seeps into the indoor climate, and it would not help to ventilate by opening the windows. “In such cases, efforts to clean the outside air is significant through the use of filters, for example.” Olesen adds that this underscores the importance of reducing emissions from cars and fossil fuel emissions and generally increasing outside air quality, which many countries are placing increased attention on.
The other common culprits behind poor indoor climate come from within. Olesen says, “Some of the sources causing problems are the emissions from building materials, VOCs and particles. Particle concentration is often higher indoors, which is a critical issue ventilation or air cleaning can tackle.” Olesen says that in Denmark, candles were considered one of the most significant sources of indoor air pollutants.
The lack of awareness of the human cost and negative health impact of bad IAQ is hidden because it only makes itself known over the long term, says Olesen. He adds that this makes it difficult for people to sense that air quality is not as good as it should be. “When the temperature rises, and it gets too hot, you feel this is the biggest problem,” he says. “But with IAQ, most people don’t get a sense of a problem until much later down the line.”
A better future
Olesen says the insufficient attention placed on IAQ is also due to much of the focus on reducing energy in buildings, which has a clear impact on cost. However, he remains optimistic that there will be a positive shift in mindset. “I already see more focus on the indoor environment,” says Olesen. “We already have international standards giving recommendations. We need building regulations in different countries to refer to those standards to ensure minimum requirements. This is increasing, but there is a lot left to do.”
Olesen says IAQ measures should be reflected in parallel to the energy certification of buildings. “Energy certificates show predicted or measured energy usage and are often a requirement for getting a building
permit. We need the same, an indoor environment certificate as well to showcase its importance. There are also certification programmes looking at the indoor environment. Both BREEAM and LEED are a few examples of integrating requirements for the indoor environment, and I think this will increase even more,” he says.
Studies on the influence of indoor environmental quality on people’s productivity also make a case for better ventilation over energy efficiency, says Olesen. “When you think of a typical office building and how much you spend on salaries on people working there -- the energy cost for heating, cooling and ventilation is only 1% of that,” he says. “If you want to save energy, it could lead to a significant loss in productivity."
Ushering clean air for a better future
Because of these issues, Sándor urges the ventilation industry to educate the market to move out of the thinking that there is a contradiction between energy efficiency and air quality:
One might think that energy efficiency and indoor air quality conflict with each other, but this is not the case.
Sándor says rigid thinking drives this misconception that the most energy-efficient solution is not to ventilate. “In such a case, the result is that the indoor climate becomes a disaster,” he says. “On the other hand, excessive ventilation may contribute to a good indoor climate but waste energy.” Sándor points out that modern ventilation systems adapted to the purpose, with energy-efficient components and demand-adapted control, can be energy-efficient and create an excellent indoor climate.
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This is where the industry must step up, says Sándor. “At the end of the day, our products can only be useful if they are designed, installed and used correctly,’ he says. “A prerequisite for this to happen is that technical data for the products is correct. This is where third-party certification, such as AMCA, plays an important role with its certification and accreditation program and similar initiatives.”
Sándor says that this also is a reminder for the manufacturers of these products to be proud of the critical role it plays to enhance the well-being of society. Thus, he says stakeholders must continue to push for best practices to fulfil their collective mission to provide safer environments, increased productivity, and contribute to better health and comfort.