VENTILATION | CIBSE DEBATE Opening the debate The need to improve the effectiveness of ventilation of buildings was the subject of the first event organised by the new CIBSE Health and Wellbeing Group. Phil Lattimore witnesses a healthy exchange of views on how to achieve good indoor air quality U nderstanding how to design, implement and operate effective ventilation was the key theme at a recent debate hosted by the new CIBSE Health and Wellbeing Group. The aim of the roundtable was to identify the issues that prevent adequate ventilation for building occupants, and to understand how industry practitioners can contribute to improved levels of design, installation and operation for ventilation systems. Experts were drawn from across the industry and included representatives from engineering, architecture, academia, and government. The participants explored areas that have an impact on ventilation, such as: site-planning considerations around noise and air quality; industry standards and building regulations; choice of either natural or mechanical ventilation strategies; the appropriate application of building simulation; and the design process. They pinpointed issues around commissioning, and concluded that there was a lack of post-occupancy feedback to inform future best practice. PARTICIPANTS Chair: Ashley Bateson, partner at Hoare Lea and chair of the CIBSE Health and Wellbeing Working Group Ben Abel, head of research and development at engineering consultancy Hilson Moran Henry Pelly, senior sustainability consultant at Max Fordham Clare Murray, head of sustainability at Levitt Bernstein Architects Malcolm Cook, professor of building performance analysis at Loughborough University Dr Chris Iddon, chair of the CIBSE Natural Ventilation Group Richard Daniels, manager of the technical and design team at the Department for Education Darren Woolf, head of building physics at Hoare Lea, and chair of CIBSE Building Simulation Group Julie Godefroy, technical manager at CIBSE Ventilation effectiveness What is meant by ventilation effectiveness? This question was raised as a starting point to a discussion about how designers need to focus on ventilation performance. The simple building physics denition is that ventilation effectiveness is about removing contaminants from the space. Increasingly, however as we look at health and wellbeing its about supplying sufcient fresh air in the right place to meet the needs of the occupants. Its about more than just achieving a certain carbon dioxide level, said Ashley Bateson. He used the overheating phenomenon in schools and residences as an example. The ventilation could far exceed minimum ventilation regulations for hygiene but still not be effective, Bateson said. It has to be the right amount of air, of the right www.cibsejournal.com June 2019 21 CIBSE Jun19 pp21-23 Ventilation debate Supp.indd 21 24/05/2019 14:51