Locating ventilation inlets to reduce ingress of external pollutants into buildings: A new methodology IP 9 14

BRE (Building Research Establishment) is an independent, research-based consultancy, testing and training organisation, operating in the built environment and associated industries.

Locating ventilation inlets to reduce ingress of external pollutants into buildings: A new methodology (IP 9/14), was written by Hong Cheng, Vina Kukadia and David Hall. It was published by BRE on 27 June 2014.

Studies have shown that the general population spends 90% or more of their time indoors, and the most susceptible individuals, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions, spend almost all their time indoors. This means that the quality of indoor air is of great importance to health, comfort and wellbeing.

Effective ventilation to provide optimum indoor air quality relies on good outdoor air quality. In practice however, outdoor air may be contaminated by pollutants. A new methodology has been developed, using a Pollutant Ingress Index, to identify areas of a building where pollutant ingress is most likely and to determine the relative magnitude of this ingress.

This methodology will assist with:

• Placement of ventilation inlets so that pollution can be minimised.
• Carrying out more effective indoor air quality assessments to ensure successful planning applications.
• Developing strategies to protect building occupants from toxic contaminants releases, whether accidentally (such as from storage tanks and fires) or intentionally (such as from chemical, biological, radiological or explosive incidents).

The methodology is intended for use by professionals such; as architects, developers, planners and building services engineers, as well as regulatory authorities such as; environmental health, building control, planning officers and public health departments.

The contents of the 16-page Information Paper are:

• Introduction.
• Earlier BRE studies.
• Impact of outdoor pollutants on indoor environments.
• Methodology for determining the Pollutant Ingress Index.
• Wind tunnel studies.
• Application of the new methodology.
• Practical application of the Pollutant Ingress Index.
• Conclusions.
• References.

--BRE Group

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