ASHRAE Journal - March 2023 - 18

COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
3. Climate change mitigation, adaptation actions in
the building sector. These include increased airtightness
in new and retrofitted buildings, insulation reinforcement,
use of smart materials and building technologies
and a more systematic design and operation of demandcontrolled
HVAC systems in summer and winter.
4. Evolution of human behavior in the context of
climate change. Increased public awareness of outdoor
and indoor environmental issues may lead to increasing
duration of open windows in warmer winters, springs
and autumns where the outdoor air is relatively clean,
while air-conditioning use in summer or during outdoor
air and/or noise pollution may lead to an opposite action.
Ventilation is one of the basic requirements in maintaining
acceptable IAQ in all types of built environments.
This has been extensively studied over the past
several decades and documented in the scientific literature.
A multidisciplinary group reviewed the scientific
literature through 2005 on the effects of ventilation
rates on health in indoor environments and identified
27 papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals
as providing adequate information on both ventilation
rates and health effects to deduce any inferences.9
Consistent observations were found across multiple
investigations and different epidemiologic designs for
different populations. Various health endpoints showed
similar relationships with ventilation rate. They inferred
it was possible to see a causal association of health outcomes
with ventilation rates, although there was no
clear evidence in the literature on specific agents for the
observed effects. If ventilation rates in office buildings
were in the order of 25 L/s (53 cfm) per person, there was
reduced prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms.
Based on the limited available data, the authors
noted the lower the ventilation rates, the higher the incidence
of inflammation, respiratory infections, asthma
symptoms and short-term sick leave. In the residential
building context in a Nordic climate, if ventilation rates
exceeded 0.5 air changes per hour (h-1), there was a
reduced risk of allergic manifestations among children.
The authors concluded that if ventilation rates were
to be increased above currently adopted standards and
guidelines, reduced prevalence of negative health outcomes
should be expected. They also highlight that low
ventilation rates should be avoided in building design
and operation, unless effective source control or air
cleaning strategies are considered.
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ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg M A R CH 2023
In 2016, Santamouris highlighted the energy consumption
of buildings, energy poverty and local climate
change as three key issues of the built environment
in Europe.10 He introduced the idea of a zero-concept
world and argued that the global impact of these three
specific sectors will be diminished. He proposed a road
map to satisfy this objective, comprising quantitative
and qualitative targets for these three sectors. His
framework includes investigation of the influencing
technological, economic and social forces and policies
linking their ability in minimizing energy consumption
of buildings, eradicating energy poverty and mitigating
local climate change. His road map also included a full
estimation of necessary investments in fulfilling specified
targets. A complete quantification and analysis of
the key medium- and long-term benefits for society,
including the impact on the economy, employment, the
environment and health, is presented in the paper.
As seen from Sundell et al., clear associations exist
between ventilation rates/IAQ and the productivity of
workforce in various types of buildings. It is also established
that HVAC systems consume a significant proportion
of the national energy budget in any country irrespective
of if the HVAC design is for heating or cooling.
Hence, the notion of " Well and Green Buildings " is gaining
popularity worldwide in the context of sustainable
design, but unique challenges exist in different climates.
From an energy perspective, climate-responsive
design (whether in a temperate or tropical climate)
based on an integrated building design approach should
be the new paradigm in which the passive design features
are first optimized, followed by energy efficient active
design strategies. From an IEQ perspective, source control
is advocated as the fundamental approach to eliminating
or containing the contaminant levels inside the
building, followed by effective exposure control using ventilation
strategies. The future of the built environment
is geared toward such an integrated building design
approach, with an equal focus and emphasis during
operation, and would be based on both IEQ and energy
criteria for high performing buildings, including netzero
energy buildings and carbon neutral buildings.
It is pertinent to end this column by referring to the
concluding paragraph of the Lancet Countdown 2022
report: " With countries facing multiple crises simultaneously,
their policies on COVID-19 recovery and
energy sovereignty will have profound and potentially
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