1

Svensk Ventilation

Everybody’s right to clean indoor air

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Poor Indoor Environment Gives:

500 dead per annumExplosive increase in allergies

& asthmaLess wellbeingPoorer performanceIncreased cost to enterpriseIncreased cost to society

Totally unnecessarily!

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MiljöhälsoutredningenSOU 1996:124

No one should become sick or suffer any symptoms due to deficiencies in the indoor environmentPoor ventilation in residential buildings, schools and pre-schools should be correctedAll residential buildings, schools and pre-schools with a radon levels above the threshold value for private nuisance should be corrected before the year 2010

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Life

We eat 1 kg per dayWe drink 3 kg per day

We breathe 30 kg of air per day,which is about 25,000 litres!

90% of our time is spent indoors -90% of the air we breathe is therefore indoor air

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Why isn’t anything done?

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Why isn’t anything done?

Poor informationCost pressureIndustry being passive

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Objectives

Lowering of the incidence of asthma& allergiesRadon cleaning

Clean air everywhere

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Research Today

”Outdoor air has relatively small impacton public health, we are not outside that much.In addition, outdoor air here in the Nordic countries isn’t that polluted. Here, the indoor air is the major problem”

Professor Jan Sundell

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Research Results

The Värmlands study (Sweden)The Bamse study (Sweden)The Massachusetts study (USA)IEA (Europe)The NatVent-project (Europa)

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The Värmlands Study*

11 000 children in survey400 in extended study

Extensive medical examinationHome environment studied in detail

Condensation is a warning

Good ventilation gives healthier children

* ”Dampness in Buildings and Health”

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The Bamse Study

4000 children followedWhy do children become allergic?40% of 4-year olds have some form of allergy

Risk factors:Poor indoor climateSmokingShort period of breast feedingMore than one risk factor gives large increase

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The Massachusetts Study

Is performance affected by the air flow?

Minimum requirement = 50% higher absence due to sicknessAnnual loss = 400 dollars per person

Larger air flow gives healthier people

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IEA

Does hybrid ventilation work?

Is energy saved?Will air quality be consistent?Will investment costs increase?Higher LCC?

Hybrid ventilation can work –but requires significantly more energy than FTX

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The NatVent project

Target: Reduce energy consumptionUse natural draught and low energy cooling

RecommendationsUse night coolingImprove sun screeningLow energy lightingNo heating during summerWindows closed at night

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Myths About Air 1 (2)

The cleaning myth:It is not too clean indoors these days

The fur animals myth:You do not avoid allergies by keeping furryanimals at home

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Myths About Air 2 (2)

The humidity myth:Dry air is actually very unusual

The ventilations myth:A fan is not a ventilation system

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Källbrinksskolan 1 (2)

550 peopleEnough air for half of themExhaust air system, no filtration, no controlBuilt 1963, refurbished during the oil crisisBig health problems among childrenand staff

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Källbrinksskolan 2 (2)

Entirely new facilitiesSupply and exhaust air system with heat recoveryDemand controlledExceeds the requirements by farCost: Just over 22 million Crowns

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The Purpose of Ventilation

Ventilation shall:

Transport away contaminated air and replace it with clean airCreate the appropriatetemperature

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Requirements on the Ventilation

AppropriateReliableResource efficient

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Sources of Contamination Indoors

People

Machines

Material

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Influencing Factors

Air velocityTemperatureHumidityAir pollution

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Technical Solutions

Natural draughtFan driven exhaust air systemBalanced ventilation system with exhaust and supply air

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Natural Draught

Exhaust via ductsOutdoor air via slot valves, windows, leaksLarge rooms, warm chimney, leaky housesToday’s houses are not built this way

Adequate in old and leaky houses, but hard to clean the air,

complicated to build

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Fan driven exhaust air system

Extraction through the use of fansOutdoor air via slot valves, windows, leaksOnly limited filtration possible

Common system – cheap to install, but not energy efficient

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Balanced Systems

Many typesLow energy consumptionHeat recovery Demand controlledAir cleaning

Simple, stable, energy efficient and flexible system that creates a good

indoor climate

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Air Cleaning

Filters the only possibilityShould be replaced at least once per yearMinimum filter class F7 for supply airP-markedKeep dry

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Gekås in Ullared

Swedens largest shopping centreAirborne cooling system with heat recyclingHigh airflow, 30 m3/h/m2

Demand controlledWebb interface

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Rules and Regulations 1 (4)

The Swedish ’Health and Safety at Work’ regulations:

The air quality shall be adequateOutdoor air shall be added in sufficient quantityThe supply air shall be as clean as possible

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Rules and Regulations 2 (4)

Threshold values are set lowFunctional, not technical, requirementsThe Swedish ’Health and Safety atWork’ Authority adds to the uncertainty

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Rules and Regulations Uncertainties 3 (4)

A common misunderstanding is that the private nuisance threshold value… can be used as criteria for acceptable quality of supply air. The Board’s threshold value is a measure of the highest acceptable rate of air pollution in the breathing air at a workplace. As a measure of acceptable level of pollution they are not applicable.

Addendum to § 22 of the regulations

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Rules and Regulations OVK 4 (4)

Mandatory control of ventilation systemsMeet requirements as at time of construction – not today’s requirementsAll buildings except:

One and two family houses with natural ventilationOne and two family houses with only exhaust airAgricultural buildings and buildings for theforrestry industriesIndustrial buildingsSecret defence installations

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Leviticus, Chapter 14