Achieving zero carbon targets in buildings without compromising health and wellbeing of occupants – a new FM research direction

Citation

Liyanage, C. and Hadjri, K. (2015), "Achieving zero carbon targets in buildings without compromising health and wellbeing of occupants – a new FM research direction", Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 13 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-05-2015-0014

Achieving zero carbon targets in buildings without compromising health and wellbeing of occupants – a new FM research direction

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Facilities Management, Volume 13, Issue 3

The UK, through the Climate Change Act (2008), aims to ensure that the net UK carbon account for the year 2050 is at least 80 per cent lower than the 1990 baseline. For this target to be realised, emissions from all sectors will have to be reduced, while at the same time, renewable energy production is expected to increase. Currently, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the energy use of buildings are controlled through Building Regulations and “Approved Document Part L – Conservation of fuel and power” (Zero Carbon Hub, 2013), which came into force on 1st April 2002. The main target of Part L Building Regulations is to create a well-sealed envelope, coupled with the right amount of insulation in buildings. In energy terms, this is highly beneficial, as better-sealed and better-insulated buildings become more “air tight”, thus allowing low air permeability/leakages to minimise heat/energy loss. However, there is a concern that low air permeability in pursuit of energy efficiency can lead to a build-up of pollutants and/or to excessive moisture levels in some circumstances. According to Howieson et al. (2014), a building that is airtight needs to have adequate ventilation. If not, insufficient air changes caused by reduced infiltrations may lead to poor indoor air quality (IAQ) levels, which could lead to a build-up of indoor pollutants that are potentially dangerous to building occupants (Crump et al., 2009). Dampness is one of the most common pollutants found in buildings. The other common indoor air pollutants include CO, CO2, NO2, odours, volatile organic compounds, allergens and mould (Energy Saving Trust, 2006). It is estimated that poor IAQ is responsible for around two million disability-adjusted life years per year, which is about 3 per cent of the total burden of all diseases in Europe (EFA, 2013). Indoor air could be much more polluted than external air, and as people spend around 60-90 per cent of their time indoor (Slezakova et al., 2012), even minor amounts of pollutants in airtight buildings can significantly increase the occupants’ exposure to pollutants and may affect their health and well-being (WHO, 2009).

The Health and Safety Executive estimates that between 30 and 50 per cent of new or refurbished buildings lead to building-related illnesses (Zolfagharifard, 2014). Building-related illnesses are disorders that affect the lungs as well as other parts of the body and are caused by exposure to indoor air pollutants present in airtight buildings that have poor ventilation (Jantunen et al., 2011). The most common symptoms of building-related illnesses are headaches, lethargy and poor concentration, asthma, skin irritation, dry itchy eyes, congested nose and allergies such as hay fever. In 2001, the Alberta Court of Appeal building (an 87-year-old sandstone building) came under scrutiny when several judges, attorneys and other staff suffered fatigue, irritated lungs and watery eyes following a renovation to bring the historic structure up to modern energy-efficient standards. The investigations showed that the upgrades to the buildings had a downside. Reducing air leakages of the old building helped reduce energy costs, but without adequate vapour barriers and ventilation, according to air quality samples of the buildings, a toxic blend of mould grew in the walls, which led to building-related illnesses (Slezakova et al., 2012).

The above highlights a long-term problem that could potentially increase the burden of diseases and health costs. Although the building regulations and low/zero-carbon targets are there to reduce energy consumption and to reduce the impact on climate change, more strategies are needed to ensure occupants’ health and well-being. This provides a greater scope for facilities managers. The facilities manager’s role herein is not only to ensure that the operation and maintenance of buildings are carried out to “save” energy, but also to ensure that human (e.g. health) and environmental (e.g. IAQ) factors are taken into consideration. This requires examining ways of balancing human comfort and energy consumption during facilities design and post-occupancy stages. Therefore, it is timely that facilities management (FM) research identify strategies that can improve environmental conditions in buildings to achieve zero-carbon targets without compromising the health and well-being of occupants. This may raise the FM profession to greater heights of recognition in terms of the role it can play in the low- or zero-carbon era and its relationship to public health.

Champika Liyanage and Karim Hadjri

References

Climate Change Act (2008), Chapter 27, The Stationery Office, London.

Crump, D., Dengel, A. and Swainson, M. (2009), “Indoor air quality in highly energy efficient homes – a review”, NHBC Foundation Report NF19, IHS BRE Press, Watford.

Energy Saving Trust (2006), “Energy efficient ventilation in dwellings – a guide for specifiers”, Report No GPG268, Energy Saving Trust, London.

European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) (2013), “Indoor air quality and its effects on health: a presentation of the guidelines for health-based ventilation in Europe”, available at: www.efanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/HealthVent-event-Report-FINAL.pdf (accessed 12 July 2013).

Howieson, S.G., Sharpe, T. and Farren, P. (2014), “Building tight – ventilating right? How are new air tightness standards affecting indoor air quality in dwellings?”, Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 475-487.

Jantunen, M., Oliveira Fernandes, E., Carrer, P. and Kephalopoulos, S. (2011), “Promoting actions for healthy indoor air (IAIAQ)”, Report, European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumers, Luxembourg.

Slezakova, K., Morais, S. and do Carmo Pereira, M. (2012), “Indoor air pollutants: relevant aspects and health impacts”, in Oosthuizen, J. (Ed.), Environmental Health – Emerging Issues and Practice, InTech, available at: www.intechopen.com/books/environmental-health-emerging-issues-and-practice/indoor-air-pollutants-relevant-aspects-and-health-impacts- (accessed 2 July 2013).

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2009), “WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and mould”, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, available at: www.euro.who.int/_data/assets/pdf_file/0017/43325/E92645.pdf (accessed 12 July 2013).

Zero Carbon Hub (2013), “Zero carbon strategies – for tomorrow’s new homes”, available at: www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/home_truths_summary.pdf (accessed 12 February 2015).

Zolfagharifard, E. (2014), “Are energy efficient homes making us ILL? Toxic mould caused by poor air circulation could trigger ‘sick building syndrome”, Mail, available at: www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2562146/Are-energy-efficient-homes-making-ILL-Toxic-mould-caused-poor-air-circulation-trigger-sick-building-syndrome.html (accessed 18 February 2014).

Further reading

Boardman, B. (2007), “Home truths: executive summary, University of Oxford’s environmental change institute”, A Research Report for the Co-operative Bank and Friends of the Earth, available at: www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/home_truths_summary.pdf (accessed 31 July 2014).

British Standard Institute (BSI) (2002), BS 5250:2002: Code of Practice for Control of Condensation in Buildings, British Standard Institute, London.

Halliday, S. (2009), “Technical paper 6: indoor air quality and energy efficiency in traditional buildings”, Technical Report, Historic Scotland, Technical Conservation Group, available at: www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/traditional-buildings-air-quality-energy-efficiency.pdf (accessed 12 July 2013).

About the authors

Champika Liyanage is currently working as a Senior lecturer in the School of Built and Natural Environment, University of Central Lancashire. She has a PhD in facilities management from Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. She has published over 50 journal and conferences papers to-date. She has also won several awards for her research and publications. She received the best student award from the National Health Service, Scotland, in October 2004 for her research in facilities management. She also won the best paper award at the Second Scottish Conference for Post graduate Researchers of the Built Environment in November 2005. She is also the co-author of the best student paper won at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 6th International Engineering and Construction Conference, Cairo, Egypt, in June 2010. She is engaged in carrying out research activities in the areas of public private partnerships, sustainable procurement and facilities management. Champika Liyanage is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: mailto:clliyanage@uclan.ac.uk

Karim Hadjri is a Professor of Architecture at the Grenfell-Baines School of Architecture, Construction and Environment, University of Central Lancashire. He is an architect with a Master of Philosophy (1989) and a Doctor of Philosophy (1992) in housing studies completed at the Joint Centre for Urban Design at Oxford Brookes University. He has worked as a scholar in the UK (Queen’s University Belfast), UAE and Saudi Arabia, and managed academic units and research centres in both Cyprus and Colombia. He has been teaching architecture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels since 1993. His teaching interests include architectural design, accessible design, housing and post-occupancy evaluations. His research explores the influence of the built environment on various user groups, including people with sensory and cognitive impairment. He has led and contributed to over 20 research projects worldwide since 1992. He has also practiced architecture in parallel with academia and designed a school of architecture, a university library and private housing. He is an affiliate member of the Royal Institute of British Architect (RIBA), and a fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.