Few, J F M (2021) Ventilation in occupied homes: measurement, performance and sociotechnical perspectives. PhD thesis, University College London, UK.
Abstract
In the UK, steps have been taken to reduce air permeability of buildings and reduce their energy consumption due to unplanned ventilation. However, adequate ventilation is required for good indoor air quality. The building regulations require means for adequate ventilation in new buildings for good indoor air quality, and in England Approved Document F (ADF) sets out how this may be achieved. Nonetheless, few detailed studies of ventilation in occupied homes have been carried out. This project addresses aspects of ventilation measurement, performance of ventilation systems and the sociotechnical nature of ventilation in occupied homes. Ventilation in occupied buildings is driven by building characteristics, ventilation equipment, weather conditions and occupant actions and therefore can be highly variable. Despite this, much ventilation research in occupied homes either measures a long-term average ventilation rate or collects a small number of `snap-shot’ measurements of ventilation rate. This research developed a method for measuring ventilation rates in occupied homes based on the tracer gas decay technique using metabolic CO₂. The method was applied in four occupied dwellings over 6 months to give more than 500 ventilation rate measurements. These results facilitated assessment of the performance of the ventilation system and exploration of the variation in ventilation rates. This revealed significant differences in the ventilation rates experienced by occupants in the different dwellings and highlighted shortcomings in the planned ventilation system. Ventilation in occupied homes is strongly influenced by occupants. The final part of the research used a social practice theory framework to compare the participants’ practices with the intended uses of ventilation equipment implicit in ADF. This revealed that although the participants shared many of ADF’s goals in terms of the air in their homes, their practices were more nuanced than ADF and that their use of the ventilation equipment did not reflect ADF’s intentions.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | air quality; building regulation; energy consumption; equipment; homes; indoor air quality; new build; performance; regulation; measurement; weather; England; UK |
| Index terms: | new build, social practice theory, building regulation, England, air quality, energy consumption, ventilation, permeability, weather, regulation, variation, exploration, indoor air quality |
| Subjects: | theoretical framing, Geography, climate science, environmental resource management, construction integration, contractual condition, material properties and characteristics, regulatory law, political science, environmental health, air quality, energy systems |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Legal Issues, Governance, Business Strategy, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here