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An Investigation of Indoor Air Quality in UK Passivhaus Dwellings

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Smart Energy Control Systems for Sustainable Buildings

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 67))

Abstract

The adoption of the German Passivhaus Standard in the UK has grown rapidly in recent years. Stimulated by the shift towards energy efficient design and rising fuel costs, the concept is perceived as a potential means of meeting energy and carbon targets through an established, reliable methodology. However the performance of the Standard in terms of adequate indoor air quality and thermal comfort in a UK climate remains under-researched. This paper describes the use of the Passivhaus Standard in a UK context, and its potential implications on indoor environmental quality. A case study is presented, which included indoor air quality measurements, occupant diary, building survey and occupant interviews in a Passivhaus social housing project in Northern Ireland. The study found issues with indoor air quality, the use and maintenance of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems, lack of occupant knowledge and the perception of overheating in the case study dwellings. The findings provide a much needed insight into the indoor environmental quality in homes designed to the Passivhaus standard; which can be disseminated to aid the development of an effective sustainable building design that is both appropriate to localised climatic conditions and also sensitive to the health of building occupants.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Housing Associations are voluntary organisations that aim to help people to acquire affordable accommodation that meet their requirements.

  2. 2.

    Approved Document- Part F (Ventilation) 2010 for England and Wales (Part K in Northern Ireland) recommends performance criteria of 300 μg/m3 for TVOCs, averaged over 8 h.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Robin Patrick from ASEP (School of Chemistry, Queen’s University Belfast) for help with the measurement and analysis of VOC’s and the Housing Association and their tenants for providing access to the case study dwellings.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK

    Gráinne McGill & Tim Sharpe

  2. Bristol Enterprise Research and Innovation Centre, University of West of England, Bristol, UK

    Lukumon Oyedele

  3. School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK

    Greg Keeffe & Keith McAllister

Authors
  1. Gráinne McGill
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  2. Tim Sharpe
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  3. Lukumon Oyedele
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  4. Greg Keeffe
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  5. Keith McAllister
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gráinne McGill .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff School of Art & Design, The Ecological Built Environment group (EBERE), Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, United Kingdom

    John Littlewood

  2. Bartlett School Env, Energy & Resou, University College London Bartlett School Env, Energy & Resou, London, United Kingdom

    Catalina Spataru

  3. KES International, Shoreham-by-Sea, United Kingdom

    Robert J. Howlett

  4. School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

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McGill, G., Sharpe, T., Oyedele, L., Keeffe, G., McAllister, K. (2017). An Investigation of Indoor Air Quality in UK Passivhaus Dwellings. In: Littlewood, J., Spataru, C., Howlett, R., Jain, L. (eds) Smart Energy Control Systems for Sustainable Buildings. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52076-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52076-6_11

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