BENEFIT - Building Evaluations for Indoor Air Quality and Comfort in the Non-Residential Sector Following Energy Efficient Improvement

Internationally, there is a recognised need to improve the energy efficiency of the entire building stock (both domestic and non-domestic) by meeting higher energy performance standards and increasing retrofit activity. These measures improve the building envelope's thermal and energy efficiency, specifying standards of building airtightness by reducing uncontrolled ventilation losses. However, it is unclear how energy-efficient improvements might exacerbate the issues surrounding poor indoor air quality, which have already been observed in the residential sector. To date, only limited data exist in the context of public sector buildings. The current project will evaluate indoor air quality, risks of overheating and occupant comfort following energy-efficient improvements. The study will utilise a hybrid methodology, capturing longer-term IEQ trends and precision measurements on air pollutants of key concern. The study will focus on two cohorts to establish baseline metrics: deep energy retrofitted buildings compared with newly constructed energy-efficient buildings.