Standards Development

Scope

The proposed standard is intended to be referred to, either normatively or informatively, by future editions of the two overarching retrofit standards PAS 2035 and PAS 2038.

It is proposed to develop a standard in two parts.

Part 1 Health and Wellbeing in Buildings

This part will give recommendations for the measuring, monitoring and reporting of the well-being and IEQ performance of an occupied building and the associated building services. It will provide an evaluation and rating system, the aim of which is to enhance indoor environmental quality (IEQ), to create healthier buildings and improve the well-being of building occupants; including but not limited to staff, visitors, tenants and customers. The IEQ performance score generated as an outcome of this evaluation will provide organizations with a benchmark score which can be used to identify areas of below par performance and enable improvements to be made accordingly.

It is applicable to all forms of non-domestic buildings, including existing building stock. It can be used, along with other design guidance, in renovations and new build developments for target setting and performance evaluation. It covers a good practice approach to the evaluation of the following factors:

a) air quality;

b) light quality;

c) thermal comfort; and

d) soundscape quality

Part 2 Thermal Comfort, Indoor Air Quality and Overheating

This part will expand on issues raised by

Part 1, developed by the same panel for later publication, e.g. Q4 2022. It will focus on the required characteristics of internal environments in buildings subject to retrofit, not on how we deliver them (i.e. by heating, ventilation, etc.)

Part 2 will provide technical benchmarks that address the health and wellbeing issues identified in

Part 1, essentially developing a best practice approach to thermal comfort, overheating and internal air quality.

This will involve:

• Improving thermal comfort in relation to air temperature, radiant temperatures, air movement, relative humidity, activity, clothing and metabolic rate, and ensuring that the building will not overheat.

• Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) in relation to excessive humidity and concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulates, microbes and moulds.

• Ensuring that any change to the airtightness of the building envelope is arranged to improve the energy • Ensuring that ventilation is designed, installed and commissioned correctly to achieve all the above and sized for the potential occupation and use of spaces .

• Providing guidance on the identification and management of risks associated with poor design or occupant behaviour.

• Emphasising the importance of a whole-building approach aimed at defining a moisture-safe and healthy route to net zero carbon buildings.

Objectives

The objective of this standard is to define robust and appropriate technical standards for thermal comfort and internal air quality, for adoption in whole building retrofit projects, in order to ensure improved health and wellbeing of residents, occupants and visitors.

The standard will make use of material originally collated for PAS 3003 to establish a framework for the assessment of buildings to identify where issues occur, and to set requirements for monitoring and evaluation of health and wellbeing parameters. In recent years, regulatory and commercial pressures have led designers, constructors, building owners/landlords, tenants and maintenance teams to focus on reducing operational energy costs.

This has come at the expense of unintended consequences such as inadequate ventilation and issues with lighting, which can compromise occupants’ mental or physical health and wellbeing. With growing concern over the impact and cost of ill-health, and the associated pressures on public services, efforts need to be made to improve the quality of the building stock to meet the needs of current and future generations.

There are tangible benefits to be realised, including:

• Improved performance of occupants: increased cognitive function and productivity, and reduction in fatigue, tiredness and stress.

• Employee, tenant and customer retention and loyalty: improved indoor environmental quality (IEQ) creates an environment in which occupants feel comfortable and valued.

• Attraction of new staff, customers and tenants to good buildings as ‘locations of choice’.

• Cost savings: local or personal control and automation of building systems not only improves wellbeing but can enhance energy efficiency and therefore reduce operational expenditure.

This standard is intended to provide recommendations for the measuring, monitoring and reporting of the health and wellbeing factors influenced by the building envelope and the building services. Development of the standard

The development of the proposed standard will be on the basis of acknowledged current best-practice and research only.

The standard will prioritise issues, requirements and guidance as follows:

1 Protection of occupants’ health and wellbeing

2 Protection of the building fabric, especially through moisture risk management

3 Energy efficiency

4 Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

The standard will be consistent with PAS 2035 and PAS 2038 and only include recommendations consistent with current best practice.

Building Regulations Parts L and F, and ATTMA’s airtightness standards TS 1-3 are currently under review and subject to updating.

The scope of the proposed standard will be amended when the updated documents have been published, to ensure consistency. However, since a best practice standard is proposed, and Building Regulations set only minimum standards, the proposed standard will set higher standards in some areas.

Purpose

New Standard