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What makes your heart beat faster? What are
you really passionate about? | |
I think that it is essential
that we create a good indoor environment in our buildings, that we built and
maintain offices, schools, dwellings etc. and their building service systems
in such a way that healthy and comfortable living environments are provided
for all. Of course, all in such a way that low energy use is guaranteed too. For me the people-factor has
always been important. As a Master student in the early 70’s I had planned to
get a summer job as a land surveyor in Greenland, at that time, that paid
really well. |
They did
not select me and, then, a certain Professor Fanger
asked me to do some summer work instead. He involved me in a lab study with
subjects that looked at mental performance and thermal comfort. With my own
surprise, the relation between environment and technology on the one hand and
people, comfort and productivity on the other really triggered me. So, I
decided to study with Professor Fanger, to do with
him the Master thesis and the PhD thesis. The subject of course had to be
people-related: it dealt with local discomfort, floor temperature and radiant
floor heating/cooling.
Since then,
of course, HVAC technology has developed, but I still think that it is
important to put people first, to always look beyond the technology, to work
with IEQ requirements that are system independent and to strive at optimizing
the energy and health performance of buildings simultaneously.
Certainly,
a lot has changed over the years. It is maybe hard to imagine now but, till the
60’s, we kind of only looked at air temperatures when we designed HVAC systems.
Then, we and others from the US came up with the suggestion to systematically
include radiant temperature, air speed and humidity, and, at the same time, to
look at the combined influence of several parameters such as clothing and
metabolism when objectifying thermal comfort.
In the 80’s,
the focus shifted away from thermal comfort to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) partly
due to a growing number of stories in the media about Sick Buildings. In retrospect,
I think that the oil crisis in the 70’s and the fact that we started building
more airtight buildings without well-functioning ventilation systems caused a
lot of IAQ problems. Until the 70’s, we all thought that the only thing we had
to deal with were people as dominant source of air pollution inside buildings
and CO2as a tracer for people. At the Denmark Technical University, we were
able to show that interior materials and HVAC components could be strong emitters
too, for example thinking about volatile organic compounds and micro-organisms.
Of course,
there is smoking and exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, since, in the 80’s,
in many countries (including Denmark) people were still allowed to smoke in
offices, in restaurants, in schools, in airplanes, etc.
My
colleague Geo Clausen, at the time, showed that if you smoke in a building any
other source becomes more or less irrelevant.
From the
beginning of the 90’s, we saw a growing interest in field studies and in task
performance. We started to look beyond environmental parameters and
investigated how suboptimal conditions affect productivity in offices or call
centres as well as learning performance in schools. At that time, we also saw
the introduction of a couple of innovative climate technologies that,
delighting me, work with a separation of the functions of temperature control and
fresh air supply, such as TABS (Thermal Active Building Systems) and micro-climatisation or personal ventilation systems.
As far as IAQ
and materials are concerned, at the end of the 90’s, low emission labels for
materials were introduced (like the Danish Indoor Climate label).
Since about
15 years ago, also health effects were on the agenda as, for example, the
studies of Carl-Gustav Bornehag and Jan Sundell that linked exposure to phthalates in the air (in
dust samples) and asthma in young children.
I recognize
that an over focus on energy performance can lead to health and comfort
problems. I know of NZEB projects that had severe overheating problems after
they were occupied. Problems that, of course, could have been avoided doing the
right kind of calculations or simulations beforehand. Furthermore, the fresh
air supply can be an issue, in fact, energy efficient buildings come with very
airtight facades, so, when the ventilation system is not well designed or the
system has not been correctly installed, it will for sure lead to IAQ problems.
That can also be one other reason why we should pay more attention to the commissioning.
Nevertheless,
I am convinced that the different aspects can be combined. It is just a matter
of good design and smart choices. When a new building is design or an existing
building renovate, the energy performance requirements and, also, thermal
comfort, indoor air quality and noise from building service systems should be
taken into account. One of the EPBD standards that we have been working on,
addresses this: FprEN 16798-1 (formerly known as
EN 15251). This standard describes indoor environmental input parameters that
can be used for the design and assessment of energy performance of buildings. As
a sector, we need to help create NZEB buildings that are not just energy
efficient but that are also healthy, comfortable and that meet relevant IEQ
requirements.
First of all,
I want to make ASHRAE more global and show that we are not only a
North-American society. We need to improve our services to our membership
outside North-America. This will be done in collaboration and not in
competition with other HVAC societies. As example in Europe, REHVA is a very
important partner. Even if our “membership” is different we have the same goal
to provide health and comfort for the occupants in a sustainable way.
Then, I
will push for more focus on IEQ and energy use in dwellings. Traditionally,
organisations like REHVA and ASHRAE focus on offices, schools, hospitals and
other commercial or public buildings. In my eyes, the residential sector will
bring a lot of new opportunities in the coming years. Our homes have to be made
more energy efficient, and all this in a smart way with adequate attention to
the health and comfort needs of occupants. To do this we will have to introduce
much more advanced heating, ventilation and cooling technologies in both new
and existing dwellings. In that respect, I plan to increase ASHRAE’s
involvement in the student competition “Solar Decathlon” not only in USA; but
around the world.
I would also
like to capitalize on the research findings we have now about IEQ and people-effects,
especially task performance effects. Most decision makers are not overly
interested in technology per se or if IEQ requirements are met or not but most
of them are interested in end-user effects like productivity, especially when
we can link it to property value assessment and a concrete return on
investment.
A third
thing that I will focus on is public health in relation to the design and
operation of building service systems. Not just in North America and Europe but
especially in emerging countries. Certain public health risks can be minimized
when building technology is introduced in the right way. Think for example of
advanced ventilation systems and ditto filtration systems that are designed to
keep the particles out in a building that is located in an area with suboptimal
outdoor air quality.
Originally,
this was ASHRAE’s Bill Bahnflet’s idea and I have
been involved in this from the start. I am very happy that REHVA has decided to
join us, as also did the AIVC (the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre).
The basic
idea is to create a platform that share a bigger, joint voice that wants to
stimulate good indoor environments. The goal of the Indoor Environmental
Quality Global Alliance (IEQ-GA) is to be the world’s primary source for
information, guidelines and knowledge on the indoor environmental quality in
buildings. Via this new global alliance, we hope to establish better contacts
with global organisations like the United Nations and World Health
Organisation.
We do not
just focus on thermal aspects and indoor air quality, we are also talking to
organisations that are specialized in light and noise, so, it is meant to be an
IEQ alliance in the broad sense. For more information about the Global
alliance, see the alliance’s website: http://ieq-ga.net/.
Interesting
question. I am determined, during my presidency, to convince more young
professionals to come join our sector and to help us make a better world.
Recently
one of my PhD students walked into my office at DTU and he asked: ‘What do I
have to do to become like you?’. After laughing about the question for more
than a minute, I answered him and gave him 3 tips-for-live.
First, I
said, you have to select 1 or 2 areas that you want to become one of the best
in. You really have to be specialized. If you try to be good at too many things
you will never excel in anything.
The next
thing, I said, was: always make sure that whatever you say, as a professional,
is evidence-based. Each argument that you use during a discussion or in a paper
has to be backup by either your own data, or by research data from others. No
room for fake news in our field, sorry!
My third
and last tip was: develop a good, international network and put people first
now and then. Start with the network built already as a student to get things
done in the future and, because, to initiate a change you need to cooperate
with others and you can only do that if, beforehand, you have invested lots of
time in meeting the right kind of people during international courses, at
international conferences and during ASHRAE or REHVA events.
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