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News

Indoor air quality, airtightness and ventilation
Seminars, Training

Indoor air quality, airtightness and ventilation

Feb 27, 2017
Book now for this very well-received event with a panel of expert speakers. Free Zero Carbon Hub guides x 4 for all attendees! Does an airtight building result in an unhealthy internal environment? What are the health consequences of poor indoor air quality? What ventilation solutions are there to protect the occupants? Indoor air quality, airtightness and ventilation – a challenging balancing act In the past, under-ventilation of buildings was not seen to be much of an issue due to the unintended gaps in the external envelope providing plenty of fresh air to the occupants. However due to improved workmanship,…
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ASBP Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo
Conferences, Seminars

ASBP Healthy Buildings Conference and Expo

Jan 30, 2017
Building products can have a considerable impact on the health of building occupants as well as on the natural environment and on the people and communities impacted by the manufacturing process. Consequently, sustainable products must be healthy products. This Conference, organised by the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products will help delegates to both conceive of and design healthier buildings and to maximise the opportunities of more informed product selection. Ian Mawditt from fourwalls will be speaking at this event on 15th February 2017. Come and see his presentation: Can we rely on good ventilation? IAQ and ventilation effectiveness, which will…
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Oxley Conservation Day, Henley-on-Thames
Conferences, Seminars

Oxley Conservation Day, Henley-on-Thames

Dec 05, 2016
A great day hosted by conservation experts, Oxley Conservation, in a wonderful Grade I medieval timber framed building, Chantry House in Henley-on-Thames. This is an annual event to debate the hot topics in the world of building preservation. This year, one of the main topics related to ventilation and moisture. fourwalls were asked to present about the importance of ventilation in traditional buildings, particularly in the context of retrofit measures where the thermal envelope of the building is subject to being upgraded. A very interesting day - see the Oxley Conservation website for further information about the event.
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Ventilation Presentations for HVAC 2016 at the NEC
Seminars

Ventilation Presentations for HVAC 2016 at the NEC

Oct 05, 2016
fourwalls will be giving two presentations at the HVAC 2016: UK Construction Week Conference at the NEC on 18th October 2016. Ian Mawditt will be presenting alongside Emma Clancy, CEO of Certsure on Indoor Air Quality in Energy Efficient Homes. This will be followed by a joint presentation with Professor Rajat Gupta of Oxford Brookes University on the Characteristics and Performance of MVHR Systems. The Guardian recently wrote an article about a possible link to worsening asthma from the lack of ventilation in more energy efficient homes due to a lack of ventilation. The synopsis of the presentations are:The Guardian…
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Health Effects of Modern Airtight Construction (HEMAC)
Research, Seminars

Health Effects of Modern Airtight Construction (HEMAC)

Sep 26, 2016
The HEMAC Network, hosted by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) at the Glasgow School of Art, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, held its first symposium on 21st September 2016. The network aims to bridge the gap between the fields of indoor air quality, health, sustainability and the built environment, providing a platform for discussion and collaboration while facilitating knowledge exchange to the built environment professionals. fourwalls director, Ian Mawditt - a committee member of HEMAC, gave a presentation at the first symposium. Entitled 'The State of Ventilation in the UK', Ian presented findings from his…
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Ventilation Masterclass for the STBA
Seminars, Training

Ventilation Masterclass for the STBA

Sep 10, 2016
The second in the STBA series of Masterclasses took place in September, with over 30 delegates learning from Ian Mawditt of fourwalls. Ventilation in retrofit projects is often one of the most overlooked considerations.  Yet ignoring ventilation is high risk, both in terms of occupant health and minimising moisture risk to the building fabric. Most retrofits, by their very nature, will automatically have a dramatic reduction effect on air leakage. However, it can be quite confusing to work out how best to ventilate - natural, mechanical - centralised or decentralised. A number of factors will dictate the most appropriate strategy,…
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Zero Carbon Hub Ventilation Study
Publications, Research

Zero Carbon Hub Ventilation Study

Apr 07, 2016
fourwalls were part of the project team for this study, led by the Zero Carbon Hub. The study team visited 33 dwellings across 6 construction sites in 2015 to see how effectively their mechanical ventilation systems were designed, installed, commissioned and handed over to occupants. In summary, we found things going wrong at multiple stages of the construction process at every site. The cumulative effect of these issues ultimately outweighed any good practice, as the systems we tested showed significant under-performance. At 5 of the 6 sites, fans were operating at only half the required duty or lower, i.e. flow…
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Characteristics and Performance of MVHR Systems
Publications, Research

Characteristics and Performance of MVHR Systems

Mar 04, 2016
A long time in the making, but we are pleased to announce that the MVHR meta study has now been published. The meta-study was commissioned by Innovate UK as part of the Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) Programme to provide an overview of the performance and use of whole-house heat recovery ventilation (MVHR) systems in domestic projects. With increasing requirements for energy reduction, the impact of ventilation strategies has increased in importance, both in terms of energy reduction and indoor air quality (IAQ). The primary aims of this meta-study are to: Review the characteristics of installed systems in relation to air…
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Bristolian’s Solid Wall Insulation Guide
Publications

Bristolian’s Solid Wall Insulation Guide

Nov 29, 2015
We are pleased to announce that the Bristolian's Guide to Solid Wall Insulation was launched last week. The guidance, which includes a video and an online tool as well a the guidance document, was commissioned by Bristol City Council and led by the Sustainable and Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA). The new and user-friendly online tool and complimentary guide are available for those living in Bristol to help them make more informed decisions about how to insulate their homes in a responsible way.  By showing residents what to look out for, Bristol City Council believes that the uptake of one of…
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don’t forget to check ‘my fourwalls’
House Blog

don’t forget to check ‘my fourwalls’

Sep 22, 2015
'My fourwalls' is a blog set up by Ian Mawditt of fourwalls to chart the progress and performance of a deep retrofit that he undertook on his own home in Bristol. His house is being monitored and he intends to continue to post energy and environmental performance data periodically. 'My fourwalls' can be accessed from our main menu, or by clicking here. Please feel free to send Ian a message if you like him to post about anything in particular from his retrofit. Even a prompt to him to update the site - at least he knows people are reading…
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