Ventilation
and air infiltration into buildings represent a substantial energy demand which
can account for between 25% to over 50% of a building's total space heating
(or cooling) needs. Unnecessary or excessive air change can therefore have an
important impact on global energy use. On the other hand insufficient ventilation
may result in poor indoor air quality and consequential health problems.
Designing for optimum ventilation performance is hence a vital part of building design. This task is made especially difficult, however, by the complexities of airflow behaviour, climatic influences, occupancy patterns and pollutant emission characteristics.
In recognition of the significant impact of ventilation on energy use, combined with concerns over indoor air quality, the International Energy Agency (IEA) inaugurated the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC) in 1979.
The role of the centre is to provide technical support to those involved in the research and development of ventilation technology as well as to ensure the widest dissemination of information on related energy and air quality issues.
See
www.aivc.org for more information on air infiltration and ventilation 