It is important to remember that no matter how responsive, well-planned and efficiently installed a workplace's heating and ventilation system may be, designers, project managers and installers may still face difficulties when it comes to balancing the temperate preferences of the different people in situ whilst managing to adhere to the standards of best practice and sustainability.

Indoor air quality has a massive impact on the health and comfort of a building's occupants, and if not appropriately managed it can considerably reduce worker concentration levels and directly contribute to staff sick days.  It is therefore essential, when considering options for heating, that the appropriate system is selected. Such a system needs to provide adequate heat for the occupants whilst ensuring that the movement of pollutants within the room is kept to a minimum. 

In the past there has been a degree of confusion over what indoor air quality really is. Currently there are two schools of thought - one looks at measuring carbon dioxide levels whereas the other favours the detection of volatile organic compounds. Stuart McSorley, Managing Director of Sontay tells us more.

The pressure is on in the commercial world, with businesses everywhere feeling the squeeze from high energy costs. In any building with air treatment, it’s pointless installing an efficient system if you don’t protect the area’s weak points – its doorways. Every time an access point is opened, all that expensively warmed (or chilled) air can escape. Air curtains offer the ideal solution, explains Phil Chilton, Commercial Products Manager at Dimplex, by creating an invisible barrier of air over open doors and entrances.

No matter what your politics, green or mainstream, whether you believe global warming is fact or fiction, whether the summers seem to be drier and the winters wetter, the fact that the population of the United Kingdom has an ever growing desire for air conditioning cannot be denied!

Over the last few decades, demand for domestic cooling in the UK has been relatively small. The main reason for this is that over the years summer temperatures in the UK have been mild, with the weather not getting hot enough for long enough to warrant homeowners considering air conditioning as an essential component for their home.

With up to 80% of our time being spent indoors, good comfort and a constant supply of clean, conditioned air is essential to ensure a safe and healthy environment in which to live, work and play. Air curtains can greatly contribute to a high level of indoor air quality in our working lives, and, through doing so, increase the energy efficient performance of a building.

At first glance, the new requirements of Part F and Part L are in deep conflict. How can increased ventilation be achieved while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions, and all within the cost constraints of the project? Andy Wilshaw of Nordair/Niche argues that it is possible to achieve all three goals by borrowing energy from another source to offset the additional energy burden demanded by Part F.