SPONSORED ROUNDTABLE | VENTILATION STRATEGIES The starting point should always be to get the ventilation system engineered correctly first; good ventilation systems should help air dilute any contamination in the air Liora Malki-Epshtein, UCL If the controls are providing all this data, and its indicating that its not very good, theres nothing that can be done about it, said Pennell. But the data may allow energy to be saved by cutting back ventilation where its not needed, as long as the control points are responsive enough to allow for this. Donn thought the Mitsubishi Electric cloud-based system would have a real benefit for residential performance where the indoor air quality is important, especially now that more people are working from home. Having feedback from the equipment is really valuable, because that currently doesnt exist in homes, he said, adding that it was especially important because heat pump and ventilation systems had to ensure there is an optimal balance between good ventilation, comfort and energy efficiency. We must make sure they work well. Given that the kit is more sophisticated, it is very important that we get it right. Dr Liora Malki-Epshtein, associate professor of urban fluid mechanics and air quality at University College London (UCL), summarised her area of research and explained that, over the past two years, during the pandemic, she has been carrying out governmentfunded CO2 monitoring. Her team monitored up to 70 live events in 10 venues, including the O2, Wembley Stadium and Ascot racecourse. They found that understanding how users occupied the spaces was key, because people come and go, each live event having its own rhythm. When designing a space, its important to understand the peak times of crowding in a certain area, Malki-Epshtein added. This will influence when the ventilation system comes into play, or when the room should be evacuated and flushed out. These findings were communicated weekly to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). Part of Malki-Epshteins remit is to develop design guidelines and have discussions with CIBSE, and other groups, based on their results. To research overheating and air quality, indoors and outdoors, can be very time-consuming, she said, which is why UCL is building a large experimental space at its Dagenham outpost campus (see panel Testing ventilation scenarios.) The participants agreed that, when the experimental facility is complete, it will be a great asset, enabling engineers and others to test Ventilation is the forgotten art of building services. However, one positive outcome of Covid-19 is that it has raised its profile Ted Pilbeam, Volker Fitzpatrick and fully understand how to get ventilation right. MalkiEpshtein confirmed that it could possibly be used to test air-cleaning technologies. However, even though aircleaning devices are often discussed for use in buildings, particularly offices, they are often seen as a stickingplaster solution, and the participants considered that they would benefit from further research. The starting point should always be to get the Part L hasnt pushed far enough in the right direction Alasdair Donn, Willmott Dixon 40 September 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Sept 22 pp38-40, 42 Mits Electric Roundtable.indd 40 26/08/2022 18:34