Page 48 - Climate Control News magazine July-August 2022

Preview
LEFT: The project involved testing a number of air conditioning and ventilation retrofit options in a commercial building.
BELOW: Dr Dominique Hes.
Building retrofits to improve health outcomes
FIND OUT HOW to improve health and energy outcomes through various retrofit options in- cluding column-based displacement and in-ceil- ing filtration at ARBS.
The BREATH (Building Retrofit for Efficiency, Air quality, Thermal comfort and Health) project is a research pilot led by the City of Melbourne in partnership with Cbus Property, the University of Melbourne, AG Coombs, SEED engineering, AURECON and Westaflex.
It is a rapid retrofit project that tests various air conditioning and ventilation retrofit options with the express purpose of reducing airborne particulates and infection transfer, while taking into account the energy and cost consequences.
The initial pilot covered ASHRAE recommen- dations, conventional mixed air conditioning, ceiling-mounted HEPA filters and displacement ventilation.
“THE FOCUS WAS ON REDUCING AIRBORNE PARTICLES AND INFECTION TRANSFER.”
Personal air was also showcased but not inte- grated into the overall research – as its air change and energy aspects were the same as the existing HVAC system.
Three speakers will deliver presentations in this session, including Jason Monty, professor of fluid mechanics, head of mechanical engi- neering at the University of Melbourne.
Professor Monty is an expert in experimental fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics and is ex- perienced with field measurements of atmos- pheric turbulence.
Most recently his work has been extended to ventilation of indoor spaces. He has designed,
NCC 2025
The seminar program also features a session on working towards the National Construction Code 2025.
DeltaQ principal consultant, Grace Foo, will look at future building codes, following the NCC 2025 update for low-energy commercial buildings trajectory.
Foo has been a contributor to government policy work such as
the NCC 2025
low-energy commercial
buildings trajectory, 2019 National Construction Code Section J revision and expansion of the NABERS program to other sectors.
DeltaQ consultant, Grace Foo.
built and commercialised a novel personal venti- lation system for hospital patients.
He will be joined by Andrew Nagarajah, senior engineer, sustainability at AG Coombs Advisory Pty Ltd and Dr Dominique Hes, zero carbon buildings lead at the City of Melbourne.
Nagarajah is a mechanical engineer with over a decade of experience in building services and sustainability consulting.
His role within A.G. Coombs Advisory is fo- cused on the areas of net zero emissions strategy development for built assets; building electrifica- tion to facilitate 100% renewables-powered building services.
With degrees in botany, engineering, architec- ture and a Certificate in Governance, Hes brings an interdisciplinary approach to all her work.
In this project she examined ways to provide healthier indoor air while reducing energy use.
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