It’s only now that the direct benefits of Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) is being fully realised and measured.
Benefits range from faster recovery times for patients in hospitals and increased office productivity contributing to the financial bottom line.
Studies have shown that for offices, a one per cent improvement in productivity would be equivalent to the whole energy cost of a building or, nationally, $2 billion annually (Property Council Australia, 2009).
This is a benefit to building owners as a happy and productive tenant is more likely to stay. While IEQ is an important part of a building’s overall sustainability, the three core indicators of IEQ are temperature, lighting and acoustics.
One way to measure IEQ is via NABERS, a national rating system that measures the environmental performance of Australian buildings.
NABERS measures the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and IEQ of a building and its impact on the environment.
The NABERS Indoor Environment rating tools were developed with health professionals, property industry and indoor environment experts.
The tools enable tenants or building managers to benchmark their building’s indoor environment against the national market. The base building rating tool is for building or facility managers.
A base building rating assesses:
Thermal comfort including temperature, humidity and air speed.
Indoor air quality including ventilation effectiveness and the levels of indoor air pollutants.
Acoustic comfort including the building's ability to insulate occupants from external noise.
Facilities managers have the most control over how a building performs and their approach will make the biggest difference to the level of outside air within a building, whether it feels fresh or whether occupants are falling asleep during the day.
While cleaning out air handling units and replacing filters will help to keep down mould and reduce illness, the occupants will not thank you if they don’t feel comfortable or if they feel their complaints are being ignored.
As part of this role, the facility manager maintains your HVAC installation.
To find out what their expectations are when it comes to HVAC, the Facilities Management Association of Australia (FMA) is participating in this year’s CCN Live conference.
CCN Live 2014 is a full day event and is being held on August 13, 2014 at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
To register, go to www.climatecontrolnews.com.au/ccn-live.