Air Quality Matters – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

The gap between what we know and what we build has never been more troubling. While we have centuries of construction knowledge at our fingertips, today's housing often fails at the most fundamental levels of health, comfort, and efficiency.

Sarah Daly, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Sustainable Communities at Agile Homes, brings a refreshing perspective to this challenge. With her extensive background spanning sustainability, communications, and strategic leadership, Sarah cuts through the noise to address why our approach to sustainable housing needs radical reinvention.

"Words like sustainability and eco have been hijacked and weaponized," Sarah explains, pointing to how terminology has become a barrier rather than a bridge to understanding. The conversation explores how we've reached a critical juncture where the housing crisis pushes quantity over quality, creating homes that actively harm occupants through poor indoor air quality and substandard construction.

The discussion delves into the alarming reality that most new housing fails to meet even basic performance standards, with up to 80% of buildings showing significant non-compliance. Sarah reveals how developers "game the system," knowing they can often evade responsibility once properties change hands. "You've got more consumer rights buying a cheese sandwich in a supermarket than spending hundreds of thousands on a house," she notes pointedly.

What makes this conversation truly powerful is Sarah's pragmatic vision for change. Now working at "the pointy end of the spear" with Agile Homes, she demonstrates how building to Passive House standards should simply be the baseline, not an aspirational goal. Through community-based transformation projects, needs-led design, and a focus on long-term value rather than short-term costs, Sarah illustrates a pathway forward that prioritises human outcomes alongside environmental goals.

Sarah Daly - LinkedIn

Agile Property

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#10.2 - Paweł Wargocki: Mastering Air Quality and Ventilation for Health, Productivity, and Sustainable Building Design

Episode 10

lundi 15 janvier 2024 • Duration 50:31

Part 2 - Pawel Wargocki - was recently promoted to Professor at DTU, Technical University of Denmark.

He’s the Past President of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.

Previously, served as Chair of ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee and the Position Document Committee, Secretary of Academy of Indoor Air Sciences, and currently serving as a Director of the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy.

Hel is an indoor climate scientist and expert, he teaches at undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. level courses, and supervises several Ph.D. and numerous M. Sc. students.

His research has influenced the development of indoor air sciences, and it is hard to overstate the impact he has had in this sector.

He continues to be involved in fascinating research on the impact of air quality on performance in the workplace, health and performance in schools, and the impact of air quality on sleep. He is behind a fascinating standard for assessing IEQ called tail and the list, honestly goes on.

Pawel is one of my favourite people to talk to in this space, he is respected, experienced and sometimes outspoken. But always great value to spend around.

We talked about so much in the episode, including his work on tail, how we are doing a characterisng air quality in general, some of his work on sleep and quite a bit more beside.

Pawel Wargocki - DTU
Linkedin - Pawel Wargocki
TAIL - Indoor Environmental Quality

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#10.1 - Pawel Wargocki: Defining the Science of Indoor Climates and the Evolution of Air Quality Technology

Episode 10

lundi 15 janvier 2024 • Duration 01:00:16

Pawel Wargocki - was recently promoted to Professor at DTU, Technical University of Denmark.

He’s the Past President of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate.

Previously, served as Chair of ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee and the Position Document Committee, Secretary of Academy of Indoor Air Sciences, and currently serving as a Director of the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy.

Hel is an indoor climate scientist and expert, he teaches at undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. level courses, and supervises several Ph.D. and numerous M. Sc. students.

His research has influenced the development of indoor air sciences, and it is hard to overstate the impact he has had in this sector.

He continues to be involved in fascinating research on the impact of air quality on performance in the workplace, health and performance in schools, and the impact of air quality on sleep. He is behind a fascinating standard for assessing IEQ called tail and the list, honestly goes on.

Pawel is one of my favourite people to talk to in this space, he is respected, experienced and sometimes outspoken. But always great value to spend around.

We talked about so much in the episode, including his work on tail, how we are doing a characterisng air quality in general, some of his work on sleep and quite a bit more beside.

Pawel Wargocki - DTU
Linkedin - Pawel Wargocki
TAIL - Indoor Environmental Quality

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#9.1 - Ian Mawditt: Indoor Air Quality and the Fight for Better Ventilation Standards in Future Homes!

Episode 9

lundi 8 janvier 2024 • Duration 01:01:19

Part 1 - Ian Mawditt

With the consultation out now for the Future Homes Standard and some revisions to guidance on Part F (ventilation) in the UK, what better time to talk to the person behind many of the changes we have seen in guidance over the last few years?

Ian is an independent Building Performance Researcher, specialising in the testing
and monitoring of buildings to evaluate the energy performance, indoor
environmental quality, and comfort.

He is routinely involved in field-based building performance research programmes. The outcomes of his research projects often help inform building standards.

Ian has been a long-standing partner of the AECOM-led technical team appointed to
support the UK Government (now the Building Safety Regulator, part of HSE) and,
separately, the Welsh Government, in developing revisions to Parts F and L of the
Building Regulations for England and Wales, respectively.

Since 2008, Ian has provided a leading technical role in the revisions to Approved Document F and the building fabric specifications for Approved Document L, including airtightness standards. More recently, Ian has developed formal guidance for the Future Homes Standard, intended to reduce the performance gap and to improve ventilation standards during the retrofitting of existing homes.

We speak about standards, their role in addressing the performance gap and improving outcomes, what he sees in his research and much more.

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#9.2 - Ian Mawditt: The Future Homes Standard, guidance and creating accountability to close the performance gap

Episode 9

lundi 8 janvier 2024 • Duration 01:02:30

Part 2 - Ian Mawditt

With the consultation out now for the Future Homes Standard and some revisions to guidance on Part F (ventilation) in the UK, what better time to talk to the person behind many of the changes we have seen in guidance over the last few years?

Ian is an independent Building Performance Researcher, specialising in the testing
and monitoring of buildings to evaluate the energy performance, indoor
environmental quality, and comfort.

He is routinely involved in field-based building performance research programmes. The outcomes of his research projects often help inform building standards.

Ian has been a long-standing partner of the AECOM-led technical team appointed to
support the UK Government (now the Building Safety Regulator, part of HSE) and,
separately, the Welsh Government, in developing revisions to Parts F and L of the
Building Regulations for England and Wales, respectively.

Since 2008, Ian has provided a leading technical role in the revisions to Approved Document F and the building fabric specifications for Approved Document L, including airtightness standards. More recently, Ian has developed formal guidance for the Future Homes Standard, intended to reduce the performance gap and to improve ventilation standards during the retrofitting of existing homes.

We speak about standards, their role in addressing the performance gap and improving outcomes, what he sees in his research and much more.

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#8.2 - Jelle Laverge: Exploring the Intersection of Law, Construction, and Indoor Air Quality, the Annexe 86 Program and the Revolution of Smart Materials

Episode 8

lundi 18 décembre 2023 • Duration 55:53

Part 2
Jelle Laverge - is an associate professor of the building physics research group of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Ghent University with a research focus on residential ventilation and teaches amongst other things construction law.

An operating agent of IEA-EBC Annex 86 a multi-national project looking at Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management in Residential Buildings,

He is a practicing attorney-at-law a member of ISIAQ, and ASHRAE.

Jelle holds an MSc in architectural engineering (2007), an ML in fiscal law (2011) and a PhD in engineering (2013) from Ghent University.

A part-time building physics lecturer also in Gent and a visiting scholar at the University of Texas.

Jelle has been focused on ventilation and air quality for a long time and brings a wealth of experience to the dialogue. Pretty much turn a page on a paper on ventilation and Jelle will be cited somewhere.

It was great to get his take on where Belgium has come from and is going with ventilation, a country that is often pushing ahead and showing the way.

The gaps that exist in performance and why. We talked about ventilation and sector through the lens of law, standards his work leading Annexe 86 a very important piece of work and much more.

Jelle Laverge - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlaverge/

Jelle Laverge - https://www.ugent.be/ea/architectuur/en/research/researchers/jelle-laverge

Annex 86 - https://annex86.iea-ebc.org/

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#8.1 Jelle Laverge: Navigating the Challenges and Innovations of Belgium's Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation Systems

Episode 8

lundi 18 décembre 2023 • Duration 56:29

Part 1
Jelle Laverge - is an associate professor of the building physics research group of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Ghent University with a research focus on residential ventilation and teaches amongst other things construction law.

An operating agent of IEA-EBC Annex 86 a multi-national project looking at Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management in Residential Buildings,

He is a practicing attorney-at-law a member of ISIAQ, and ASHRAE.

Jelle holds an MSc in architectural engineering (2007), an ML in fiscal law (2011) and a PhD in engineering (2013) from Ghent University.

A part-time building physics lecturer also in Gent and a visiting scholar at the University of Texas.

Jelle has been focused on ventilation and air quality for a long time and brings a wealth of experience to the dialogue. Pretty much turn a page on a paper on ventilation and Jelle will be cited somewhere.

It was great to get his take on where Belgium has come from and is going with ventilation, a country that is often pushing ahead and showing the way.

The gaps that exist in performance and why. We talked about ventilation and sector through the lens of law, standards his work leading Annexe 86 a very important piece of work and much more.

Jelle Laverge - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlaverge/

Jelle Laverge - https://www.ugent.be/ea/architectuur/en/research/researchers/jelle-laverge

Annex 86 - https://annex86.iea-ebc.org/

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

All great companies that share the podcast's passion for better air quality in the built environment. Supporting them helps support the show.

#7.1 - Henry Burridge: Evaluating the Impact of School Ventilation on Learning and Health

Episode 7

dimanche 10 décembre 2023 • Duration 48:36

Part 1
Henry Burridge - Is a Senior Lecturer in the Fluid Mechanics section in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London.

Henry has a background in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London.

Following his PhD, Henry has worked as a Post Doctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge, initially in the Engineering Department and then in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

Henry's research focuses on fluid mechanics for the built environment. And includes the practical application of this understanding to the human- and climate change-focused ventilation of buildings, amongst much more.

He is a Co-Investigator for the Tackling Air Pollution At Schools (TAPAS) network and the Future Urban Ventilation Network (FUVN): The Breathing City

Henry primarily applies his expertise to indoor air quality and ventilation, presenting evidence to the Common Select Committee for Health and Social Care and contributing to the Technical Advisory Panel on Ventilation for the Government's Cabinet Office, and being an author for the 'Indoor Air Quality and Health' chapter within the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2022: air pollution.

A focus area for him is schools, and Henry currently leads the initiative towards School Air Quality Monitoring for Health and Education via the SAMHE project, seeking to establish large-scale monitoring in UK schools and engage pupils with their school environment.

He is a Co-Investigator on CO-TRACE, investigating COVID-19 transmission in schools. And joint Principal-Investigator of the Department for Education's pilot project investigating the 'Changes In the Ventilation Of Schools when monitoring CO2.

Needless to say much of our discussion in the podcast was about schools, the challenges that particular sector faces, the impact of air quality on children and teachers and how projects like SAMHE are engaging kids in the science of air quality. We discussed much more of course including the value of observatories for indoor air quality.

Henry Burridge - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/h.burridge
SAMHE - https://samhe.org.uk/
FUVN -

Eurovent Farmwood Aereco Aico Ultra Protect Zehnder Group

Check out the Air Quality Matters website for more information, updates and more. And the YouTube Channel

The Air Quality Matters Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.

The One Take Podcast is brought to you in partnership with.