review

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting a study on the indoor air quality (IAQ) impacts and engineering solutions related to the transport of pollutants from attached garages to residential living spaces. Natural or fan-induced pressure differences across air leakage paths in house-garage (HG) interfaces can result in the transport of the contaminants generated in garages into adjacent living spaces.

The epidemiological research on indoor environments in homes and health has been reviewed.Science has mainly been about health effects like asthma/allergies and exposures such as VOCs,mould and dampness. So far there are few conclusive findings. Dampness, pets, mites, dampness,ETS, a low ventilation rate, and some phthalates are risk factors for asthma and allergies. There is alarge need of studies of other health effects, and other exposures, especially regarding new frequentlyused chemicals.

This paper presents the advantages and drawbacks of natural ventilation. . The author points out that a natural ventilation would be satisfying, mainly for buildings in mild climates, in taking account the type and quantity of sources in the occupied spaces.

This paper sums up the evolution of the AIVC technical programme over the past 25 years with its main subjects of interest and its main productions (guides, handbooks, technical notes, database, literature reviews).The communication between research communities and AIVC is also evoked along with its future developments.

From AIC to AIVC changes have occured with increased awareness of the role of ventilation. AIVC will have to continuously evaluate changes in society and technology in order to stay attractive and useful for its target groups. This paper comments the scope of the annex 5, the type of activities, the global environment in which annex 5 is working, and the dissemination approach for the diffusion of information on AIVC website.

Ventilation has two functions : a universal role to assure air renovation and bring fresh air into spaces and the role of energy carrier for heating or cooling. In so far as air is always needed, it was used for both functions. But some dysfunctions occured whenever the energy for comfort overwehelms the ventilation for all, all the time.
Though progress in ventilation knowledge has been extraordinary during the last century, there is a growing concern about it. A revision of the concept of comfort must be done along with a better understanding of what it allows in practice.

This paper is a review of almost two decades work on pollution sources in ventilation systems. There is a special emphasis on ventilation filters with reference to the work of other researchers. A view into future research and developement with engineering solutions is also presented.

This paper emphasizes on the role of hydroxyl radicals in indoor processes, on chemical reactions occurring on indoor surfaces, and the impact of products of indoor chemistry on building occupants. The products of indoor chemistry can impact comfort and health, but the importance of those effects and the frequency of their occurrence remains to be elucidated.

A literature review finds that observational studies have found a correlation between exposure to VOCs and asthma, whereas interventional studies did not manage to show it. This paper studies two hypothesis to explain that discrepancy in findings.

Major ventilation developments covering systems, measurements and design methods have taken place over the last 25 years. Our understanding about the impact of ventilation on the indoor environment and energy use has also evolved. This paper outlines these developments. Many future challenges are considered including minimum ventilation rates, energy efficient cooling, cost effective heat recovery and the development of calculation techniques.