Indoor air quality post deep energy retrofit in social homes in Ireland (HAVEN)

Improving the energy performance of a building has been shown to improve health outcomes in fuel poor homes (Wang et al., 2022).  However, increasing building air tightness through provision of increased insulation, without due regard to building ventilation, can result in poorer air quality and impaired health for residents, in particular impaired respiratory health (Wimalasena et al., 2021; McGill et al., 2015; Ferguson et al., 2020). The Health Impact Assessment of Energy Renovations on Irish Domestic Dwellings (HAVEN) research project aimed to study the health impact and associated benefits of energy renovation among Irish social housing. This paper summarises the indoor air quality measurements collected in a sample of Irish social housing properties pre and post-energy retrofit. Our research suggests that occupant behaviour such as blocking wall vents and smoking have the potential to negatively impact on indoor air quality. In order to optimise the co-benefits of energy retrofit to IEQ in social housing, renovation needs to include an effective communication strategy, with targeted messaging to tenants on indoor air quality and its relationship with health.