NATVENT - European project on overcoming technical barriers to low energy natural ventilation.

This paper describes the objectives and research methodology of a 30-month research project carried out under the European JOULE programme with the involvement of seven countries with cold or temperate climate. The project aims to contribute to reducing energy consumption and consequent C02 emission in buildings by overcoming barriers preventing the wider uptake of technologies for natural ventilation (NV) and low-energy cooling and encouraging and accelerating environmentally-friendly natural ventilation and 'smart' controls as a main design option. The paper provides an overview of the work programme and the methodology adopted for the various research steps and describes the approach of the technical tasks. It also identifies the dissemination routes and the anticipated benefits to the construction industry and the environment.