Launched on World Ventil8 Day, 8 November 2024, the paper urges Government to broaden the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) remit to recognise and assess the indoor air quality (IAQ) of homes. The paper outlines a simple example of how the assessment can work to improve IAQ in our homes.
Poor quality housing in the UK costs the NHS approximately £1.4bn annually due to illnesses stemming from substandard living conditions including poor indoor air quality due to inadequate ventilation. Recent analysis2 by Asthma and Lung UK found a staggering 1.7m admissions to hospitals in England last year for respiratory issues with lung diseases responsible for one in eight emergency hospital admissions in England last year. Around 10% of UK residents live in inadequate housing, with issues like dampness, mould, and insufficient heating contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, mental health problems, and increased mortality. BEAMA is calling for urgent action to maximise occupants’ awareness of the issue.
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) currently focus on energy efficiency, neglecting the health impacts of ventilation and air quality. BEAMA proposes integrating IAQ assessments into the EPC framework, especially during property sales or rentals. Nearly half of UK homes have EPC ratings below C, indicating potential energy inefficiencies that may also correlate with poor IAQ. With over 450,000 EPCs lodged in England and Wales In the first quarter of 2023, this presents a significant opportunity to make a simple assessment of a home’s ventilation performance when undergoing an EPC.
As we enter 2025, BEAMA estimates that a £9bn investment would be able to improve up to 2.4m homes suffering from poor health and safety hazards, and that this would be offset by savings through NHS costs within 9 years. It is thought 65,000 homes have Category 1 damp and mould issues, defined by the Decent Homes Standard, meaning the occupants are at the highest risk of related illness and health issues. A smaller investment of £250m could address these homes and save £33m annually in healthcare costs.
“At Vent-Axia we support BEAMA’s position statement on EPCs since we are committed to improving IAQ for the nation. Expanding EPCs to cover indoor air quality assessment is a common-sense approach to what is a national health crisis, with lung diseases responsible for one in eight emergency hospital admissions in England last year. Now is the right time to enforce the principle that a healthy home is a basic human right. With so much policy focus on retrofitting homes to improve their energy efficiency, we should not be ignoring occupant health alongside this,” said Joseph Brawn, Product and Marketing Director at Vent-Axia.
The Building Regulations do address ventilation in homes in Approved Document Part F, Vol 1: ‘There shall be adequate means of ventilation provided for people in a building’. However, BEAMA questions at what point is ventilation assessed to ensure this is achieved without a link to a transactional opportunity. With the UK Government recently announcing plans to invest an initial budget of £3.4m through its Warm Homes Plan, and mandate minimum energy efficiency standards for private rental properties by 2030, BEAMA argues this is a strong catalyst for EPC reform to maximise the policy impact of these initiatives.
In BEAMA’s position paper it explains that expanding the EPC framework to incorporate IAQ assessments and reported outcomes can be achieved by a very simple yet informative checklist accompanied by minimum training and data capture with the Home Energy Model EPC Wrapper. BEAMA recommends a simple IAQ evaluation within the EPC process with mechanical ventilation system checks including: fans working; adequate air flow (in line with Approved Document F of the Building Regulations); trickle ventilators; retrofit compatibility, door undercuts, risk assessment, and filter condition. This assessment would use existing ventilation guidelines (Approved Document F) and be integrated into sale and rental evaluations to help improve IAQ in our homes. For further information on all products and services offered by Vent-Axia telephone +44 (0)344 856 0590 or visit www.vent-axia.com.
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