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In any construction project there are many shared challenges for stakeholders to overcome. In this post, we focus on early stage HVAC design, pointing out some common issues and possible solutions...
We all know we need to take care of the indoor climate when we design new buildings or refurbish old buildings. In every project, the requirements will be different; air quality, energy efficiency, capital cost, flexibility, operating costs, comfort and so on! In any case, the architecture and technical equipment must work together for an optimal result...
What are the common ventilation risks with poor initial HVAC design?
- Bad or poor ventilation.
- Wasted rentable space with poor installation or non-flexible system choices.
- There is a risk for high running costs, either through low energy efficiency or the inability to maintain the system easily.
- There is also a risk of health problems shown in numerous scientific studies.
- We start to realise that bad indoor climate interferes to productivity in schools, offices and other public spaces.
What should be the goal?
- A HVAC design that helps architects to fulfil functional and design requirements, whilst optimising the health and wellbeing benefits of good quality air for occupants.
- An installation that provides flexibility for the owner to adapt the use over time.
- Products and systems that optimises the use of floorspace in order to maximise usable m2.
- A systems that is easy to use and maintain with low running costs and excellent energy performance.
How do we do make smart decisions for good initial designs?
Together! A good HVAC project meeting will discuss different solutions, early on in the project, to support good and smart choices. For example, make a lifecycle cost comparison for constant air volume (CAV), variable air volume (VAV) and demand-controlled air volume systems (DCV) or perhaps consider whether airbourne or waterbourne climate should be used for specific spaces. Getting this information discussed early will set a good base for the rest of the system specification.
The solution.
The solution starts with high quality communication, setting out the priorities for the HVAC system and early collaboration! When we start to integrate different suplliers and designers into the building project and dare to listen to each other’s competences, that is when buildings deliver the ideal indoor climate for all parties...
If you are interested in more information on the early stage design perspective of HVAC installations, you can download the presentations from Swegon Air Academy that reflects on architecture, building design and HVAC systems.
