New research network on low-energy ventilation announced

A new University of Leeds-led research network, bringing together academics to tackle challenges in building ventilation, has been supported by funding from the UK Fluids Network.

The Low-Energy Ventilation Network (LEVN) is led by Professor Catherine Noakes, academic from the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds, and Imperial College’s Dr Henry Burridge. It brings together academics from multiple disciplines, and aims to bridge the knowledge-gap between optimal strategies for building ventilation and current industry practice.

The LEVN will support the application of fundamental fluids mechanics approaches in research to simultaneously address energy consumption and occupancy experiences relating to thermal comfort and indoor air-quality in buildings.

Funded by the UK Fluids Network as one of 26 newly established Special Interest Groups, the LEVN network will host six national meetings over the next three years. These are designed to identify research challenges, develop funding applications, and disseminate research findings to academia and industry practitioners.

The network also aims to be proactive in supporting a new generation of researchers entering the building ventilation research field. Professor Noakes said:

“We know that ventilation has a major impact on the energy consumption of a building and at the same time affects occupant productivity, health and well-being. However, much of the research in energy, environment and human performance in buildings pays very little attention to the airflows within a building. The LEVN aims to address this by building collaborations between academics and industrial practitioners to secure funding to carry out novel multi-institutional research to address key gaps”.

Further details on the network activities, events and partners are on the LEVN website.