29th August 2006

"Police deserve cool, clean air" writes the Director of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board (Letters 14/08/06). Of course they do, but air con is largely a design failure. A building can be better designed (or refurbished) to provide optimum indoor conditions for productivity - the National Trusts' new central office in Swindon is a good example (i).

Air-conditioning systems consume increasingly expensive energy and emit greenhouse gases. Constant temperatures aren't actually healthy and air con needs frequent maintenance to avoid unhealthy air.

Our climate looks set to get hotter but it is surely better to design spaces reducing energy use and optimising the temperature: for example radiant cooling (chilled ceilings or heavy mass ceilings that stay cool during the day), natural night ventilation (ie indoor air is completely changed overnight when outdoor air temperatures are lower) and ground source coupling, as used at London’s GLA building, where ground water is used then pumped out into the Thames.

People also benefit enormously from having direct control over their conditions like windows that open. Plus we can reduce unnecessary heat gains by switching off electrical equipment and using blinds.

Current building regulations still don’t require that we plan for future climate changes and are still poor compared to many countries. It is time our government and air con industry took climate change seriously.

Cllr Sarah Lunnon,
Stroud District Green party,

Note:

(i) See more re National Trust new building, Heelis at:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk