ACR Journal

June | July 2021 AIR TREATMENT 34 Volume 7 No.4 There is a lot of speculation about the future of the ‘o ce’ as the main place of work in the future. In general, there’s a feeling that quite a lot of people want to be able to get back to face-to-face meetings, but with the option to continue working from home for some of the week. While internet connectivity and video conferencing software support that option for many workers, there are aspects of the o ce that are more di cult to replicate at home. Some of these impact health and wellbeing, two significant factors for any home worker and their employer to consider. One of the benefits of an o ce working environment is that it can be planned, designed and operated to provide a safe and comfortable space for occupants. In the past, the notion of ‘health’ in buildings focused on physical safety issues, such as fire regulations. Over time, we have seen a new interest in energy e ciency and carbon reduction. More recently, however, there is growing interest from clients, designers and operators in buildings as spaces that support human comfort, productivity and wellbeing. In May 2020, the Chartered Institute for Building Services Engineering (CIBSE) published Wellbeing from home Andrew Faulkner, product manager at Samsung Climate Solutions, considers the implications for health and wellbeing as more employees spend at least some of their week working from home. TM40: 2020 Health and wellbeing in building services. This points to the growing awareness of and evidence for links between buildings and occupant health. From a building services point of view, this means the provision of ventilation, cooling and heating. As we are increasingly aware, the air we breathe impacts significantly on our health. O ce ventilation systems are designed to support good indoor air quality (IAQ) and to protect occupants from outdoor pollutants – and those created indoors too. The home office environment But what about the home o ce environment? Can we provide a similar standard of climate control and indoor air quality at home as we do in an o ce space? IAQ is an important issue because if people are spending more time working from home, they are less likely to be in a space with ventilation designed for health and comfort. If we’re honest, the average ‘home o ce’ is likely to be a spare bedroom or the dining room table. The new home o ce may well be a converted garage or even a specially- constructed o ce ‘pod’. Garden o ce construction companies have found themselves very busy in the past year, and research from the Home Builders Federation1 shows that almost half of people would prioritise some kind of home o ce space when looking for a new property. But these outside constructions are not necessarily built with ventilation and cooling in mind. And while we like to think of our homes as comfortable and clean, they are often a source of pollutants that have a negative impact on our health. Indoor pollutants can be created by cleaning products, moisture in the air (from bathrooms or kitchens), or cooking activities. WindFree wall mount with PM1.0 air filtration Andrew Faulkner, product manager at Samsung Climate Solutions