BB101 2018 update brings healthier environment for schools
The industry has welcomed the recent update of BB101 (2018) Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools which includes tougher targets for some key areas of building services.
The updated document replaces BB101 2016, and introduces higher standards for indoor air quality (IAQ); summer overheating; and avoidance of draughts. All of these areas are very much in the remit of building services engineers, contractors and installers, so it will affect their work in the schools sector.
Updates include a requirement to control draughts more closely, and application of higher levels of air filtration, particularly in schools affected by pollution. There are also new CO2 limits which cannot be breached for 20 consecutive minutes. Hybrid ventilation systems are also introduced as a possible option. Required ventilation rates differ according to the type of system in use.
As the UK is set to experience hotter summers, BB101 addresses the issue of summer overheating. Full occupancy of the school building is now assumed throughout the summer, including the holiday period. And the rules state that there should be no more than 40 hours between 1st May to 30th September when the temperature is 1oC above the allowable maximum.
For more details on BB101 see our News Analysis
