Air Quality Matters

Simon Jones

Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

  1. From Presidency to Practice: Bill McQuade on Putting People at the Center of Buildings - #122

    1 day ago

    From Presidency to Practice: Bill McQuade on Putting People at the Center of Buildings - #122

    This week, we sit down with Bill McQuade, outgoing President of ASHRAE, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about progress in the built environment: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming buildings isn't our lack of technical knowledge—but our failure to put human health and wellbeing at the centre of every design, maintenance, and policy decision we make? So a reflective conversation in many respects. A look at the year gone, but also a forward looking one full of optimism with a good dose of reality. He's put some big ideas forward this year. So a great opportunity to chat about these and what's next. Key Topics Discussed: Designing for Life: The IEQ Mandate: Post pandemic, manufacturers had already developed air cleaning and IEQ products, but there was no demand for them. We reverted back to bad behaviors almost immediately. Bill wanted to codify those lessons learned and make sure indoor environmental quality doesn't get buried again in economic calculations. We build buildings for people, not for pretty plaques on the wall. We've done a great job on energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions. But we haven't focused on making buildings excellent from an indoor environmental quality standpoint. That's about the people in the building, not the building itself. The Five Pillars of IEQ: Air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, lighting, and water quality. Water quality doesn't get enough attention. We assume the water coming into our buildings is safe and clean. It's not. The incidence of waterborne disease has continued to increase almost exponentially. Aging infrastructure, changes from chlorine to chloramines, and reduced water use in buildings without downsizing piping means water stays in pipes longer. Water age has been shown to be tied to increased incidence of waterborne disease because water spends more time in contact with biofilms. Without performance testing, these issues would never be found. The Center of Excellence for Indoor Environmental Quality: One of the first projects is developing a comprehensive IEQ standard that could be referenced in code or regulation. Existing Buildings Are the Real Challenge: New buildings are easy. We have the tools and approaches. Existing buildings are the challenge. There are very basic things we can do from an operational and maintenance standpoint that can make a big difference without infrastructure upgrades. But there's a real lack of knowledge by building operators and maintainers. Performance, Validation, and Accountability: AI is going to take building controls to a whole new level where buildings can adapt to changes in occupancy, notice when it's off its baseline, and alert you. Fault detection has been talked about for years, but AI will identify failures before they become faults. Low cost sensors for CO2, VOCs, water quality, acoustics, and lighting paired with AI will give accountability. If you're made aware things aren't right and you don't do anything, that's on you. GUEST: Bill McQuade Outgoing President, ASHRAE | Global Vice President of Government Affairs and Sustainability, Baltimore Air Coil Company https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-mcquade-a54b749/ ASHRAE https://www.ashrae.org/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/) Zehnder https://www.zehndergroup.com/en Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meeting ASHRAE's Outgoing President Bill McQuade 00:02:19 Data Centers: The Energy and Infrastructure Challenge 00:13:23 Designing for Life: The Indoor Environmental Quality Mission 00:16:43 The Five Pillars: Air Quality, Thermal Comfort, Acoustics, Lighting, and Water 00:24:40 The Center of Excellence for Indoor Environmental Quality 00:27:19 The Scale of Complexity: From Science to Practical Implementation 00:36:08 Beyond Capital Investment: Health Outcomes and Societal Costs 00:40:40 Measuring Success: Feedback Loops and Performance Validation 01:02:14 Global Perspectives: Lessons from Traveling the World 01:23:22 The Future: AI, Innovation, and the Workforce Challenge

    1hr 32min
  2. Desk Fans vs. Giant Chillers: Rethinking HVAC Through PECs - #OT49

    5 days ago

    Desk Fans vs. Giant Chillers: Rethinking HVAC Through PECs - #OT49

    This week, we dive into a groundbreaking paper published in the Journal of Energy and Buildings titled A Methodology for Evaluating the Effects of Personalized Environmental Control Systems (PECs) on Building Whole Life Carbon CO2 Emissions, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about building design and decarbonisation: What if the single biggest opportunity to slash carbon emissions in buildings isn't just improving central HVAC systems—but radically downsizing them by giving occupants personalised control over their immediate thermal environment? For decades, we've conditioned entire office volumes to a uniform temperature, chasing an average comfort level that doesn't actually exist for individuals. Half the room wears sweaters while the other half sweats. It's energy intensive, carbon intensive, and ironically, nobody is truly comfortable. Personalized Environmental Control Systems (PEX)—think heated chairs, desk fans, local diffusers—flip this model. By controlling the microenvironment around each occupant, we can relax ambient set points, reduce operational energy, and potentially downsize massive central equipment. But here's the blind spot this paper addresses for the first time: what about whole life carbon? Key Topics Discussed: The Power Draw Problem: PEX devices with moderate corrective capacity (offsetting set points by 2 to 4 degrees) and low maximum power use (70 watts or less) achieve the best environmental balance. High capacity PEX drawing 80 to 100 watts start dumping heat back into the space, creating internal heat gain that puts load back onto the central cooling system, wiping out energy savings. If you oversize the personal devices, you lose. The Silent Killer: Standby Power: Most PEX studies completely ignore standby power. But in the real world, devices sit plugged in, drawing a trickle of power even when nobody is at the desk. The authors modelled a modest 5 watt standby draw per unit. For low capacity PEX like simple desk fans, that 5 watt standby completely wiped out operational energy savings. Why? Because the central system is already efficient enough to handle mild conditions, meaning the PEX spends massive hours on standby, leaking energy during idle time. Product developers must design ultra low power systems with zero standby draw. The Courage to Downsize: The massive carbon savings are locked in on day one when designers physically downsize the central HVAC infrastructure. Smaller air handling units, smaller chillers, smaller duct diameters, reduced suspended ceiling heights, lower floor to floor heights. These embodied carbon savings are permanent and non negotiable. Standby power cannot erase them. But if you install PEX and still install a massive full size central VAV system just in case, you're missing the point and leaving massive carbon savings on the table. A methodology for evaluating the effects of personalized environmental control systems (PECS) on building whole-life CO2 emissions https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117565 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/) and Zehnder Group https://www.zehndergroup.com/en Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and Personalized Environmental Control 00:01:11 The Dumb HVAC Problem: Why We Condition Entire Rooms for Nobody 00:01:39 The PEX Solution: Localized Control and Relaxed Ambient Temperatures 00:02:24 The Blind Spot: What About Whole Life Carbon? 00:03:08 The Methodology: Copenhagen Office Building Simulation and LCA 00:03:56 Retrofit Scenario Results: 50% Energy Reduction Without Physical Changes 00:04:39 Design Scenario Magic: Downsizing Central Systems for Massive Carbon Savings 00:05:53 The Catch: Maximum Power Draw and the Standby Power Silent Killer 00:07:45 The Embodied Carbon Lock-In: Why Design Scenarios Still Win 00:08:30 The So What: Whole Life Thinking and the Future of Human-Centric Buildings

    10 min
  3. Politicians, Pandemics and PM2.5: Turning Air Quality Science Into Policy - Lydia Morawska

    29 Jun

    Politicians, Pandemics and PM2.5: Turning Air Quality Science Into Policy - Lydia Morawska

    This week, we sit down with Professor Lidia Morawska, one of the world's leading voices in air quality science and airborne infection transmission, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about progress in indoor air quality: What if the single biggest barrier to transforming the built environment isn't our lack of scientific knowledge—but our inability to convert public health crises into sustained political action before society forgets the urgency? Key Topics Discussed: The Open Letter That Changed Everything: On the last Saturday of March 2020, the WHO Director General tweeted that COVID-19 was not airborne. Within three days, Lidia organized 36 leading scientists to write to the WHO. Within an hour of sending the letter, Geneva called. The conversation was defensive, not collaborative. It took three months of strategic media engagement and publication in a top journal before the WHO acknowledged airborne transmission the next day. The P-Block Blueprint: Lidia's team is transforming an existing building at Queensland University of Technology into the first building in the world to meet proposed indoor air quality standards. The project monitors PM2.5, carbon monoxide (in combustion spaces), and CO2 as a proxy for infection transmission and ventilation effectiveness. An AI optimisation platform will automatically instruct building management systems to balance indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency without human intervention. GUEST: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lidia-morawska-5461519/ https://www.indoorair2026.org/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meeting Lydia Mirowska and the Prime Minister's Prize for Science 00:02:24 The Shifting Audience: From Ignored Experts to Listened-To Advocates 00:04:38 Historical Patterns: When Events Force Air Quality Into Public Consciousness 00:07:53 The Visibility Problem: Why Indoor Air Quality Remains Abstract and Invisible 00:08:38 Leveraging Crisis Moments: The Strategy of Incremental Regulatory Progress 00:10:10 Beyond Pandemics: The Everyday Burden of Respiratory Infections and Air Pollution 00:11:34 Country by Country: Understanding Different Regulatory Systems and Pathways 00:13:38 Working With Politicians: Solutions Not Just Problems 00:19:03 The Scale of Change: Learning From Water Infrastructure History 00:21:09 The Cost of Inaction: Why Not Fixing Air Quality Is More Expensive 00:22:22 The Low-Cost Sensor Revolution: Making Air Quality Visible for Everyone 00:26:58 The Advocacy Balance: When Passion Meets Complexity 00:29:27 The Simplicity Paradox: Complex Science But Straightforward Building Solutions 00:32:33 From Individual Responsibility to Building Standards: The Water Analogy 00:34:03 Agency and Automation: Balancing Control With Proper Building Performance 00:36:33 Education Gap: Why Air Quality Isn't in School Curriculum or Medical Textbooks 00:37:41 Air Quality as the Perfect Teaching Subject: Engaging Every Student 00:39:25 The Medical Community Gap: When Doctors Never Ask About Home Environment 00:43:54 The Open Letter to WHO: How 36 Scientists Changed Global Pandemic Response 00:51:44 The Airborne Battle: Science Versus Institutional Resistance at WHO 00:53:49 Understanding WHO's Position: Medical Terminology and Institutional Fear 01:00:23 The MPOX Response: Why We're Still Hesitant on Airborne Transmission 01:06:23 P-Block Project: Building the World's First Indoor Air Quality Standard Building 01:09:04 The Three-Pollutant Standard: PM2.5, Carbon Monoxide, and CO2 as Proxy 01:12:07 The Sensor Readiness Question: Why These Pollutants and Not Others 01:12:48 The PM2.5 Debate: Composition Complexity Versus Epidemiological Consistency 01:20:53 The VOC Conundrum: Source Control Over Measurement 01:23:16 The Radon Scandal: When Science Is Resolved But Nothing Changes 01:29:16 The Ireland Radon Crisis: One in Five Homes Above Threshold in Red Zones 01:34:28 Closing Vision: From Advocacy to Implementation in Five Years

    1hr 37min
  4. The Celtic Tiger's Toxic Legacy: How Rapid Construction Baked Dampness Into Irish Homes - #OT48

    18 Jun

    The Celtic Tiger's Toxic Legacy: How Rapid Construction Baked Dampness Into Irish Homes - #OT48

    This week, we dive into a groundbreaking study from Dublin City University published in the Journal of Housing Studies titled Transforming Social Housing: Moving Beyond Tenant Blame to Address Systemic Indoor Environmental Quality Challenges for Healthy Homes in Ireland, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about mould and dampness in social housing: What if the single biggest barrier to fixing persistent moisture problems in social housing isn't tenant behaviour—but a broken system that uses lifestyle blame to mask decades of infrastructure failure, reactive maintenance, and profound environmental injustice? For decades, when a tenant reports mould, the default response from landlords and housing bodies has been to point the finger squarely at the tenant's lifestyle. Clean it down, stop drying your washing on the radiators, put lids on your pots when cooking, and open the windows more. The implication is always that the tenant is causing the problem. This blame centric narrative was blown wide open in the UK following the tragic death of two year old Awaab Ishak in 2020, whose death was directly linked to severe mould in his family's social housing flat. But as the authors of this paper point out, a similar shift in understanding hasn't taken root everywhere, including in Ireland. Key Topics Discussed: The Infrastructure Issue: Many moisture problems are baked right into the physical infrastructure due to a legacy of outdated building regulations and past policy failures. Social homes built in the 1950s were designed with built in open fireplaces which helped ventilate the rooms. But to comply with modern European energy efficiency directives, new regulations required these fireplaces be sealed up. When you seal up the primary ventilation route and then introduce modern moisture generating appliances like dishwashers, you create a trap for dampness. Homes built during the Celtic Tiger boom led to rapid construction at the expense of quality, resulting in widespread cold bridging and thermal weak spots. The Maintenance Issue: If buildings are flawed, the maintenance regimes designed to fix them are often just as broken. A lot of maintenance in the social housing sector operates on a responsive repairs model. You basically wait until a tenant reports a problem, and by that point, the issue has likely deteriorated significantly. One resident shared a heartbreaking story of developing chronic respiratory infections from persistent mould, despite keeping their windows open all day in the freezing cold. The landlords knew about a structural fault in the building's basement, yet the repairs remained entirely superficial. The Lifestyle Myth and the Breakdown of Trust: Yes, human behaviour impacts indoor air quality. Drying clothes on radiators or blocking vents will absolutely trigger mould growth. But why are tenants doing this? These practices are entirely understandable when you live in a cold, rainy climate and you're struggling to heat your home. It's a symptom of fuel poverty and poor building design, not malicious intent. The real issue is a profound breakdown in communication and trust between tenants and landlords. When you sever that personal connection, the system becomes rigid and landlords default to blame centric communications. Transforming social housing: moving beyond tenant blame to address systemic indoor environmental quality (IEQ) challenges for healthy homes in Ireland https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2026.2653612 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and the Systemic Housing Crisis 00:01:01 The Tenant Blame Narrative: Why Lifestyle Excuses Mask Real Problems 00:02:31 The Research Approach: 28 Stakeholder Voices on Environmental Justice 00:03:19 Theme One: The Infrastructure Crisis—When Buildings Are Built to Fail 00:04:41 Flying Blind: The Data Gap in Irish Housing Quality 00:05:01 Theme Two: The Maintenance Failure—Reactive Systems and Fragmented Policies 00:06:28 Theme Three: The Lifestyle Myth and the Breakdown of Trust 00:07:48 The Knowledge Gap: When New Technology Meets No Training 00:08:39 The Paradigm Shift: From Blame to Partnership in Social Housing 00:09:20 Closing Thoughts: Environmental Justice and the Path to Healthy Homes

    11 min
  5. Catch Me If You Can: Why We're Always One Step Behind the Next Pathogen - #OT47

    11 Jun

    Catch Me If You Can: Why We're Always One Step Behind the Next Pathogen - #OT47

    This week, we dive into a thought-provoking commentary published in the Journal of Health Security titled Catch Me If You Can: Reducing Infectious Disease Through Better Indoor Air Quality and Bio Surveillance, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about protecting public health: What if the single biggest barrier to preventing the next pandemic isn't our lack of scientific knowledge about airborne pathogens—but the boom and bust cycle of funding that prevents us from building the intelligent, integrated biosurveillance systems our buildings desperately need? The air circulating within our indoor environments is essentially a microscopic soup containing potentially pathogenic bacteria, fungi, mould, and viruses. COVID-19 forced us to radically rethink how indoor air quality mitigates disease transmission. But the authors argue that to truly protect critical building infrastructure, we have to integrate our existing HVAC systems with active biosurveillance—meaning continuous detection of environmental flora and microbes. Key Topics Discussed: The Unintended Consequence of Energy Savings: Legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires disease, loves warm, stagnant water. To save energy, many building operators have lowered their water heat temperatures. By dropping those temperatures down to between 25 and 45 degrees, they inadvertently created the perfect conditions for this bacteria to proliferate. Post COVID, as buildings reopened, stagnant water sitting in pipes was suddenly aerosolized through taps and showers, leading to increased Legionella outbreaks. When we pull one lever in a building like energy efficiency, we can inadvertently create a massive public health hazard. The Needle in a Haystack: The US government's BioWatch program, created after the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, deployed air monitoring units to detect intentional biological threats. In practice, it's incredibly clunky. The systems require actual human beings to manually retrieve samples and carry them to the lab. The tests rely on prior research, meaning the system is only looking for threats it has been programmed to find. If a brand new or engineered pathogen is floating through the air, the system might completely miss it. Schools as Petri Dishes: Viral respiratory pathogens spread like wildfires in schools due to high occupancy density and prolonged indoor exposure. We already know how to fix this. Improving ventilation, adding HEPA filtration, and monitoring carbon dioxide significantly reduces pathogen exposure. In one trial across Los Angeles unified school districts, simply adding portable HEPA filters to classrooms reduced PM 2.5 concentrations by up to 82%. The problem is not the lack of knowledge. It's a lack of resources. The Flaws in Our Math: We use sophisticated risk assessment models like the Wells Riley model to predict the probability of infection based on room size, ventilation rates, exposure time, and filter efficiency. These models are incredibly useful, but they have glaring blind spots. They rely heavily on steady state assumptions, assuming occupancy, ventilation rates, and pathogen shedding remain constant. They also assume that the air in a room mixes perfectly. To get this right, we need real time sensor data integrated with building controls to dynamically adjust ventilation based on actual conditions. Catch Me if You Can: Reducing Infectious Disease Through Better Indoor Air Quality and Biosurveillance (https://doi.org/10.1177/23265094261418816) The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and the Microscopic Soup We Breathe 00:01:44 The Funding Crisis: Boom and Bust Cycles in Biodefense Research 00:02:34 Case One: Energy Savings vs Legionella—The Unintended Consequence 00:03:41 Case Two: The BioWatch Program—Finding a Needle in a Haystack 00:04:49 Case Three: Schools as Petri Dishes—The Resource Gap 00:05:43 Case Four: The Flaws in Our Math—When Models Meet Reality 00:06:40 The Vicious Cycle: From Reaction to Prevention 00:07:27 The Call to Action: Smart Buildings and Steady Innovation 00:07:46 Closing Thoughts: Staying One Step Ahead of the Next Pathogen

    9 min
  6. Beyond Grants and Targets: The Human Side of Retrofitting 500,000 Irish Homes

    8 Jun

    Beyond Grants and Targets: The Human Side of Retrofitting 500,000 Irish Homes

    This week, we sit down with Ciaran Byrne, Director of National Retrofit, and Brian McIntyre, Program Manager for High Performance Building Technologies at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about decarbonising the built environment: Key Topics Discussed: The Energy Security Reality: You can't control the cost of energy, but you can control how much energy your building needs. Ireland imports nearly all its fossil fuels, leaving households exposed to volatile global markets. The recent energy crisis has created a monthly reminder in every electricity and heating bill that decoupling from energy dependence isn't just environmental—it's economic survival. Retrofit isn't rocket science. It's far harder. It's mass customisation at a national scale. Always On Schemes and Multi Annual Funding: SEAI moved away from opening and closing grant windows, creating always on schemes with clear, commoditised grant amounts. No more guessing. No more waiting. Contractors know exactly what funding is available, homeowners know exactly what they'll receive, and the carbon tax was ring fenced to provide multi annual certainty out to 2030. This allowed industry to invest in skills, equipment, and capacity without the boom and bust cycles that plagued previous decades. The Skills and Labour Challenge: Ireland needs an estimated 50,000 additional skilled trades to deliver retrofit at scale. New build offers straightforward, repetitive work on identical house types. Retrofit is mass customisation—every home is different, every household has unique needs, and crossing the threshold into someone's home requires soft skills, customer service, and technical adaptability. Retrofit is a local career. It's nationwide work. It's a legacy you leave in your own community. GUESTS: Ciaran Byrne Director of National Retrofit, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ciaran-byrne-c-dir-1024682a/ Brian McIntyre Program Manager, High Performance Building Technologies, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-mcintyre-b6474838/ SEAI https://www.seai.ie/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) S&P UK (https://www.solerpalau.com/en-uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) - Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - iE Electronics (https://www.eielectronics.ie/) and iAir Group (https://iair-group.com/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meeting SEAI and Ireland's Decarbonisation Mission 00:02:22 Energy Security and the Controllables: Why Fabric First Still Matters 00:08:40 SEAI's Role: From Energy Agency to National Retrofit Delivery Body 00:11:32 The Game-Changing Reforms: Always-On Schemes and Commoditized Grants 00:22:03 Demand Generation: From Ukraine War to Energy Bills as Monthly Reminders 00:24:49 Going Mainstream: When Retrofit Becomes Common Knowledge 00:30:54 Beyond Energy Savings: The Comfort, Health, and Well-Being Case 00:38:38 Affordability and the Hidden Energy Poor: Who Gets Left Behind 00:48:01 The Skills and Labour Challenge: Competing with New Build 00:57:34 Quality Control and Avoiding the Horror Stories 00:50:02 The Data Revolution: From Static BER to Real-Time Building Performance 01:22:30 The Next Five Years: Digital Journeys, High-Temperature Heat Pumps, and AI 01:37:13 Closing Thoughts: Making Retrofit as Easy as Ordering from Amazon

    1hr 38min
  7. From Reactive to Proactive: Designing Air Quality Sensors That Residents Actually Want - #OT46

    4 Jun

    From Reactive to Proactive: Designing Air Quality Sensors That Residents Actually Want - #OT46

    This week, we dive into a fascinating paper from the Journal of Sustainable Futures titled Co-creating Sustainable Innovations in Irish Social Housing Through Participatory Research, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality intervention: What if the single biggest barrier to deploying environmental sensors in homes isn't the technology—but the complete absence of trust, agency, and meaningful participation from the people whose living rooms we're trying to monitor? In Ireland, social housing providers act as landlords responsible for repair, maintenance, and dealing with problems like dampness and mould. But their strategy is almost entirely reactive—waiting for residents to call and report a problem. By the time that call is made, the resident has likely already been exposed to harmful levels of damp and mould for a prolonged period, and the building's infrastructure may already be compromised. The SHINE project (Sustainable Homes Integrating Non-Intrusive Environmental Sensors) aimed to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive monitoring using low cost environmental sensors. But the researchers knew they couldn't just drop technology into people's living rooms without asking them first. Key Topics Discussed: The Historical Baggage Problem: Top down regeneration and sustainability projects in Ireland have a shaky track record. Dolphin House residents spent over a decade fighting for regeneration due to horrific living conditions and severe mould. Despite 25 million allocated in 2016, years later only a fraction has been retrofitted. When you have that kind of historical baggage, trust is understandably low. The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation: When you tell someone you're putting a sensor in their home, their mind immediately jumps to surveillance. Residents worried landlords were spying on them, recording audio and video, that data would be weaponised to evict them. What if environmental data showing a resident lived in a damp, mouldy home found its way to a health insurance provider? It could literally affect their ability to get coverage for lung conditions. The Challenge of Meaningful Participation: Consultations can easily turn into forums for venting. Stakeholders advised that the project had to clearly answer the resident's fundamental question: what's in it for us? If sensors are just seen as a tool for the landlord to save money on maintenance, residents will push back. The narrative has to focus on how sensors save the resident's time, reduce their bills, and protect their health. The Blame Narrative Problem: For years, the narrative around mould has been to blame the resident—telling them they just aren't opening their windows enough or they're drying too many clothes indoors. Approaching residents with a patronising or blaming tone will cause them to instantly refuse participation. Co-creating sustainable innovations in Irish social housing through participatory research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2026.101740 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and the Participatory Research Paper 00:01:11 The Reactive Maintenance Problem: When Waiting Means Harm 00:01:54 The SHINE Project: Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Monitoring 00:02:35 The Historical Baggage: Why Top-Down Projects Fail in Ireland 00:03:49 The Participatory Research Approach: 28 Stakeholder Voices 00:04:27 Barrier One: The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation 00:05:40 Barrier Two: The Challenge of Meaningful Participation 00:06:32 Barrier Three: Specific Needs of Vulnerable Populations 00:07:25 The Engineering Response: Data Minimization and Edge Computing 00:08:10 Flipping the Power Dynamic: User Control and Inert Design 00:09:16 The Real Barrier: Participation by Design, Not Technology 00:10:09 Closing Thoughts: Listening First, Building Better

    11 min
  8. Sick Buildings to Smart Sensors: How IAQ Evolved Over Two Decades - Indoor Air 2026 Preview

    1 Jun

    Sick Buildings to Smart Sensors: How IAQ Evolved Over Two Decades - Indoor Air 2026 Preview

    This week, we sit down with Kwok Wai THam, President of Indoor Air 2026 with Vice Presidents, Yvonne Soh, and Chandra Sekhar, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about the evolution of indoor air quality: What if the single most important shift in the last two decades isn't just our deeper understanding of the science—but our recognition that clean indoor air is now a fundamental human right, requiring resilience, technology, and human centric design to deliver? Key Topics Discussed: From Reactive to Proactive: In 2003, the focus was on sick building syndrome and reactive maintenance. In 2026, the conversation has shifted to proactive biosurveillance, real-time sensor networks, and predictive analytics powered by artificial intelligence. Buildings are no longer passive containers. They are intelligent systems capable of detecting, responding to, and mitigating indoor air quality problems before occupants even notice. The Complexity Problem: Indoor environments are more complex than ever. New synthetic materials off-gas volatile organic compounds. Occupancy densities have increased. External pollution from wildfires, traffic, and industrial sources infiltrates buildings faster than ventilation systems can respond. And climate change is compounding thermal discomfort, humidity challenges, and energy demands. Science has advanced, but so have the problems. Human Centric Design and Adaptive Comfort: Singapore has pioneered mixed-mode ventilation strategies that work with the weather rather than against it. When outdoor conditions are acceptable, buildings switch to natural ventilation. When temperatures rise, air conditioning activates. This approach reduces energy consumption while maintaining thermal comfort. But it requires rethinking occupant expectations, building controls, and system resilience during transient conditions. Fifteen Sub Themes and a Global Conversation: Indoor Air 2026 features fifteen technical sub themes covering everything from source control and materials selection to airborne infectious disease, smart building technology, and policy development. The conference deliberately avoids regional segmentation. Every theme is global. Every challenge is universal. The goal is cross learning—taking lessons from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America and applying them everywhere. GUESTS: Prof. Tham Kwok Wai President, Indoor Air 2026 | National University of Singapore https://www.linkedin.com/in/tham-kwok-wai-0623aa44/ Engr. Yvonne Soh Vice President, Indoor Air 2026 | CEO, Singapore Green Building Council https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-soh-0a78934/ Prof. Chandra Sekhar Vice President, Indoor Air 2026 | National University of Singapore https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandra-sekhar/ Indoor Air 2026 https://www.indoorair2026.org/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Welcome to Indoor Air 2026 Preview 00:02:46 Twenty Years of Progress: Reflecting on Indoor Air Since 2003 00:06:48 The Pandemic Parallel: SARS-CoV-1 Then, COVID-19 Now 00:10:22 From Sick Buildings to Human-Centered Design: The Green Building Evolution 00:13:17 The Conference Theme: Enhancing Well-Being Through Resilience and Understanding 00:15:38 Fifteen Sub-Themes: From Source Control to Clean Air Equivalence 00:19:12 The Complexity Challenge: More Knowledge, More Problems 00:22:01 Technology as Enabler: Sensors, Data, and Artificial Intelligence 00:27:10 Singapore as Living Laboratory: Climate, Walkability, and Mixed-Mode Design 00:35:26 The Conference Experience: Venue, Schedule, and Parallel Sessions 00:49:50 Keynote Speakers: From Science to Policy and Translational Impact 00:49:17 Special Events: Global Clean Air Pledge and Medical-Engineering Collaboration 01:00:25 Beyond the Conference Rooms: Technical Tours and Indoors Go Out 01:03:26 Investing in the Future: Summer School and Career Pathways 01:04:39 The Next Generation: Young Professionals and Sustainability Impact 01:09:33 Global Gathering: 900 Delegates from Every Continent

    1hr 11min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

Information

  • Creator
    Simon Jones
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    123
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Air Quality Matters
  • Show Website
    Air Quality Matters

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