VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

The UK has some of the highest prevalence of allergic conditions in the world, which is rising by about 5% every year – costing the NHS around £900 million annually, mostly through prescriptions. UK households require indoor warming for 50% of year (average) to make them livable (vulnerable/elderly group much frequently). Further, there is an increasing ageing population in the Western world and post COVID-19 healthy indoor living globally has created greater demand for affordable solution to climate-controlled germ-free indoor space. This study presents preliminary results from dedicated evaluation of a combi air cleaning and warming unit, representative of a typical UK living room. The evaluations were sequentially planned over winter/summer 2024/25, comprising of – i) a series of experiments to acquire air pollution removal efficacy; ii) vertical profiling of the micro-climate influences; iii) pathogen load (total bioaerosols) monitoring. The experiments provided the driving parameters to obtain model outcomes of the overall performance of the unit in influencing the thermal and pollution environment across different parts of the room and the role of underlying operational conditions. A dedicated CFD model was developed and validated against experimental data and then utilised to explore how the combi unit influenced the room thermal profile, mean age of air, its movement patterns when coupled with varying heating and ventilation schemes. Our study suggests that combining of warming and air cleaning could be further supporting healthy buildings by providing mould-free living space, especially in poorly maintained social housing.