PoA Healthy Homes: Healthy indoor climate guideline launched

The new guideline was developed in cooperation with Binnenklimaat Nederland, TU Eindhoven, BBA Binnenmilieu and TNO. "It is high time that when building or modifying homes, we not only pay attention to financial and sustainability aspects, but also to a healthy indoor climate for residents," said Ir. Piet Jacobs of TNO.

A significant proportion of all pollutants we inhale come from indoor spaces. This is worrying, as people spend on average 90 per cent of their time indoors. An unhealthy indoor climate has an impact on people's health and productivity and can lead to respiratory complaints, asthma, sleep problems, loss of concentration and cardiovascular diseases, among others. By creating a healthy indoor climate in homes, many of these health complaints are preventable, advocates the Healthy Indoors platform.

More energy efficient is not necessarily healthier

Especially now that, for financial and sustainability reasons, there is a lot of focus on insulating homes, the Healthy Indoors platform believes it is relevant to also pay extra attention to the health aspects of the indoor climate. "In doing so, it is important to approach all these aspects integrally when building or renovating homes," says Dr Marcel Loomans of TU Eindhoven. "The necessary links between sustainability measures and indoor climate health can be drawn. For example, the better insulated a home is, the more important it becomes to consciously ventilate. The PoA Healthy Homes provides the guidance for this that has been lacking until now."

The new guideline (version 1.0) was developed in cooperation with Binnenklimaat Nederland, TU Eindhoven, BBA Binnenmilieu and TNO. In construction projects, it is customary to work with a PoA. For instance, there is already a PoR for Fresh Schools, developed on behalf of RVO, and a PoR for Healthy Offices, developed on the initiative of the Healthy Indoors platform. For a healthy indoor climate of homes, no such guidelines existed yet. As with the PoRs for offices and schools, the new guideline offers concrete performance requirements that parties involved in designing, developing or renovating homes can use to realise their ambitions for a healthy indoor climate.

Different levels of ambition

The PoA Healthy Homes has been compiled based on the latest scientific insights and best practices. It formulates performance requirements in the areas of air, climate, light and noise. These four themes are divided into three ambition levels: class A, class B and class C. These different classifications provide insight into the health quality of a home per area in an accessible way.

In terms of air quality, for example, a Class C dwelling meets the quality requirements of the government's Building Decree. Class B goes a step further and uses requirements that qualify the health of the indoor climate - in this case, of the air quality - as 'good'. This is of particular interest for new-build houses and large-scale renovation projects.

Class A requirements are intended for dwellings where the highest level of quality is sought in the various areas. In a home for people with respiratory diseases, for example, it can be chosen to pursue Class A requirements on the air quality theme. And for climate, light and noise, class B or C. Thus, for each component, the dwelling can be differentiated with a certain class.

Download the PoA Healthy Homes here