BUSHFIRE FALLOUT A POLLUTANT REMINDER

THE LONG plume of smoke that draped New Zealand after the Australian bushfires is a timely reminder of the need to keep airborne pollutants out of public and private buildings for the good of occupants and visitors.

One way to achieve this is the use of architectural revolving doors, which have long been appreciated by architects, engineers and building specifiers and managers for their inherent energy conservation benefits, says HTS Group Managing Director Mr Noel Maharaj.

“This is because revolving doors function beautifully as airlocks, which allow smooth pedestrian flow while saving money on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). On warmer days, they keep expensive cool air in, reducing air conditioning costs. In cooler times, they keep cold air out, thereby reducing heating costs. This ‘Always Open, Always Closed’ principle also works beautifully in helping to exclude a whole host of airborne pollutants, allergens and irritants, both natural and man-made, ranging from traffic particulates, dust, smoke and fumes through to allergens that can aggravate respiratory issues arising seasonally and during different weather conditions.”

KEEPING AIRBORNE POLLUTION OUT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Industrial types of pollution are likely to be worst in urban fringe industrial areas and port areas (such as Auckland, Tauranga and Napier Harbours) while inner city and CBD areas cop the worst congestion from more than four million vehicles now on New Zealand roads.

“Pollution and sustainability have profound sustainability implications of which architects, engineers, builders and building managers and owners are already well aware. Whether it is an office building, shop, hotel, educational or health facility, specifiers and building operators appreciate there is a Duty of Care to keep their buildings healthy,” says Maharaj.

HTS Group distributes Royal Boon Edam revolving doors and security entrances throughout New Zealand, giving the Kiwi market access to a range of architecturally harmonious and stylish products used globally by scores of Fortune 500 companies in 27 countries, including corporate HQs, legislatures, government agencies, diplomatic posts and public and private facilities.

“We don’t pretend for a moment that one solution can be a silver bullet for interior sustainability issues – this is a multi-tiered

issue – but we do say that revolving doors have inherent advantages that increasingly suit our built environments,” states Maharaj.

“You often hear doctors advising people to stay indoors during times of high pollution or weather that stirs up allergens including pollen, which can particularly affect people suffering from hay fever (allergic rhinitis), which affects about 18 percent of people in New Zealand.”

ALWAYS OPEN, ALWAYS CLOSED

HTS Group – which distributes Royal Boon Edam’s comprehensive range of revolving doors and security entrance technologies to the New Zealand market – is making available features to optimise the inherent heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) and pollution exclusion advantages of revolving doors. The company is also offering OEM- standard maintenance packages that optimise the HVAC performance and operating durability of revolving doors.

Because revolving doors cut off the air path between the outside of the building and the inside – compared with a sliding door, for instance – the savings they make on the HVAC costs of larger buildings are substantial, says Maharaj.

The same “Always Open, Always Closed” pollution exclusion benefits apply to a host of major government, corporate, retail, data centre and hospitality buildings in high- rise areas, as well as to buildings typically in middle and outer suburbs housing the young, elderly and infirm, including schools, universities, institutions, transport terminals, hospitals and age care facilities.

Prevention of HVAC losses through inefficient doors to such facilities is integral to sustainability and the efficiency of green buildings, because HVAC costs are often the single biggest major costs of operating a large building. New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) has estimated that HVAC represents 40 percent of the typical energy consumption breakdown of an office building, well ahead of the consumption for lighting, equipment and lif ts.

“These figures don’t begin to take into account the human and financial cost of illness for people working in environments that are less than ideally healthy. This is a very real issue for the numbers of people with upper respiratory tract issues and allergies, which account for several million visits a year to doctors in Australasia,” says Mr Maharaj.