§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research his Department has undertaken into air conditioning of office buildings.
§ Mr. TrippierThe Building Research Establishment has carried out research into the design and performance of air conditioning of office buildings over a number of years. Working with the Property Services Agency and the industry, the establishment has provided a major contribution to industry standards, such as the design guides, application manuals and building energy codes of the Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers. The topics covered have included air infiltration, calculation of summertime overheating, plant capacity, thermal comfort conditions and operating costs. More recently, work has been focused on the "sick building syndrome", the emerging problems of CFCs, and means of improving 479W energy efficiency. A copy of the published research programme of the Building Research Establishment is in the Library of the House.