VentGuide says Woldring location exhaust system meets requirements

Recently there has been a discussion about exposure to fine dust during cooking at the Woldring location. Woldring Verhuur took these reports seriously and immediately took action. An independent investigation by VentGuide has now shown that the ventilation system, which was the main subject of discussion in the media, meets the requirements of the 2012 Building Decree.

 

The discussion about the particulate matter during cooking came out of the blue for Woldring. Managing Director André van Dalsen: ''As far as we know we have done everything to provide the houses with a proper ventilation system. There is a decentralized ventilation system that ensures that the air is refreshed in the living room, there is an extraction fan in the bathroom, this whole system works together on sensors, there is also a recirculation hood in the kitchen to purify the air. When the reports came that one of our residents had measured the concentration of particulate matter, which then turned out to be more than 50 times higher than the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), we proceeded with an investigation led by VentGuide, an independent third party.'' This research has now been completed and answers the questions of whether the ventilation of the homes was in accordance with Dutch regulations, whether the occurring particulate matter was indeed extremely high and how the measured values relate to other Dutch homes.

 

It turned out that the houses in question amply met the standards for air renewal. The decentralized ventilation system is even described as quite innovative. VentGuide emphasizes that extractor hoods with an outlet to the outside are better than recirculation, but that the installed recirculation hoods in combination with the decentralized ventilation system more than do their job within the set framework of laws and regulations. These frameworks may be changed by the politicians in 2023, but how or what is not known to anyone yet. In addition, the measured values are indeed high, but not extreme. Many Dutch homes, estimated at 4 million, have a similar form of ventilation with the same amounts of particulate matter present. The spray facilities, in the form of windows that can be opened, were evaluated as good and VentGuide encourages the use of these, should there be high increases in the concentration of particulate matter.

 

Van Dalsen wants to go into additional detail about the blowdown facilities and their use: ''It has never been said that it is forbidden to open windows.'' begins André ''Residents have been warned about our indoor climate system though. How exactly is this? As many houses are heated with hot water, our apartments also have a similar system for cooling. So on hot days we use cold water to make the rooms more comfortable. As everyone knows, it's super illogical to heat while you have the window open, because the room won't get warm and the system will get disrupted. That's no different with this cooling system. Of course, that doesn't mean that a window shouldn't be open when cooking. If the research says that that is actually good against the amount of particulate matter in the house, we are the last ones to say that the window must remain closed.''