(archived) Working with WELL: Using WELL Building tool in UK - Air (2019) (pdf)

This publication has been archived, and should not be used on current projects.

Engineers and project team members may increasingly be asked to respond to the WELL Building Standard, either by fully meeting its requirements for project certification or by benchmarking some aspects of their scheme against it. 

As the WELL Building Standard originated in the US, a number of its requirements refer to US codes and standards which may be unfamiliar or not relevant in a UK context. Some are more onerous than current UK practice, and others are already incorporated into UK regulations or good practice and do not therefore represent any additional requirement for designers. Some are not addressed by current regulations and industry guidance in the UK, and this may be for multiple reasons (e.g. perceived lack of need, on-going research and product development).

This document summarises the existing framework which engineers can refer to in order to position the WELL requirements in the UK context in terms of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, CIBSE and SLL guidance, British Standards, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), and a selection of other key industry sources.

This mapping covers WELL v1 and focuses on offices. WELL pilots and features applicable in other environments (e.g. commercial kitchens) are not covered here. This document does not provide new guidance on the design, construction or operation of buildings, nor is it intended as guidance to achieving WELL Building Standard certification. 

Performance:

• WELL performance objective requirement
• Relevant guideline from WHO, if available
• Requirements applicable in the UK which are relevant to this performance objective, if available:
  • EU and UK regulations*
  • Industry guidance and standards, e.g. CIBSE, British Standards 
  • Relevant BREEAM credit, if available.

Guidance:

WELL design measure requirement to meet the performance objective:

• EU and UK regulations*, if available
• Industry guidance and standards e.g. CIBSE, British Standards 
• Relevant BREEAM credit, if available.

WELL construction measure requirement to meet the performance objective:

• EU and UK regulations*, if available.
• Industry guidance and standards, e.g. CIBSE, British Standards. 
• Relevant BREEAM credit, if available.

WELL operational measure requirement to meet the performance objective:

• EU and UK regulations*, if available.
• Industry guidance and standards, e.g. CIBSE, British Standards. 
• Relevant BREEAM credit, if available.

Additional guidance is available from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) on how to meet individual features in specific contexts, including ‘International Equivalent Pathways’ (IEPs) and options for projects that are seeking dual certification against both BREEAM and WELL (‘Crosswalk’). This is within the remit of the IWBI and related to WELL certification rather than technical requirements and industry standards. It is therefore not covered here. Project teams should refer to the IWBI directly for details and up-to-date information. This document has been produced by CIBSE against the WELL Building Standard v1 Q1 2018 and to BREEAM 2014. Subject to feedback from members, CIBSE may produce similar guidance for v2 of the WELL Standard.

Note 2: An important standard relating to filters is referenced in this title, BS EN 779: 2012 'Particulate air filters for general ventilation. Determination of the filtration performance'. This replaced the previous 2002 edition, but is now itself withdrawn. It was superseded in July 2018 by BS EN ISO 16890 (in 4 parts).

The new classifications are based on expanded tests for particulates and there is no 1-to-1 relationship with the EN 779-based classes. There are implications for both new and existing HVAC systems and potentially for guidance on natural ventilation. In due course, CIBSE guidance will be updated to reflect this change but in the mean time, you should note it.

This Eurovent document provides a useful summary of the changes: https://eurovent.eu/sites/default/files/field/file/Eurovent%20REC%204-23%20-%20Selection%20of%20EN%20ISO%2016890%20rated%20air%20filter%20classes%20-%202017.pdf.