INVITATION / Introduction

People spend the major part of their lives indoors, in buildings and in vehicle compartments. An indoor environment of high quality is essential for occupants' health, comfort and productivity. The ultimate goal of HVAC is to provide each occupant within a space with an optimal environment and room air distribution plays a major role in this process. Therefore, careful design and control of indoor airflow based on human requirements and physical considerations are essential. The challenge is to achieve a high level of air quality and thermal comfort for each occupant at a low level of energy consumption.

The ROOMVENT conferences were initiated in 1987 by SCANVAC, the Scandinavian Federation of Heating, Ventilating and Sanitary Engineering Associations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The first conference was held in Stockholm in 1987. The second ROOMVENT conference was held in Oslo in 1990 and since then the meeting has been held biennially in Aalborg (Denmark), Krakow (Poland), Yokohama (Japan), Stockholm (Sweden) and Reading (United Kingdom). The 8th International conference, ROOMVENT 2002, will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The aim of the conference is to bring together researchers from universities and research institutes, engineers and consultants from industry, government officials, and policy-makers involved with indoor environment design, to discuss the current state of the art and to identify paths for future development. The latest techniques for visualization, measuring, analysis and computer simulation of airflow generated by mechanical or natural means in spaces occupied by people ,in vehicle cabins or in industrial premises will be addressed during the meeting. The special topic of the conference will be "Individually controlled environments and personalized air" designed for offices, vehicle compartments and industrial premises.