International.
ASHRAE announced that multifamily units in all types of buildings are now covered within the scope of its indoor home air quality standard, marking one of the biggest changes in the 2016 version.
The ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2 to 2016, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, defines the minimum functions and requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope, intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in residential buildings.
Now the housing units are covered by 62.2, regardless of the height of the building, while the common areas of the buildings remain in the scope of application of 62.1, according to Pablo Francisco, chairman of the Standard 62.2 committee.
Francisco said the change brings coherence to the ventilation needs of housing units, regardless of the height of the building. For new construction, this will result in a change in the needs of housing units on four floors and above buildings. For the retrofit market, this change will result in asHRAE ventilation standards being covered for the first time in residential dwellings on four floors and above buildings. The 2016 standard also includes a method for claiming an infiltration credit for horizontally joined units.
Another major change in the standard provides a means of determining equivalence for a variety of programmed ventilation strategies. This change also includes a maximum short-term exposure to ensure that annual compliance with equivalence does not unduly compromise short-term indoor air quality.
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