International.
Requirements relating to multifamily housing, tobacco smoke in the environment, and operation and maintenance are some of the changes to ASHRAE's recently published indoor air quality standard.
The ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, sets minimum ventilation rates and other requirements for commercial and institutional buildings. "The latest version of the 62.1 standard contains changes that affect high-rise residential spaces, the procedure for indoor air quality, and laboratory exhaust ventilation with demand control," said Hoy Bohanon, chair of the 62.1 standard committee. "Designers and standards users who are involved with those spaces or processes will benefit from using the updated requirements."
As with the 2016 version of Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, the scope of standard 62.1 has changed. Multifamily living spaces have been removed from the standard and are now covered by 62.2, according to Hoy Bohanon, chairman of the Standard 62.1 committee. Spaces outside the living space, such as hallways, lobbies, fitness rooms, retail, etc., remain covered by Standard 62.1.
Other important changes are as follows:
- Revision of the definition of "environmental tobacco smoke" (HTA) to include emissions from electronic devices for smokers and from cannabis smokers.
- Review of operations and maintenance requirements to more closely align with the requirements of the ASHRAE/ACCA 180-2012 Standard, Practical Standard for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems.
- In addition to the requirements of the Indoor Air Quality Procedure in order to determine the minimum ventilation rates by including the combined effects of multiple pollutants of interest on the organ systems of individuals.
- Assignment of laboratory exhaust air to a Class 4 air by default, explicitly requiring a professional environmental, health and safety officer to determine whether a lower air class is suitable for particular systems.
- Reduction of ventilation allowed to zero through the use of presence sensors (not through measurements of pollutants or carbon dioxide) for certain types of spaces types of occupation selected, with the condition that ventilation is restored to Vbz whenever occupancy is detected.
- Language changes related to on-demand controlled ventilation confirming that the standard is intended to be used for physical operation in addition to calculations for code review.
The cost of Standard 62.1-2016, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, is $84, ASHRAE members ($99, who are not). To place an order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or you can contact ASHRAE in the Contact Center by dialing 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.
