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Guidance on Applying Ventilation Standards

Guidance on how the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE) ventilation standard addresses new and existing buildings is provided in an addendum recommended for public review.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62-2001, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, sets minimum ventilation rates and other requirements for commercial and institutional buildings.

The committee writing the standard recommended one addendum for publication and four addenda for public review at the Society's 2002 Winter Meeting.

Addendum 62af changes the purpose and scope of the standard to describe how it relates to new and existing buildings, clarifies its coverage of industrial and laboratory spaces, and adds a caveat concerning situations where outdoor air quality may be poor.

The proposed addendum states that the standard is intended for regulatory application to new buildings, additions to existing buildings, and those changes to existing buildings that are identified in the body of the standard, according to committee chairman Andrew Persily. It also states that the standard is intended to be used to guide the improvement of indoor air quality in existing buildings.

Information regarding use of the standard also is contained in addendum 62k, which was recommended for public review. The addendum deletes the existing section on classification and adds a new informative appendix addressing application of the standard in new and existing buildings.

Much of Standard 62 was written with new buildings or renovations in mind, as many of its requirements relate to ventilation system design, according to Persily.

"However, many of the requirements can also be useful in evaluating existing buildings," he said. "At the same time, it may not be practical or even necessary to retroactively apply some of the specific requirements to existing buildings."

Other addenda recommended by the committee for public review include:

? 62r, which contains requirements for assessing the quality of outdoor air used for ventilation.
? 62z, which addresses air cleaning requirements for ozone. The current standard recommends outdoor air cleaning for contaminants of concern but does not require cleaning for outdoor contaminants including ozone.

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