Changes to ASHRAE’s new indoor air quality standard include requirements for multifamily residential dwellings, environmental tobacco smoke and operations and maintenance.
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 Standard 62.1 contains changes that affect high rise residential spaces, the indoor air quality procedure, laboratory exhaust and demand control ventilation,” says Hoy Bohanon, chair of the Standard 62.1 committee. “Designers and users of the standards who are involved with those spaces or processes will benefit from using the up-to-date requirements.”.
Multifamily residential dwelling spaces have been removed from the updated standard and now are covered under 62.2. Spaces outside of the dwelling space such as corridors, lobbies, fitness rooms, retail, etc., remain covered by Standard 62.1.
Some other revisions include emissions from electronic smoking devices and from cannabis smoking will be rolled into the definition for environmental tobacco smoke. Also, operations and maintenance requirements will more closely align with the requirements in ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180-2012, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial-Building HVAC Systems.
In addition, requirements to the Indoor Air Quality Procedure for determining minimum ventilation rates will consider the combined effects of multiple contaminants of concern on individual organ systems.
