IAQ APPLICATIONS

This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, June 2012. Copyright 2012 ASHRAE. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit www.ashrae.org.

Good IAQ Practices

By Hoy R. Bohanon, P.E. Member ASHRAE

ndoor air quality (IAQ) can be elusive. Several differing definitions include those found in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Accept-

able Indoor Air Quality and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2010, Ventilation

and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Another, similar definition is provided in the ASHRAE Indoor Air Quality Guide.
All definitions recognize that there is a health component to IAQ and a component that is based upon the perception of the occupants. The health component is addressed in terms of the absence of known contaminants and of concentrations high enough to cause adverse health effects. This leaves open questions regarding unknown contaminants or what happens when many contaminants mix together at low concentrations. Contaminants can include gases, particles, and living or dead organisms. Despite the wishes of many in the HVAC community, and despite the marketing names provided by instrument manufacturers, there is no IAQ meter. There is nothing on the market, nor known to this author to be in development, that can screen for all expected contaminants in indoor air. There is also no meter that can predict reactions of the human nose or sensitive tissues such as the eyes or sinuses to all components to which one may be exposed. What is known about IAQ, based on decades of experience, is that there are certain conditions that are associated with poor IAQ, and there are certain practices associated with good IAQ. If one is undertaking a project to build, renovate, or modify an indoor environment, what guidance is available? The best current resource is the ASHRAE Indoor Air Quality Guide.
106 ASHRAE Journal

Good IAQ results are unlikely to happen by accident. A project manager can set up a project for success regarding IAQ by starting out with a focus on IAQ. This article focuses on the project process and not the design, construction, or operations and maintenance choices that result from that process. The first step is to proactively manage the design and construction process to achieve good IAQ. It is the consensus of the authors of the Indoor Air Quality Guide (which includes me) that five strategies should be used as the project progresses. The first strategy is to include commissioning as an integral part of the project. ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process, defines commissioning as a quality-focused process for enhancing the delivery of a project. The process focuses on verifying and documenting that a
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facility and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the Owners Project Requirements. Commissioning for IAQ ensures high quality results. It is necessary to begin the commissioning process at project inception. In the pre-design phase the project team, including the commissioning authority, should work with the owner to establish the project requirements related to IAQ. In this phase key decisions can be made or changed with little or no effect on the project cost (Figure 1). The team then needs to determine if any specialists are required to address any of the IAQ objectives or criteria. A final step in the pre-design phase involves identifying any special budget needs for the IAQ features necessary to achieve the project objectives. An integrated design process is a second strategy for achieving good IAQ. Figure 2 illustrates a traditional project structure; Figure 3 illustrates an integrated design team structure. Integrated design often begins with a charrette to get input from the client and all members of the design and project team. This process is used to establish major issues and set goals very early in the process. The interactions of various project components that affect IAQ can best be identified and addressed by an integrated design team.

Decreasing Influence

0.0%

Design

Construction

Operation

Figure 1: Business case for better planning. Decreasing ability to influence outcomes and increasing cost of action as project proceeds. Adapted from a figure, copyright CH2M Hill.
a s h r a e . o r g June 2012

Cost of Action/Solution

Increasing Cost Level of Influence

Owner Lighting Specialist

HVAC Specialist

IAQ Specialist Acoustic Specialist

Architect

Owners Representative Specialists: IAQ, HVAC, Lighting, Acoustics, Fire, Security, Communications, Energy

Design Team Leader (Architect, Engineer, Project Manager)

Fire Specialist

Contractors Cost Consultants

Contractor Cost Consultants Security Specialist

Communications Specialist

Engineers

Figure 2: Traditional design approach. Various IAQ-related factors can interact with other factors. For example, ventilation, climate, weather, and outdoor air quality all affect IAQ and must be addressed by multiple team members. Indoor thermal conditions can affect the quality of the indoor air, and the team must address the thermal effects of ventilating with outdoor air. As green approaches proliferate, it takes an integrated team to address the interactions of natural ventilation, occupant thermal control, and daylighting. Even in a building without advanced green features, an integrated team is best prepared to address moisture in building assemblies and design steps needed to address contaminants from both outdoor and indoor sources. A third strategy for project managers is to direct the team in selecting HVAC systems to improve IAQ and reduce the energy impacts. One issue has to do with whether the ventilation air is mixed with the heating and cooling air or whether the ventilation system is separated from the heating and cooling systems (e.g., DOAS). Other HVAC design issues that affect many team members are building pressurization control, space humidity control, and consideration of advanced filtration. Different HVAC systems have varying capabilities to address these issues. Some systems only have the fan capacity for minimal filtration. These may be appropriate if they are not challenged by particles in the outdoor air and are installed in clean indoor locations. However, in cases where these low-cost systems are misapplied, they cannot adequately filter the air and maintain comfort conditions, resulting in less than satisfactory filtration and IAQ. Providing extra space within HVAC systems for enhanced filtration usually can be achieved at a very low first cost and will result in better IAQ and lower life-cycle owning and operating costs. Other types of HVAC systems may not be appropriate for controlling indoor humidity in certain climates. If the systems are not designed to control for the dehumidification design conditions, moisture accumulation in certain spaces within the building may be inevitable. Inappropriate dehumidification capacity is not easily remedied with field modifications. The project manager possibly has the most control over the fourth strategy, which is to use project scheduling and manage construction activities to facilitate good IAQ. First, the projJune 2012

Figure 3: Integrated design approach. ect manager needs to engage the contractor in reviewing the sequencing of activities to reduce the likelihood of future IAQ problems. An important step is to plan to keep water-sensitive materials dry. An additional activity is to ensure that access and cleaning of the site is maintained so that dirt does not accumulate in airshafts or ductwork. And, finally, make sure that the trades working toward the end of the project do not cover up access for cleaning and maintenance from previous trades work. Operations and maintenance training is a key fifth strategy and must be a priority for the health of the building. A team that can effectively operate the new equipment is key to the longterm IAQ profile. The project manager should make sure that appropriate documentation for operation and maintenance is provided prior to systems turnover. The O&M staff will benefit greatly by being involved in and observing systems commissioning activities including functional testing. The materials provided need to clearly communicate the design intent and the proper sequence of operations for the equipment. A list of spare parts and manufacturers cut sheets are often provided (and called a manual) but are insufficient documentation for any but the most simple systems. The asbuilt drawings, details about the automatic controls programs, submittals, manufacturers performance data, and commissioning reports also need to be a part of the O&M knowledge base. It is still true that you will not be able to measure your IAQ using a simple meter, but if you follow the appropriate steps, good IAQ will follow. Remember to include IAQ as an objective in the project process, then the project will result in the key components for good IAQ. Key process steps include establishing an integrated design team, commissioning from the initial project planning through post-occupancy, and choosing HVAC systems appropriate to the IAQ goals. In construction, the schedule must be managed to provide clean, mold-free, and operable systems. Finally, the O&M staff must be properly equipped with documentation and training so that the owners project goals for IAQ are achieved. Hoy R. Bohanon, P.E., is senior commissioning authority at WorkingBuildings in Winston Salem, N.C. He has his Building Energy Assessment Professional certification from ASHRAE.
ASHRAE Journal 107

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