The goal of ventilation codes and ASHRAE Standard 62.1: The Standard for Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality is to provide indoor air quality that is "acceptable to human occupants and that minimize adverse health effects." ASHRAE Standard 62 was first published in 1973 and focused on the empirical method of contaminant dilution called ventilation rate procedure. In 1979, ASHRAE 62 introduced the IAQ procedure (known as IAQP), but technology couldn't effectively or affordably support the goals of this procedure at that time. It wasn't until recently that technology for IAQP was effectively capable of measuring and monitoring IAQ in a competent, reliable or affordable manner. If technology has caught up to the standard, why are most heating, ventilation and air conditioning design engineers continuing to use the VRP? A dirty little secret among HVAC consulting engineers is that the VRP is simple to apply (profitable for engineers because time is money to a consulting engineer), great at lowering their exposure to risk (easy to interpret, apply and has a higher probability of passing permit review/inspection) and minimal entanglement from the owner (rarely if ever does the owner realize the capital and operational costs are usually increased with the VRP).
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