Air Quality Issues in Ventilation Standards

摘要

An ASHRAE Standard 62-1981 contains two distinct procedures that can be used to set ventilation rates. The first is a prescriptive specification that mandates ventilation rates for particular building types. The second is a performance specification that uses target concentrations of indoor contaminants as the basis for deciding the adequacy of ventilation rates. This paper comments on the latter procedure. Several issues are discussed: (1) the lack of a consistent basis for choosing concentration limits for indoor pollutants, (2) the potential for adverse air quality if the performance specification is adopted in a building, and (3) the practical difficulties in implementing the second option. Several suggestions for improving the Standard are made. (ERA citation 09:046129)