LBNL - 42975R1

ASHRAE'S RESIDENTIAL VENTILATION STANDARD: EXEGESIS OF PROPOSED STANDARD 62.2 M.H. Sherman1, Ph.D. Fellow ASHRAE Indoor Environment Department2 Environmental Energy Technologies Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720

Summary

In June 2000 ASHRAE's Standard Project Committee on "Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings", SPC 62.2P, recommended and the Board of Directors approved ASHRAE's first complete standard on residential ventilation for public review. The standard is an attempt by the Society to address concerns over indoor air quality in dwellings and to set minimum requirements that would allow for indoor air quality and energy efficiency measures to be evaluated. The standard has requirements for whole-house ventilation, local exhaust ventilation, and source control. In addition to code-intended requirements, the standard also contains guidance information for the designer and/or user of the standard. This report summarizes the public review draft and attempts to address questions and concerns that those potentially affected by the standard might have. This report may also be of use to those considering public review comments on the proposed standard. Introduction Because of the effects it has on health, comfort, and serviceability, indoor air quality in our homes is becoming of increasing concern to many people. According to the American Lung Association elements within our homes have been increasingly recognized as threats to our respiratory health. The Environmental Protection Agency lists poor indoor air quality as the forth largest environmental threat to our country. Asthma is leading serious chronic illness of children in the U.S. moisture-related construction defects and damage are on the increase in new houses. Minimum residential ventilation can improve many of these indoor air quality problems.
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Max Sherman is a Senior Scientist at LBNL and the group