5.0
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
17
Score
Minimum IAQ Performance (1)
5.R1
Reqd.
Intent:
Establish minimum IAQ performance to prevent the development of indoor air quality problems in buildings,
maintaining the health and well being of the occupants.
Requirement:
Meet the minimum requirements of voluntary consensus standard ASHRAE 62-1999, Ventilation for
Acceptable Indoor Air Quality and approved Addenda.
Technologies
Include proactive design details that will eliminate some of the common causes of indoor air quality problems in
/Strategies:
buildings. Introduce standards into the design process early. Incorporate references to targets in plans and
specifications. Ensure ventilation system outdoor air capacity can meet standards in all modes of operation.
Locate building outdoor air intakes (including operable windows) away from potential pollutants/contaminant
sources such as sporulating plants (allergens), loading areas, building exhaust fans, cooling towers, sanitary
vents, dumpsters, vehicular exhaust, and other sources. Include operational testing in the building commissioning
report. Design cooling coil drain pans to ensure complete draining. Include measures to control and mitigate
radon buildup in areas where it is prevalent. Limit humidity to a range that minimizes mold growth and promotes
respiratory health.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control (2)
5.R2
Reqd.
Intent:
Prevent exposure of building occupants and systems to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS).
Requirement:
Zero exposure of nonsmokers to ETS by prohibition of smoking in the building, OR, by providing a
designated smoking room designed to effectively contain, capture and remove ETS from the building. At a
minimum, the smoking room shall be directly exhausted to the outdoors with no recirculation of ETS-
containing air to the non-smoking area of the building, enclosed with impermeable structural deck-to-deck
partitions and operated at a negative pressure compared with the surrounding spaces of at least 7 Pa (0.03
inches of water gauge). Performance of smoking rooms shall be verified using tracer gas testing methods as
described in ASHRAE Standard 129-1997. Acceptable exposure in non-smoking areas is defined as less
than 1% of the tracer gas concentration in the smoking room detectable in the adjoining non-smoking areas.
Smoking room testing as described in the ASHRAE Standard 129-1997 is required in the contract
documents and critical smoking facility systems testing results must be included in the building
commissioning plan and report or as a separate document.
Technologies
Prohibit smoking in the building and/or provide designated smoking areas outside the building in locations where
/Strategies:
ETS cannot reenter the building or ventilation system and away from high building occupant or pedestrian traffic.
(1)
5.C1
IAQ Monitoring
Intent:
Provide capacity for indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring to sustain long term occupant health and comfort.
Requirement:
Install a permanent carbon dioxide (CO2) monitoring system that provides feedback on space ventilation
1
performance in a form that affords operational adjustments, AND specify initial operational set point
parameters that maintain indoor carbon dioxide levels no higher than outdoor levels by more than 530 parts
per million at any time.
Technologies
Install an independent system or make CO2 monitoring a function of the building automation system. Situate
/Strategies:
monitoring locations in areas of the building with high occupant densities and at the ends of the longest runs of
the distribution ductwork. Specify that system operation manuals require calibration of all of the sensors per
manufacturer recommendations but not less than one year. Include sensor and system operational testing and
initial set point adjustment in the commissioning plan and report. Also consider periodic monitoring of carbon
monoxide (CO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), and particulates (including PM10).
(1)
Adapted material not reviewed or endorsed by U. S. Green Building Council.
(1)
Adapted material not reviewed or endorsed by U. S. Green Building Council.
Sustainable Project Rating Tool (SPiRiT) v.1.4.1
June 2002
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