ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 16

TECHNICAL FEATURE

Conditioning for the Environment of Critical Care

Hospital Operating
Rooms
BY DAVID SCHURK, MEMBER ASHRAE

Many rooms in hospitals require special design considerations because of intensified
infection concerns, high air change rates, special equipment, unique procedures,
high internal loads and the presence of immunocompromised patients. But in no
other health-care space does the design of the HVAC system take on more importance
than in an operating room (OR), where its purpose is to minimize infection, maintain
staff comfort and contribute to an environment of patient care.
ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170, Ventilation of Health
Care Facilities,1 is considered the backbone of healthcare ventilation design. The intent of the standard is to
provide comprehensive guidance, comprising a set of
minimum requirements that define ventilation system
design that helps provide environmental control for
comfort, asepsis, and odor in health-care facilities. It
can also be (and is) adopted by code-enforcing agencies.
The standard defines minimum design requirements
only, and due to the wide diversity of patient population and variations in their vulnerability and sensitivity,
these standards do not guarantee an OR environment
that will satisfactorily provide comfort and control of
airborne contagions and other elements of concern.
When selecting the temperature and relative humidity
combination to be incorporated into the design, these
standard minimums as well as the needs and desires
of the surgical staff must be taken into consideration.
The ASHRAE HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics2

points out that the inability to maintain low OR temperature is probably the number one complaint by
surgeons to facility engineers. To help mitigate this
concern, OR design conditions should be developed in
consultation with surgeons, anesthesiologists, infection
control and nursing staff based on the classification of the
surgery and any specific requirements that may result.

Temperature and Relative Humidity
While this article has an emphasis on areas requiring
dehumidification, it is not meant to imply that "verydry" air is the answer. It's important to remember that
a healthy level of indoor air hydration, in balance with
the room temperature setpoint, helps promote overall environmental satisfaction and performance. One
of the first determinations to make during the initial
design phase is the environmental space temperature
and humidity. These requirements should be considered a fundamental prerequisite in helping to promote

David Schurk is national director of strategic accounts-healthcare for Carrier Corporation, Denver.
16

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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - October 2019

Contents
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Cover1
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 3
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 4
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 5
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 6
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 7
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 8
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 9
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 10
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 11
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 12
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 13
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 14
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 15
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 16
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 17
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 18
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 19
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 20
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 21
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 22
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 23
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 24
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 25
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 26
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 27
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 28
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 29
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 30
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 31
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 32
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 33
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 34
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 35
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 36
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 37
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 38
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 49
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 50
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 53
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 60
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 73
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 76
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 78
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 79
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - 80
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR1
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR2
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR3
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR4
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR5
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR6
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR7
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR8
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR9
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR10
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR11
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR12
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR13
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR14
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR15
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR16
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR17
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR18
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR19
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR20
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR21
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR22
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR23
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR24
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR25
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR26
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR27
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR28
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR29
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR30
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR31
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - HR32
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - October 2019 - Cover4
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