ASHRAE Journal - June 2022 - 61

COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
defi nition of heath: " Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infi rmity. " 1 The MTG.HWBE made
this recommendation because it:
* Provides a broad/high level and inclusive defi nition
of health;
* Uses an existing defi nition so not to add " noise " to
the fi eld and to the defi nition of health;
* Shows that health is a spectrum that goes beyond
" acceptable " or critical conditions-and that health can
be improved, not just maintained;
* Includes both perceived health (comfort), mental
health, physiological and psychological health;
* Avoids ambiguous and redundant terminology (e.g.,
wellness, well-being) and focus on the word " health " as
an umbrella term; and
* Is simple.
This defi nition should be used in all future ASHRAE
documents concerning health in the built environment.
The MTG acknowledged that the terms " comfort, "
" wellness " and " well-being " may be used along with or
in place of " health " in certain circumstances. The MTG
was not able to reach consensus on a clear distinction
between these terms. The MTG concluded that distinguishing
among these terms was not productive.
What Do We Know?
In the April 2020 IEQ column by the chair of the
MTG, Lan Chi Nguyen Weekes, P.E., it was noted that it
was already recognized in antiquity that buildings can
impact human health. Within the last century information
on how human health can be affected by a building
has increased dramatically. In the early 20th century,
the effect of crowded tenement conditions on the spread
of tuberculosis (TB) was fi rst recognized. This spurred
the design of heating systems that could maintain
comfortable indoor temperatures in mid-winter while
the windows are opened to dilute TB concentrations
indoors.2 This tempered the spread of TB and saved lives
then, but it would be troubling today for the trends in
energy savings (and a tough sell for energy effi ciency
credits).
In the last two years, many of us have learned-or
reviewed-the Wells-Riley equations and their underlying
studies in the 1930s - 1960s about infectious aerosols
spreading disease indoors. All of these predate the
energy crises of the 1970s, which precipitated reductions
in ventilation rates, which in turn increased complaints
of " sick building syndrome " and arguably begat the rise
of the current " IAQ industry. " But today, recognizing that
the purpose of most buildings is for occupancy by people,
there is little room to dispute that, for public health
and for personal health, buildings do matter.
It was deemed important by the MTG that there is
a recognition that the fundamental purpose of most
buildings is for human occupancy. Implicit in that
recognition is that, if a building does not provide for
health/wellness of the occupants, then the building does
not fulfi ll its fundamental purpose. Saving energy in a
building is a wise course of action, but a net zero building
constructed with local materials in a brownfi eld
development that destroys the lungs of the occupants
cannot be seen as progress. Energy, resources and carbon
footprints are important, but the health and wellbeing
of occupants matters more in the long run.
Another conclusion is that design, construction and
operation within a building (including occupant activity)
do affect the health and wellness of occupants. This
is not news, but that fact has not always been squarely
faced and the MTG recommends that it should be.
Where Do We Stand?
Should buildings only meet minimal requirements for
acceptable performance under normal conditions? The
MTG report states that the built environment should be
able to perform beyond " normal " conditions. That will
require non-trivial revisions of several ASHRAE standards
but would provide safe havens for multitudes during
natural or man-made disasters.
The report notes building certifi cation/rating systems
vary in rigor and inclusion relative to IEQ. Some rating
systems have minimal IEQ factors included, while others
have health/wellness as the focus. This variability is an
opportunity for ASHRAE to speak to what is a minimal
inclusion and what might be optimal for the IAQ/IEQ
aspects of a building rating system.
What Should We Do?
ASHRAE efforts that relate to health/wellness can be
most effi ciently coordinated through the Environmental
Health Committee (EHC). The development by the EHC
of an ASHRAE Position Document (PD) pertaining to the
impact of the built environment on health/wellness is
recommended as a fi rst step. The position of ASHRAE in
J U N E 2 0 2 2 ashrae .o rg ASHRAE JOURNAL
61
http://ashrae.org
ASHRAE Journal - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - June 2022
