ASHRAE Journal - November 2023 - 13

COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
asks that ASHRAE consider increasing ventilation rates
in ASHRAE Standard 62.1 and ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential
Buildings and other requirements that are based on
" health " parameters. In addition, the Recent Trends
document recommended that additional research is
required to defi ne what is meant by " healthy air. "
Increasing Use of Air Cleaners
Many associated issues exist regarding the
effectiveness and safety of air cleaning technologies.
A clear need also exists for relevant methods of
testing and certifi cation of air cleaners, as well as
concerns about how effective they are for different
contaminants. The impacts of by-products they may
emit is also a concern. For microbial contaminants,
additional research is needed to understand how
antimicrobial products in the air and on surfaces may
lead to the forming of superbugs.
There are many research needs:
* A test standard for the removal of ultrafi ne
particles (UFP).
* Research into how best to test the levels of effi cacy
to a common metric would help in the development of
current and proposed test standards. (e.g., Standard
185.1, 185.2 and 185.3P).
* Research into the use of higher effi ciency fi lters in
non-health-care settings. There is movement toward
MERV 13 as a minimum standard for new systems
and as an upgrade for existing systems. Associated
issues include the inability of some existing systems
to accommodate this level of upgrade and the energy
use impact. On the other hand, an opportunity exists
to rethink system design and develop components that
successfully achieve this level of performance.
Unvented Combustion2
Although this is not a new trend, the lack of standards
on the effect of these appliances on residential IEQ is
trending as an issue. Unvented combustion refers to
a situation where combustion appliances such as gas
stoves, water heaters or space heaters are not properly
vented to the outside. Gas stoves and new proposed
regulations have been trending. Gas stoves have
historically been popular due to their quick and precise
cooking capabilities. An ongoing debate exists about
how to balance consumer choice and affordability with
environmental and health considerations. Some argue
that promoting alternatives to gas stoves might limit
consumer options or disproportionately impact lowerincome
households that rely on gas for cooking.
Research quantifying the effect of combustion
products in residences is indicated as a need going
forward. Some helpful information can be found in the
use of these products in the commercial and industrial
built environments.
IEQ as an Aspect of Resilience.
For a long time, discussions of building resilience
have revolved around the protection of the building
from earthquake, hurricane winds, fl ooding, etc.
The emerging trend is to view the protection of the
building occupants during extreme outdoor and indoor
events (e.g., wildfi res and epidemics, respectively) as
a core aspect of resilience. As noted in the Unvented
Combustion section, cooking in general, and gas cooking
specifi cally, needs more research on its impact on IEQ.
A question is: to what extent can demand-controlled
kitchen ventilation (DCKV) address these issues?
The primary research gap in acoustics is the
correlation between performance and human
perception in the built environment. While the
acoustical design metrics are based on human
perception, the application and refi nement of these
metrics and performance criteria has not been well
correlated with user's experiences and other measures
of health and well-being. With respect to acoustics
many of our minimum requirements assume constant
noise or intrusion but do not take into consideration
the changes in time, amplitude or frequency of events.
Understanding this would likely help create more
tangible minimum requirements.
Ventilation Rates
There is a trend for ventilation systems, including
cooling, toward increasing the ventilation air rates and
air changes per hour (ach) for indoor spaces. ASHRAE
Standard 241 has increased ventilation rates as part of
the controls for infectious aerosols. However, proper
guidance is required to assess the effectiveness of
increased ach and the associated impact on energy
demand. For cooling systems, mechanical engineers
generally use a general rule of thumb to determine
the ventilation rate while cooling a building. But this
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ASHRAE Journal - November 2023

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