ASHRAE Journal - November 2023 - 14

COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
method does not model the actual airflow in the space.
A lack of clarity also exists on whether the spaces are
actually " mixed " or not, especially for overhead systems.
Additional research is needed for cooling systems and
the determination of actual airflows that are needed in
these spaces.
Infectious Aerosols
Airborne infectious disease is not as focused in
comparison to food and waterborne diseases. A recent
document entitled " A Paradigm Shift to Combat Indoor
Respiratory Infection " 1 notes: " There are, however,
no ventilation guidelines or standards to specifically
control the concentration of these pollutants indoors.
None of the documents provide recommendations or
standards for mitigating bacteria or viruses in indoor
air, originating from human respiratory activities. " 1
However, ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious
Aerosols, does address ventilation flow rates as a means to
control indoor concentrations of infectious aerosols.
Indoor Agriculture3
Indoor agriculture, also known as vertical farming or
controlled environment agriculture, involves growing
crops in indoor environments using technologies such
as hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics. While
indoor agriculture offers several benefits, it also faces
various challenges and issues. These include energy
and water consumption, environmental issues, cooling
and heating the facility, etc., that will require the input
of mechanical engineers. Indoor agriculture relies on
artificial lighting, heating and cooling systems to create
optimal growing conditions.
New research is needed to determine the costs and
benefits of indoor agriculture, particularly with regard
to energy, water use and waste management.
Temporary Indoor Environments
Temporary indoor environments refer to indoor
spaces that are set up for short-term or temporary use.
These spaces are often created to serve specific functions
or events, and they can vary widely in terms of size,
layout and purpose. Temporary indoor environments
are commonly found in event venues, trade shows,
exhibitions, festivals, conferences, pop-up shops and
other similar contexts. In general, the issues with these
temporary indoor environments can be detected and
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remedied in rapid fashion.
However, temporary shelters during what was
considered to be " short-term occupancy conditions "
(hurricanes, etc.) can last days, weeks and months. This
situation can change with regard to what is acceptable
in short-term conditions vs. what is acceptable in
temporary indoor environments. The use of temporary
indoor environments during an emergency must
consider that the alternate accommodations (due to the
emergency conditions), e.g., stadiums and recreation
areas becoming shelters, etc. These conditions may
lead to chronic exposure to certain indoor air quality
environments, affecting health of the occupants and
service personnel. Depending on the location and
time of year, temperature control and ventilation are
essential to ensure the comfort of attendees. Temporary
spaces might require portable heating, cooling and
ventilation solutions. Issues with regard to indoor air
quality (chronic and short-term exposures at moderate
levels) can result from under-ventilation of the space,
which will impact health and performance of the
occupants as well as the service personnel.
Climate Change
Recent news worldwide on wildfires has focused
attention on the elevated temperatures measured
throughout the world. July 2023 was the first month
where recorded temperatures were 1.5°C (2.7°F) warmer
than the average for 1850-1900.4
This has led to the evaluation of buildings and
their ability to cope with these extremes of heat
over a long period of time. Although many office
buildings throughout North America and Europe
have cooling mechanisms such as air conditioning,
many dwellings do not have any effective methods to
reduce temperatures. This trend will continue for the
foreseeable future as the earth's temperatures increase.
Research should be conducted on thermal comfort
and chronic exposure. The question becomes: are
we adapting to changing weather in any meaningful
manner?
Financial-Cost/Benefit
A knowledge gap exists in developing solutions,
best practice guidelines, assessment, diagnostic and
environmental quality enhancement design tools and
economic models that can explicitly assign a monetary
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ASHRAE Journal - November 2023

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