IAQA - White Paper Archives

IAQA 18th Annual Meeting & Indoor Environment and Energy Expo (IE3) The views and opinions herein are those of the volunteer authors and may not reflect the views and opinions of IAQA. The information is offered in good faith and believed to be reliable but it is provided without warranty, expressed or implied, as to the merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or any other matter. that result in procedures that minimize risk of IAQ problems. They are more likely to know how to respond to such issues. o Residential – There is great variability in quality and capability of contractors who concentrate on servicing residences. They tend to be smaller operations and may not have the staff depth that leads to an informed approach to IAQ issues. Responses to possible IAQ problems – o Commercial – Building managers have significant potential for liability and tend to respond quickly and effectively to real or suspected IAQ complaints. Occupants of these buildings are quick to point out perceived and real problems in the indoor environment and demand solutions. Visitors to a building may notice and point out things that people always there do not notice. Systems may even alert management to a pending problem. All of this favors a rapid and effective response. o Residential –Often, potential IAQ problems in residences are headed off by the behavior of residents. People will tend to avoid things they are sensitive to and never bring such items into the home. In addition, they may sense issues and take steps to offset them such as restricting pets to parts of the home occupied in daytime to avoid exposure to allergens while sleeping, using small air filtration devices to locally lower exposure to particulates, using de-humidifiers and other methods to lower moisture levels. On the other hand, when there is poor IAQ, the homeowner may be slower to respond. In such cases, the problem can become very serious in terms of illness, chronic respiratory and other conditions or property damage. Summary The purpose of this seminar is dual. It is to stimulate thinking on the part of the attendees about the very substantial differences between Commercial and Residential occupancies relative to IAQ and begin development of possible topics for future research needed relative to Residential IAQ. Toward this end, attendees will be asked to participate in the discussion of differences outlined above. Following that discussion, attendees will be asked to contribute to a list of matters related to IAQ in residences that needs to be investigated through research projects. That listing will be placed before the ASHRAE TC7.3 Standards committee at the June 2015 meeting in Atlanta.In addition, we will attempt to start building a list of actions that can be taken to improve IAQ in residences. i ASHRAE Strategic Plan Starting 2014 (Approved June 24, 2014) ii ASHRAE Strategic Plan Starting 2014 Tool Kit

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