New ASHRAE 62.1 lists VOCs

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has published the 2010 version of Standard 62.1. The standard is for “Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality,” and sets minimum ventilation rates for commercial and institutional buildings.
Among several changes, the 2010 standard requires that most buildings designed to meet the natural ventilation requirements also have a mechanical ventilation system. The mechanical system is to be used when windows are closed due to situations such as extreme heat or cold weather, noise outside or security concerns.
The revised standard has relocated the requirements related to exhaust systems to a new section. The standard clarifies that exhaust requirements apply to all buildings regardless of the procedure used to determine outdoor air intake flow rates.
Another change is that the standard now contains as Appendix B a table of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that designers “might want to consider as possible contaminants of concern.”
The head of the committee that revised the standard, Roger Hedrick, said: “The 2010 standard furthers ASHRAE’s work in ensuring acceptable indoor air quality, while also heeding the need for energy efficiency as we strive to find ways to help designers tailor ventilation system designs to each particular application.”
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