ASHRAE meeting update
By Ron George,CPD,
President, Ron George Design & Consulting Svcs.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) summer meeting took place in the Texas heat and humidity, June 23 – 27, during a triple-digit heat wave in San Antonio. The heat was a reminder of the importance air conditioning plays in making the indoor environment comfortable and tenable. More than 1,500 people attended the conference, held along the San Antonio river walk.
The conference offered a technical program with over 270 presentations, eight educational courses, numerous networking events and more than 400 meetings of technical, standards and standing committees. I attended several of these meetings. Following is a summary of the standards.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
Co-sponsored by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), this standard is published in code-language format, so it can be adopted as a state or local energy code in many jurisdictions. Alternatively, a jurisdiction may choose to adopt the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which allows ASHRAE 90.1 to be used as a compliance path. Standard 90.1 is updated by addenda that are compiled every 18 months and is published in full every three years.
The original standard ASHRAE 90 was published in 1975 and there were multiple editions in subsequent years. In 1999, the ASHRAE board of directors placed the standard on continuous maintenance, which allowed it to be updated multiple times in a year. This was done because of the rapid change in technology and energy prices. The standard has now been renumbered to ASHRAE 90.1 and, since 2001, it has been updated every three years.
The standard includes the following language:
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this standard is to provide minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings except low-rise residential buildings, for:
1. Design, construction and a plan for operation and maintenance, and
2. Utilization of on-site, renewable energy resources.
2. SCOPE:
2.1 This standard provides:
A. Minimum energy-efficient requirements for the design, construction and a plan for operation and maintenance of:
(1) New buildings and their systems,
(2) New portions of buildings and their systems,
(3) New systems and equipment in existing buildings,
(4) New equipment or building systems specifically identified in the standard that are part of industrial or manufacturing processes.
B. Criteria for determining compliance with these requirements.
2.2 The provisions of this standard do not apply to:
1. Single-family houses, multifamily structures of three stories or fewer above grade, manufactured houses (mobile homes) and manufactured houses (modular),
2. Buildings that do not use either electricity or fossil fuel.
2.3 Where specifically noted in this standard, certain other buildings or elements of buildings shall be exempt.
2.4 This standard shall not be used to circumvent any safety, health or environmental requirements.
Many states apply the ASHRAE 90.1 standard to buildings that are being constructed or under renovation. Most states apply the standard or equivalent standards for all commercial buildings, while others apply them for all government buildings. A couple of states use other energy conservation standards for all commercial buildings and a couple use a combination of the ASHRAE 90.1 standard for all government buildings and other energy conservation standards for their commercial buildings. Some states do not apply any energy conservation standards.
ANSI/ASHRAE 189.1-2011, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
Standard 189.1-2011 is co-sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). The standard provides a “total building sustainability package” for those who strive to design, build and operate green buildings. From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard sets the foundation for green buildings by addressing site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.
Standard 189.1 serves as a compliance option in the 2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC) published by the ICC, which regulates construction of new and remodeled commercial buildings.
The 2011 version incorporates many comments, including updated references to other related standards, primarily ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 and ANSI/ASHRAE 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Compliance with these provisions will result in further improvements to indoor environmental quality, while further reducing energy use and environmental impact through high-performance building design, construction and operation.
ASHRAE SPC 188P Prevention of Legionellosis Associated with Building Water Systems
The standard is in its final stages and the revised version should be out later this year. The last published draft had the following language:
Purpose: The proposed standard seeks to present practices for the prevention of Legionellosis associated with building water systems.
Scope: 2.1 This standard provides various methods of risk management for the prevention of Legionellosis associated with centralized industrial and commercial building water systems.
2.2 This standard applies to human-occupied buildings, excluding single-family residential buildings. While this is not specifically intended for non-centralized or single-family residential building systems, some of the information contained within the non-mandatory appendix may be useful for these systems.
2.3 This standard is intended for use by those involved in the ownership, design, construction, installation, (including commissioning), management, operation, maintenance and servicing of centralized industrial and commercial building water systems.
Anyone who owns, designs, builds, installs, commissions, manages, operates, maintains and services centralized industrial or commercial building water systems will be affected by ASHRAE 188P, will be held accountable for safeguarding potable water and utility water systems and should comply by following these steps:
1. Survey the water systems to determine the risk level. (This does not mean testing for legionella.)
2. Develop a risk management plan (HACCP).
3. Document the plan.
4. Monitor.
5. Validate.
This applies to both existing and new buildings. The following buildings and water systems are covered by the standard:
• Human-occupied buildings, excluding single-family residential structures.
• Potable hot and cold water systems, including showers, cooling towers and evaporative condensers, whirlpool spas and decorative fountains, as well as other water features and aerosol generating air coolers, humidifiers and washers.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) requires facility managers/owners to assemble a risk management team of knowledgeable or qualified Legionella prevention experts to:
1. Identify uses of potable and utility water.
2. Create diagrams of water systems.
3. Identify control points and determine critical control points, establish monitoring procedures and corrective actions and verify the hazard (Legionella) is controlled.
ASHRAE 188P will have a significant impact on the design and maintenance of building water systems. Design engineers will need to be more aware of dead legs, storage temperatures, distribution temperatures, return temperatures, etc. Pipe mains will need to be routed closer to the fixtures or equipment to minimize the dead legs. Additional temperature gauges may be needed as well. Soon we will likely learn about locating temperature gauges to be able to properly diagnose a system.
Treatment methods for Legionella
ASHRAE 188P does not contain complete details for effective prevention and disinfection and control of Legionella in building water systems. It provides a uniform practice for surveying, developing a risk plan, monitoring and validating that these functions are taking place. ASHRAE Guideline 12 should more thoroughly cover the prevention, disinfection and control of bacteria in the water systems.
Some methods of disinfection mentioned in the 188P standard often fail to control Legionella. That's why it's important to obtain competent advice from a legionella or water treatment specialist and review current publications for Legionella control. Make sure you investigate all treatment options before you take the word of a water treatment salesperson.
The 188P committee had discussions about the committee membership and size, noting that the committee currently has three membership categories and that membership must be balanced, so it is difficult to add individual voting members and still maintain balance. An equal number of members from each membership category needs to be added at the same time. Discussions were held to make sure everyone has the correct member category on their committee application and bias forms. There were also discussions about adding member categories to help with the situation.
A committee member asked whether Standard 188P would be delayed until Guideline 12 is ready to publish. The answer was no. The two documents, while both addressing Legionellosis associated with building water systems, can be published independently of each other. Most likely, the 188P standard will be published in 2012.
Thomas E. Watson took office as ASHRAE’s 2012 – 2013 president. His theme for the year, “Broadening ASHRAE’s Horizons,” emphasizes the role of ASHRAE members as leaders in the application of sustainable design and practices in our communities worldwide.
ASHRAE’s 2013 Winter Conference takes place in Dallas January 26 –30, 2013 and is held in conjunction with the AHR Exposition, Jan. 28 – 30, 2013. Be sure to save the date on your calendars.
Ron George is president of Plumb-Tech Design and Consulting Services LLC. He has served as chairman of the International Residential Plumbing & Mechanical Code Committee. Visit www.Plumb-TechLLC.com, e-mail Ron@Plumb-TechLLC.com or phone 734/755-1908.
