wQ ASHRAE Recommended Air Changes Per Hour 2020-08-06 by Paday Robertson oe ‘iii 1 Tf Was iM Mi ‘MN E | Recommended Ventilation Rates for, fOffices, Homes, Schools.and More — = Data shows that improving indoor ventilation can reduce the r'sk of virus transmission, and is recommended by the CDC. But what is the recommended air changes per hour for different spaces? In this article, we'll cover the recommended ASHRAE recommended air changes per hour for offices, homes, ‘schools, residential and hospitals, using the ASHRAE 62.1 and 62.2 guidelines. ASHRAE Recommended Air Changes Per Hour In the US, ASHRAE sets the minimum outdoor air ventilation rates for buildings in the ASNY/ASHRAE Standard 62.1 and 62.2 guidelines. These standards specify how much outdoor air should be brought into {3 foom every hour, and is based on occupancy and room size. Read More: What is Air Changes Per Hour (ACH) & How to Calculate Ventilation for ‘Acceptable Indoor Air Quality @ ‘The ASHRAE 62.1 ("Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings") recommends homes receive no less than 0.35 air changes per hour of outdoor air to ensure adequate indoor air. sHop =For other spaces like offices, shops, and schools, the ASHRAE 62.1 standard doesn't give a fixed number. Instead, airflow rates based on the size of a room, its use (e.g. schoo|, office, sports arena) ang the ‘number of people inside are provided. These can be used to calculate exact airflow requirements for a certain space. ‘The table below provides 2 summary of the ASHRAE recommended air changes per hour for common building types. These air changes per hour are based on typical raom sizes and occupancy rates, Including for homes, hotel rooms, offices, schools and shops. Location Type Suggested Outdaae Ai Venlaion Rat a changes per how) Homes 035-1 Hotel Rooms rey Ofices aa Real Sheps 2 56 Sports Faas “8 Restaurants 6s Learn More: Air Putifiers & COVID-19 Protection for Schools » ‘The table above gives approximate air changes per hour for schools, homes, hotels, shops and restaurants. Exact ventilation rates for a given space should be calculated based on the ASHRAE 62.1 standard. But the rules below are helpful staring points for calculating the recommended air changes per hour for your space. Doubling Room Occupancy Means Doubling Air Changes Per Hour Ventilation and sir change rates are calculated on a per-person basis. If the number of occupants in a 00m doubles, the required ventilation rate or air change doubles. This rule can be useful for office spaces as the occupancy level changes,Bigger Spaces Require More Outdoor Air ‘This rule is simple. Ignoring the number of people ina room, a room that’s 100sqm requires twice as much ‘outdoor air as a room that’s SOsqm. When Should the ASHRAE Standard Not be Used? ‘The ASHRAE Standard is a useful guideline for ventilation and air change rates in homes, offices hospitals and classrooms. However, there may be some situations where the recommended ventilation rate here is. too low. The ASHRAE Standard outlines two of these situations: + Areas with smokers. In areas with smokers or environmental tobacco smoke, the required air changes per hour will be higher. + Areas with sources of harmful emissions. f an area has @ high level of harmful emissions such as VOCs, then you may need to increase ventilation further of use an air purifier Read more: What are VOCs and how to can we remove them from the air» ASHRAE Recommendation on Air Changes For Viruses ‘The ASHRAE guidelines give general ventilation rates to maintain a comfortable indoor environment. They {do not cover environments with a high concentration of viruses. That could be hospitals, or in the context of COVID-19, offices, schools or restaurants with infected people. For high-virus these scenatios, the ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2017 or the CDC guidelines should be followed, The ASHRAE 170-2017 states a recommended number of outdoor air changes per hour of 2, with the total air changes required varying from 6-12 (depending on the location in the hospital). Minimum Outdoor ACH Minimum Totel ACH Critical and intensive Care 2 6 ‘Airborne Infection Isolation Room 2 2 Examination Room 2 6 ‘Similarly, the CDC recommends 6-12 sir changes per hour for airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIB). ‘or ihmarartencmientlgsrweoe-taiefceecetlacesial asIf dealing with viruses or other airborne infections, it is therefore recommended to have a higher ventilation rate, in the proximity of 6-12 air changes per hour. Bottom Line: ‘The recommended ventiation rates for schools, offices, shops, restaurants and homes Varies from 0.35 ~ 8 air changes per hour. When dealing with places that may contain viruses, the recommended air changes per hour are higher, approximately 6-12. ‘Smart Air How IProtect Mysett ‘Smart Airis a certified B Corp committed to combating the myths big companies use to inflate the price of clean air. Smart Alr provides empirically backed, no-nonsense purifiers and masks, that remove the ‘same particles as the big companies for @ fraction of the cost. Only corporations benefit when clean air is a luxury. (Clean Air Output (CADR) 25% mom ceo ves than 25% the = Get Your Free Guide to falName Breathing Safe Email Join the thousand keeping up on the latest sonue research & knowledge on how to breathe sate. Sign up now and receive a free guide to breathing safe! 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