How
To Have A Building That Hums, Is Healthy and Saves
Money. Do You Know If Your Building Is Healthy,
Fire Safe and Energy-Efficient?
If you
are a building owner or property manager, you want to
attract long-term tenants and realize building operating
cost efficiencies, but can you make that claim
presently? After all, buildings don’t necessarily operate
as designed, especially after a number of years. And if
commissioning or retro-commissioning by a team of
experts has not taken place and adjustments made to
heating, ventilation and a-c (HVAC) and other operating
systems, you won’t be realizing energy efficiency
savings and occupants may be unnecessarily
uncomfortable, annoyed by equipment sounds, or be
exposed to irritating or harmful particles in the air.
The
Role of Ventilation
The Lawrence Berkeley Lab has reported, “An estimated
23% of offices have dampness or mold.” The Lab goes on
to state that a 30% reduction of dampness and mold plus
improved particle filtration in offices would result in
significant gains in occupant health and attendance and,
of course, worker production.
The
HVAC system can spread mold that’s been growing in drip
pans, ductwork, coils, and humidifiers plus spread dust
or debris in ductwork. Furthermore, within the ductwork
system, some fire and smoke dampers may be
dysfunctional--putting occupants’ lives and property at
high risk. Such dampers, placed throughout HVAC
ductwork, are designed to mitigate the spread of toxic
smoke and deadly fire. Hence, the importance of
professional examination and adjusting.
Building owners, managers or general contractors can be
selective in choosing a testing agency that provides
technical expertise in all of the areas of concern for
their tenants.
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Remediation of IAQ Problems
“The root cause of poor indoor air quality is improper
ventilation rate,” maintains Certified Indoor
Environmental Consultant Jim Kelleher of Metro Test and
Balance, Inc.
It is common for remediation to entail installation of
new ductwork, cleaning existing ductwork, replacement of
fans and other components of ventilation systems,
testing and balancing of HVAC equipment, and replacing
filters.
Relying on facility employees to periodically check
ventilation rates is likely to result in missed
identification of problems and missed solutions.
Uninformed employees can even cause problems by actions
such as closing dampers to outside air. Annually
engaging outside experts who know the industry
standards, like ASHRAE 62.1 (ventilation rates), is
relatively inexpensive and a smart preventive measure,
reiterates Kelleher.
The potential fallout from poor IAQ includes loss of
productivity due to the effects of a stale and/or
contaminated environment, loss of tenants and even a
lawsuit. A benefit of annually engaging an outside,
certified expert to identify and solve air quality
problems is self-protection as well as prevention of
harm to occupants. If a building owner is sued by an
occupant over poor IAQ having caused or exacerbated a
health condition, there will be no finding of conflict
of interest.
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