We have a project in Rio de Janeiro registered under CS and to which the fan door test shall be conducted since it is composed of three residential buildings. In Brazil, the test has not been performed to any other project persuing LEED before and after more than three years searching for companies capable of conducting the test, only one has demonstrated the required know-how. Since units are very large - from 315m2 to 1,425m2 each - and the ANSI/ASTM-E779 standard is applicable to single zones only, some simulations will be required in order to determine measurements procedures for the project, and since the simulation tool for version 2003 of the standard is not available, we wonder whether version 2010 could be used. We have compaired both versions: the minor differeces are related to equipment accuracy only, and version 2010 is more restrictive.
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MARCIO OROFINO
ENE ConsultoresENE CONSULTORES
18 thumbs up
April 7, 2017 - 6:34 pm
Back to the same project.
We are aware of this multi-family residential building in Fortaleza, Brazil, which has achieved LEED certification; but for this one the test has not been conducted - instead, it has been claimed smoke-free is enforceable by the condominium agreement for all areas, common and private. Since we vehemently oppose this given the impossibility of inspection, we defend that test shall be conducted. According to the procedure described in the Residential Manual for Compliance with the 2001 Energy Efficiency Standards: i. one of each seven units shall be tested for each building, ii. in case any unit fail a second set of tets shall be conducted, including those non-approved units and a new sample among those non-tested with the same ratio of 1 : 7; and iii. in case any unit fail at that second round, all non-approved or non-tested units of the tower the failed unit belongs to shall be tested.
Our questions are :
1. According to the guide, balconies are smoking-allowed areas since they are at least 25ft from outdoor air intakes, operable windows, and common areas. In our project, not all terraces comply with that distance. Is it okay to forbid smoking in balconies even they are private areas? The guide says: "prohibit on-propoerty smokin withing 25ft of entries, outdoor air intakes, and operable windows."
2. Would a pre-test be recommended in order to detect a gross error? Or at least a walkthrough? The main issue is the cost of the test in case the third measurement will be necessary.
Trista Brown
Project DirectorWSP USA
449 thumbs up
August 30, 2017 - 5:20 pm
Hi Marcio, since this is a prerequisite I recommend getting in contact with GBCI when there are project-specific issues to work through. That way you can be absolutely sure your preferred approach will be approved during the application review. And if GBCI doesn't approve it, hopefully you can work with them to come up with a reasonable strategy. That said, lots of multi-family residential buildings prohibit smoking across the entire property - common areas, residential units, balconies/rooftops/terraces, and within 25 feet of the building exterior at ground level. It's just about making that decision and developing lease agreements etc that include this rule.