I am working on a project which attempts for IEQ C5.
When listing the list of rooms to be considered for credit compliance as per LEED V3 (i.e. garages, housekeeping and laundry areas, science laboratories, prep rooms, art rooms, shops of any kinds, and copying and printing rooms), i am facing some issues which are listed below.
1. Do UPS rooms need to comply the sufficient exhaust requirement?(i.e. 0.5 cfm/sqft and negative pressure)
2. Do battery rooms need to comply the sufficient exhaust requirement?
3.Do electrical mechanical rooms like, AHU rooms, Ventilation rooms, network rooms, electrical equipment rooms need to be considered in this credit compliance?
4. How to substantiate minimum and average pressure difference in rooms with door closed when the project is actually under design phase?
Any response is much appreciated.
Vel Muthu
Eric Bautista
Head of Energy & Environmental ManagementEB Project Management | Green Building Consultants
18 thumbs up
February 21, 2017 - 7:54 am
The intent of this credit is generally to protect the occupants from harmful levels of toxicity emitted by indoor equipment and chemicals.
If you declare UPS rooms, battery rooms, etc as regularly occupied spaces where people are using to do their work much of their time, then these should be documented to have a required exhaust system.
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
February 21, 2017 - 8:15 am
I dissagree. The exhaust requirement is to stop bad air migrating to occupied spaces. This requirement usually falls to dedicated copy rooms, janitorial spaces, parking areas, etc. Anywhere where there are harmful gases.
1. Possibly if there is a connection to the battery room or other bad gases being generated.
2. Yes, unless you can provide proof from the manufacturer...new technologies may have exceptions.
3. Usaully no, but consider minimum ventilation rates for moisture control (Tip: anywhere with a drain on the floor or a basin).
4. With a calculation or simulation. You can use ASHRAE HOF. There's a section on smoke control to deturmine the leakage through doors with a specified pressure difference.
Eric Bautista
Head of Energy & Environmental ManagementEB Project Management | Green Building Consultants
18 thumbs up
February 21, 2017 - 8:32 am
You got a point but not as always as you are referring with "migration" of toxic/bad air to occupied spaces.
In most cases such as Data Center, there are some occupants and IT personnel assigned inside the UPS and IT rooms, therefore these are to be considered as regularly occupied spaces which require exhaust system. So exhaust must be provided not only preventing migration of toxic air but to protect the occupants inside those spaces.
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
February 21, 2017 - 9:00 am
I'm looking at Table 6-4 of the 62.1-2007 Standard. The exhaust requirement (especially for the underpressure requirement from LEED) is there to contain and extract that air (sometimes also due to excessive moisture content and not just toxins). Otherwise, it would have been a fresh air requirement where the air could simply wash over to other spaces. If data centers have been included on the exhaust requirement list, it would most likely be to contain ozone (a known respiratory irritant that should not get to other zones). Some of these occupied spaces may at the same time require a fresh air requirement. This is logical to almost balance the exhaust if a negative pressure is to be maintained, however the function of the fresh air is to dilute the bad air enough to minimize the exposure to occupants (that has always been the case...people forget that this is not a replacement effect, i.e. you don't swap out the gases, they mix...although some displacement systems could almost achieve the same thing, most zones are "well mixed"). So I consider them seperate requirements that are often linked in some ways practically but for different reasons.
Server racks have the additional requirement for cooling and moisture control (again seperate requirement), but similar to kitchens and operating rooms, that starts being very specific to the equipment involved as to how the requirements are to be satisfied.
I'm happy for the discussion, because understanding a bigger picture is more work, but helps everyone spot errors on the practical side of things.