Note: This pilot credit was closed for new registrations as of March 1, 2012.
For decades, conventional hospital ventilation system design has been based upon constant volume reheat systems with outside air economizers delivering air through overhead air distribution systems.
More recently, variable air volume systems have been used in areas of hospitals where there is no requirement for a specific direction of air movement between adjacent areas as outlined in Table 2.1–2.2 of the 2006 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities (FGI-2006).
As energy conservation in healthcare facilities has become more of a focus, the application of VAV systems has expanded, with tracking devices used to ensure that the direction of air movement between adjacent spaces does not change as the system responds to changes in internal cooling and heating loads.
Emerging best practices
Hospital ventilation systems employing emerging best practices have begun to use more innovative systems for improved occupant health and comfort, while delivering significant reductions in mechanical system energy use. For example, current research on displacement ventilation systems has demonstrated the ability of such systems to provide improved ventilation effectiveness and reduced exposure to airborne contaminants in patient rooms. European hospitals, such as the Rikshospitalet in Olso, Norway and the New Karolinska Solna in Sweden have been leaders in the integration of natural ventilation into the patient care environment. Chilled beams have been used for many years in hospitals in the U.K. Portions of many hospitals are essentially administrative spaces, and could take advantage of other systems with high ventilation effectiveness, such as underfloor air delivery systems.
Breaking down barriers
Barriers to the use of innovative ventilation systems in hospitals in the U.S. include regulatory confusion with respect to what is allowed by relevant codes and standards (FGI-2006 and ASHRAE 170), as well as the inherently conservative and risk-averse nature of hospital engineers, contractors, and owners.
Earning the credit
This pilot credit was developed by USGBC in order to provide the industry with a small incentive to at least consider which portions of a hospital project might be suitable for the application of innovative ventilation systems. The hope is that, after performing this investigation, such innovative ventilation systems will become part of the standard toolkit for delivering high performance healing environments. A point is earned if an innovative ventilation technology—a technology with defensible improvements in ventilation effectiveness—is applied to any portion of a project.
Credit Submittals
General:
- Register for Pilot Credit(s) LEEDuser.com, and participate in online forum
- Submit the feedback survey using the link on the USGBC.org credit page; supply PDF of your survey/confirmation of completion with credit documentation
Credit Specific:
Currently, credit submittals have not been finalized; as the pilot continues, these require-ments will evolve. At this time, please submit one to two pieces of documentation to sup-port your claims, and assist in the development of the submittals.
Additional Questions
- Was natural ventilation an effective strategy for your project?
- What percentage of the conditioned area was served by the system used to obtain this credit?
- How many additional Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1 points were earned as a result of the system used to obtain this credit?
- Did building codes and/or process requirements negate your project’s ability to achieve this credit? Were there barriers, other than code, to implementing the strate-gies used under this credit?