The total area 79,650 SF of the new building is divided as indicated below. 20,940 SF - Data Center with raised floor 13,200 SF - office space, loading, storage and support areas 45, 510 SF - MEP spaces --79,650 SF The data center (20,940 SF) and MEP spaces (45,510 SF) are designed with minimal outside air, which is not occupied by the office staff. The question is: would Performing a flush-out only in office spaces (20,940 SF), excluding the Data Center and MEP spaces shall meet LEED NC 2.2 Credit 3.2 requirements under flush out option? This question is being asked on the basis that only office spaces are truly occupied by the personnel, and data center and MEP spaces are not.
The applicant is asking if the flush out procedure needs to be performed in unoccupied areas within the building in order to comply with the credit requirements. All spaces that are “occupiable,” as defined by ASHRAE 62.1, must be flushed out. ASHRAE’s definition is “an enclosed space intended for human activities, excluding those spaces intended primarily for other purposes, such as storage rooms and equipment rooms, that are only occupied occasionally and for short periods of time.” Typical MEP spaces would not be considered to be occupiable. However, data centers would be considered occupiable since personnel are present more than “occasionally and for short periods of time.
**Update October 1, 2013: Applicable credits have been updated.