A previous Credit Ruling stated: "The Committee agreed that monitoring CO in a residential application was an appropriate step to address indoor air quality in this occupancy." We have thus chosen to use this approach for another multi-family rental apartment project. This project has no assembly spaces of any kind, so our strategy relies solely on the CO monitoring of each individual dwelling unit. We propose to install battery-powered CO monitors with requirement placed on tenants not to tamper with these units, while providing tenants information on testing CO monitor functionality and providing building-wide testing and battery replacement for the CO monitors as part of annual unit inspections and maintenance. Please confirm whether this approach constitutes an acceptable approach to CO monitoring of the dwelling units, or whether hard-wiring will be required.
The approach to equivalency for this credit described above is not adequate to meet the intent of the credit. Although CO monitoring may be an integral part of an indoor air quality monitoring program in residential projects, the system described does not effectively address indoor air quality by itself. To achieve an equivalency to this credit, an indoor air quality monitoring program must be robust and on-going. The credit requires that the data collected from air quality monitoring be used to inform building operating procedures, by generating data which can be used to improve building operation. In the 1/18/2002 credit inquiry cited, the CO monitors were part of a wider IAQ monitoring protocol which was implemented throughout the building by building management. This protocol was designed to test for a variety of indoor air contaminants, supported by the use of CO monitors at key locations near combustion devices to support achievement of the credit. The proposed interpretation request suggests that the IAQ program consists only of CO monitors. The program does not address a range of possible contaminants, does not describe how residents can be required not to tamper with the monitors, and does not indicate that high CO readings will be addressed by building management in any way which would improve indoor air quality. Applicable Internationally.