Increasing the amount of fresh air in your building may also have positive impacts on health and productivity of employees. There have been a number of studies that linked indoor environmental quality with occupant health and productivity—see Resources.
Use the findings of the ASHRAE Level I Walkthrough completed for EAp1: Energy Efficiency Best Management Practices to give you an idea of how much energy is currently being used by the HVAC system. This analysis will help you to approximate the increase in energy consumption that would occur if current ventilation rates were increased to at least 30% better than ASHRAE 62.1-2007 as required for the credit.
If you don’t already comply with this credit (which is usually the case), consider whether it’s worth increasing ventilation rates in order to comply (assuming your HVAC system has the capacity).
If your building is currently less densely occupied than the scenario for which it was designed (fewer people per space, not empty spaces), you may have a good chance at earning this credit. The ventilation rates will be higher because there are fewer people per square foot, even if your HVAC system is properly sized for the total building area.
You might qualify for this credit without any further work. Use the ventilation rate procedure (VRP) calculations that you completed for IEQp1. Check whether outdoor air rates for each ventilation system serving occupied spaces are at least 30% above the minimum amount required by ASHRAE 62.1-2007.
If you documented compliance for IEQp1 using the Case 2 compliance path (Projects Unable to Meet ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007) your building is not eligible for this additional credit.
Before you begin to address this credit, complete all tasks required by IEQp1: Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance to ensure that your building meets the minimum requirements of ASHRAE 62.1-2007.
