IAQ in Standard 189.1: Is It Really High Performance?

While most discussions of high performance buildings include site impacts, water use, energy, materials and indoor environmental quality, energy often receives more attention than these other attributes. Given that buildings exist primarily for the occupants, indoor air quality (IAQ) within these buildings obviously merits serious consideration. ASHRAE/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Design of High-Performance Green Buildings, is the only consensus standard for high performance buildings, but questions exist as to whether or not it is consistent with high performance IAQ. This paper discusses high performance IAQ and how Standard 189.1 as well as other programs might move to higher performance IAQ.