IAQ 2016 Defining Indoor Air Quality: Policy, Standards and Best Practices Co-Organized by ASHRAE and AIVC

In a hot and humid climate, the year-round wetting of cooling coils and drain pans make them ideal breeding grounds for microorganisms, which may have adverse effects on indoor air quality. Ultraviolet coil irradiation systems are marketed on the basis of claims that they will improve coil performance and save energy. The disinfection performance of a coil irradiation system was investigated via a field study. A commercially available coil irradiation system was installed on the downstream side of a cooling coil in a variable air volume (VAV) air handling unit (AHU) serving a library building. The disinfection performance was assessed by a “before” and “after” irradiation comparison of bio-contamination level on coil surfaces and in condensate water. Surface biological samples were collected from both upstream and downstream side coil fin surfaces based on a 2 × 3 sampling grid using spear-shaped absorbent swabs. Water samples were collected from condensate drain pan. Seven samplings were conducted (two before irradiation and five after irradiation) throughout the study. The measurements taken showed that 1) bio-contamination on the surfaces of this coil was mainly fungi contamination; 2) neither bacteria nor fungi could be isolated from downstream surface samples after four weeks of irradiation, except for those collected when the outdoor air bio-contamination level was high; 3) neither bacteria nor fungi could be isolated from water samples after six weeks of irradiation. The above observations suggest that coil irradiation systems may be effective in disinfecting coil surfaces and drain pans in a hot and humid climate.

Weather patterns around the globe have been influenced by climate change, often contributing to adverse effects in outdoor air quality. Efforts to improve energy efficiency in homes and buildings have led to tighter structures. However, these changes can also produce negative consequences for indoor air quality (IAQ) and human health. One of the dramatic effects of climate change and weather is the increase in destructive wildfires, such as those experienced in the Pacific Northwest over the summers of 2014 and 2015. Much literature and conjecture predict that these types of fires are expected to increase in intensity, not only in the Northwest, but in other wildfire-prone areas as well. This raises the following questions: What is the expected performance of homes and IAQ under forecast changes in weather patterns predicted by climate change? What chemicals were present in smoke that traveled hundreds of miles from the fires and infiltrated IAQ test homes? What was the IAQ in these test homes before, during, and after the wildfire events? This paper presents data for two houses during periods with and without wildfire impacts with very high levels of smoke in the region.

Simulation tools must be employed in order to depict the present situation around the external areas and inside the building envelope, usually during the warmest or the coldest day. If a new configuration of materials and bioclimatic techniques as water surfaces and green roofs are used in the outer space, this would also improve the energy consumption of the inner spaces of the urban complex. Whole building energy simulation in building complexes, before and after the outer space bioclimatic reformation, would show energy consumption reduction. The latter concept is applied in order to investigate the case of increased temperatures due to climate change. Whole building energy simulation software for quite large spaces has been utilized that takes into account detailed construction elements and local climatic conditions. This paper investigates exact strategies and practices that building developments should follow in the future in relation to climatic change.