Proposed changes to ASHRAE standard on health care ventilation open for public comment

ASHRAE has released public review drafts for two addenda for ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2017, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities. 

The following drafts are scheduled for a 45-day public review from March 23, 2018 to May 7, 2018:

BSR/ASHRAE/ASHE Addendum o to ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2017, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities (first public review draft) is scheduled for public comment until May 7. 

• Infection control and prevention identifies and segregates people who are especially vulnerable and affords them greater than normal protection. It also identifies and segregates threats so that they cannot pose a risk to people. This can be done through engineering controls, but it can also be accomplished through operational controls. The trained infection control and prevention professionals on staff at many hospitals are able to take community-levels of risk into account and this proposed addendum provides a voluntary risk-based approach to establish operational ventilation rates for spaces required in this Standard.

BSR/ASHRAE/ASHE Addendum p to ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2017, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities (first public review draft) is scheduled for public comment until May 7. 

• This proposed addendum incorporates updates to Table 7.1. Generally, the changes are as follows: Delete the requirements for Residential Health, Care, and Support spaces, which are being relocated to a new Table 9.1 in Addendum n. Relocate and update filtration requirements.  Part of that effort revised the Filter Bank No. 1 entries to be “MERV 8” from the prior entry of “MERV 7”. Include requirements for unoccupied turndown of the spaces. Revise the space name terminology, table organization, and subheadings to better correlate with the 2014 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities.

The documents can be accessed at ASHRAE's online comment database.