Learn How HVAC Diffusers Can Help You Meet New Initiatives and Challenges
While we await ASHRAE’s national indoor air quality (IAQ) standards which are set to be released by late June of 2023, ASHRAE continues to make updates to ensure the best consensus-driven standards and current information for all facilities that require the highest level of performance from their air distribution systems.
Manufacturers of grilles and diffusers for HVAC systems – including HVAC ceiling diffusers designed specifically for critical environments – are eagerly anticipating how this guidance will shape relevant industries – including those with commercial buildings – in the years to come. Why? Air distribution manufacturers are uniquely positioned to help businesses meet these standards.
Until this national mitigation standard is released, many HVAC manufacturers are reviewing two additional ASHRAE updates: their zero carbon and zero energy evaluation standard and a guide for IAQ in educational facilities. It can be difficult for facilities managers and operational assets teams to stay up to date on the ever-evolving landscape while also juggling an incredible amount of responsibility. For your convenience, these new updates from ASHRAE are summarized below.
ASHRAE’s Zero Carbon Update – and How HVAC Diffusers Figure In
ASHRAE recently released two energy-efficiency-related updates, just as many facilities consider energy initiatives as part of their ethical and economic priorities. From hospitals to manufacturing plants, cutting carbon usage is, if not fully implemented, certainly widely discussed among facility managers today.
- “Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance” (ASHRAE Standard 228-2023)
While suggestions for getting to “net zero” have been addressed by ASHRAE in the past, this evaluative resource allows facilities to monitor benchmarks to ensure they are making energy calculations in a way that is agreed upon by ASHRAE’s experts and allows facilities to ultimately reach their energy-related goals.Even sites that are unable to create their own renewable energy have “allowances” in this calculation to proceed with their energy reduction efforts. Registered users can download Standard 228-2023 from ASHRAE’s website.
ASHRAE continues to advance its position on the decarbonization of commercial facilities. Manufacturers of custom HVAC grilles and diffusers, as well as operating room and critical environment ceiling HVAC diffusers, can contribute to the advancement of a decarbonized future. LED lighting and modest power usage in fan filter units are two significant ways that air distribution products can help facilities lower their energy expenditures, while plans for generating renewable energy emerge.
ASHRAE’s Free Design Guidance Resource for Schools Includes Optimizing HVAC Diffusers
As many analyses have made clear, the demand for commercial IAQ exploded from 2020 onward. ASHRAE is meeting this demand in one sector that is very invested: educational facilities. While a great deal of literature and research inundated administrators in education about the medical benefits of IAQ both in and out of a pandemic, ASHRAE is now providing guidance for school facilities that are now doing the work of commissioning custom HVAC projects.
- “Design Guidance for Educational Facilities: Prioritization for Advanced Indoor Air Quality” (2023)
Smartly, this document takes a tiered approach to informing school facilities and operations managers about specifications and standard requirements for IAQ. Facilities teams can consider “base minimum” standards as well as “advanced IAQ” standards depending on their needs and the scope of their initiative.This approach is wise, as facilities managers in education are operating at disparate funding levels. Additionally, this level of thoroughness and transparency can be useful in cases where a school project must pass through the hands of elected officials and the voting public.
Download this guidance from ASHRAE’s free resources page.
While schools will find this document useful, custom HVAC manufacturers will also be able to refer to this resource as they continue product development. ASHRAE’s guidelines provide HVAC grille and diffuser manufacturers with near blueprints for designing dynamic products that meet the standards and specifications ASHRAE recommends.
IAQ and Decarbonization Research and Best Practices Will Continue to Move at a Rapid Pace This Decade and Beyond
As society continues to move in the direction of better mitigation of airborne pathogens, and more emphasis is placed on reducing our reliance on carbon, both HVAC manufacturers and the facilities they benefit will be in a prime position to address this progress. We will rely on HVAC manufacturers to develop many new products, including signature ceiling diffusers for HVAC systems – along with more standardized HVAC grilles and diffusers – to protect our environment and health.
Today, working with a custom HVAC manufacturer isn’t only about serving your critical environment or ensuring comfortable ventilation and air conditioning in your building. HVAC manufacturers are on the front lines of initiatives that will benefit the advancement of business, science, health, education, and culture. Learn more about how custom air distribution products are positioned to lead.