CODES & STANDARDS

Feb. 1, 2005
ARI The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) recently announced the revision of 10 standards and a guideline, including: ARI Guideline K-2004,

ARI

The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) recently announced the revision of 10 standards and a guideline, including:

  • ARI Guideline K-2004, Containers for Recovered Fluorocarbon Refrigerants.

  • ARI Standard 340/360-2004, Performance Rating of Commercial and Industrial Unitary Air-Conditioning Equipment.

  • ARI Standard 520-2004, Performance Rating of Positive Displacement Condensing Units.

  • ARI Standard 540-2004, Performance Rating of Positive Displacement Refrigerant Compressors.

  • ARI Standard 700-2004, Specification for Fluorocarbon Refrigerants.

  • ARI Standard 850-2004, Performance Rating of Commercial and Industrial Air Filter Equipment.

  • ARI Standard 900-2004, Performance Rating of Thermal Storage Equipment Used for Cooling.

  • ARI Standard 1200-2004, Performance Rating of Commercial Refrigerated Display Cases.

The guideline and each of the standards is available for free download at www.ari.org.

ASHRAE

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently announced the publication of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

The standard incorporates 17 addenda. Among the most significant changes were the:

  • Revision of the ventilation-rate procedure to reflect new information concerning the impact of ventilation on indoor-air quality (IAQ) and to clarify adjustments for space air distribution and multizone-recirculating-system efficiency. The breathing-zone ventilation rate now includes both an area-related component and an occupant-density-related component.

  • Deletion of smoking lounges from the list of occupancy categories and the lowering of rates — based on their application to no-smoking spaces only — in the minimum-ventilation-rate table. For spaces in which smoking is permitted, additional, but unspecified, ventilation in excess of the rates listed in the table is required.

  • Addition of Appendix G, which provides guidance on when the standard applies to new and existing buildings and contains language that could be adopted by jurisdictions that have not adopted a building code.

The standard is now fully written in mandatory and enforceable language, completing a process that began in 1997.

The cost of Standard 62.1-2004 is $48 for ASHRAE members and $60 for non-members. Copies can be ordered by phone at 800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400; by fax at 404-321-5478; by mail at 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329; or online at www.ashrae.org.

ICC

The International Code Council (ICC) recently announced it will work with the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) on the research, development, adoption, and enforcement of state and national building codes addressing disaster-resistant commercial and residential construction.

For their first project, the groups will be joined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Florida Department of Community Affairs in analyzing construction-performance findings in the wake of the four hurricanes that struck Florida last August and September. Following the analysis, the groups will convene a summit of public- and private-sector representatives to begin developing plans to strengthen the state's codes and standards.

The ICC also announced that the IBHS was awarded a seat on the International Code Adoption Coalition, a committee established to identify national areas of concern regarding code development and disaster mitigation.