The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently announced the publication of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

Among changes to the standard is a modified Natural Ventilation Rate Procedure, which now requires most buildings designed to meet natural-ventilation requirements to include a mechanical ventilation system designed to meet the Ventilation Rate or IAQ procedure. The mechanical system is to be used when windows are closed because of extreme outdoor temperatures, noise, and security concerns.

Another change relocates requirements related to exhaust systems to a new section, clarifying that exhaust requirements apply to all buildings, regardless of the procedure used to determine outdoor-air-intake flow rates. Also, the IAQ Procedure has been made more robust with increased requirements for using the "similar building" design approach and the clarification of other requirements.

The cost of Standard 62.1-2010 is $59 for ASHRAE members and $69 for non-members. Copies can be ordered by phone at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400, by fax at 404-321-5478, or online at www.ashrae.org/bookstore.