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ASHRAE Begins Work on HVAC System Maintenance Standard
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ANAHEIM - Enhanced maintenance can reduce HVAC system operational problems related to energy usage and indoor air quality.
Yet lack of a broadly accepted standard maintenance practice makes it difficult for building owners and operators to budget for inspection and maintenance of HVAC systems.
A proposed standard from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) will provide a document that owners and operators can rely on to guide their operational planning.
Proposed ASHRAE Standard 180P, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of HVAC Systems, will establish minimum inspection points and/or maintenance intervals for HVAC and filtration systems in commercial, residential, institutional and public buildings.
Creation of a committee to write the standard was approved during ASHRAE's 2004 Winter Meeting held here Jan. 24-27.
Proposed standard 180P will define the maintenance required to minimize degradation of the building asset without compromising indoor air quality and other operational conditions and specify ventilation system periodic maintenance requirements for occupied indoor spaces.
"In the past, operation and maintenance of HVAC systems has been considered the responsibility of manufacturers of system components and owners and operators," Robert Baker, chair of the 180P committee, said. "As systems have grown more complex, the maintenance direction provided by the manufacturer of one component of a system has become less useful as the proper operation depends on all components working together."
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 55,000 persons. Its sole objective is to advance through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve the evolving needs of the public.
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