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 SEPTEMBER 2019

ASHRAE
JOURNAL THE MAGAZINE OF HVAC&R TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS ASHRAE.ORG

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 CONTENTS VOL. 61, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2019

STANDING COLUMNS
14
62 ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK
Selecting and Specifying
Pipe Flow Meters
By Stephen W. Duda, P.E.
70 PRODUCTIVITY – ASHRAE
Do Indoor CO2 Levels

©BRUCE DAMONTE
Directly Affect Perceived
34 54 Air Quality, Health, or Work
Performance?
FEATURES By William Fisk; Pawel Wargocki, Ph.D.;
Xiaojing Zhang
14 New Guidance for Residential 78 PRODUCTIVITY – CIBSE
Air Cleaners Identifying the Knowledge
By Lew Harriman; Brent Stephens, Ph.D,; Terry Brennan
Gaps for IEQ
By Julie Godefroy
24 Pressure Sustaining Valves 81 IEQ APPLICATIONS
By Hui Chen, P.E.; James Riley; Amy Chen; Les Williams; Wyatt Hahn;
Opportunities for Connected
Robert Henry, P.E. Devices to Improve IEQ
By Chuan He, Ph.D.; Carolyn B. Swope;
Jie Zhao, Ph.D.
34 How HVAC&R Changed the World
84 REFRIGERATION APPLICATIONS
By Bernard A. Nagengast
Refrigeration on a Budget
By Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng.
50 Achieving Resiliency in the Cold Chain:
Strategies to Maintain Food Safety DEPARTMENTS
By Mary Kate McGowan, Associate Editor, News 4 Commentary
6 Industry News
2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARDS 8 Letters
12 Meetings and Shows
54 Renovation Extends 85 Products
Building Life 100 Years 86 Special Products
87 Classified Advertising
By Eric Solrain, P.E.; Tyler Bradshaw, P.E.; Marsha Maytum; Gwen Fuertes
88 Advertisers Index

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2 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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 COMMENTARY
1791 Tullie Circle NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2305
Phone: 404-636-8400
Fax: 404-321-5478 | www.ashrae.org Jay Scott
DIRECTOR OF ASHRAE PUBLICATIONS & EDUCATION
Mark S. Owen
EDITORIAL
Technology So Good It’s Taken for Granted
Editor
Jay Scott ASHRAE is celebrating its 125th anni- chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants made
jayscott@ashrae.org versary during the 2019-20 Society it possible for placing air-conditioning
Senior Managing Editor
Sarah Foster year. ASHRAE Journal kicks off a series of equipment directly into a living space.
sfoster@ashrae.org historical features on the industry with Noting the success of the household
Associate Editor
Rebecca Matyasovski a first article this month recognizing refrigerator, the industry was enthusi-
rmatyasovski@ashrae.org five developments of the 20th Century astic over the possibilities.
Associate Editor
Jeri Alger that deeply affected our lives but are By the 1930s, companies were begin-
jalger@ashrae.org now taken for granted. ning to combine cooling and heating
Associate Editor The article explores “some technol- technology for central air-conditioning
Tani Palefski
tpalefski@ashrae.org ogy we invented, used or improved so systems that were automatic and circu-
Associate Editor well that, outside our technical com- lating filtered, tempered air to all the
Mary Kate McGowan
mmcgowan@ashrae.org munity, pretty much no one appreci- rooms in a house, office or business.
Associate Editor ates how good that technology works However, these central systems were
Courtney Payne
cpayne@ashrae.org to keep us warm or cool or provide a too expensive for most people.
Contributing Editor, Europe & Middle East vast variety of safe food at our finger Enter the window air conditioner, a
W. Stephen Comstock
tips, efficiently and affordable,” the relatively low-cost method to spot-cool
PUBLISHING SERVICES
Publishing Services Manager author writes. “Everyone takes it all for rooms in a home.
David Soltis
granted. Insulted? Don’t be—it means
Production
Jayne Jackson we HVAC&R engineers have done our SLOWED AT FIRST by World War II,
ADVERTISING jobs very well.” the concept of window air conditioners
Associate Publisher,
ASHRAE Media Advertising began to flourish as competition and
Greg Martin THE FIVE TAKEN-FOR-GRANTED mass production brought down the
gmartin@ashrae.org
Senior Coordinator—Advertising
developments on which the author cost such that comfort air condition-
Production and Operations focuses are the electric motor, auto- ing became more affordable for more
Vanessa Johnson
vjohnson@ashrae.org matic heating, household refrigera- people. The window air conditioner
Coordinator—Circulation Development tors, chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants led to the “democratizing of the air
Austin Brafford
abrafford@ashrae.org and the window air conditioner. conditioner, as the Model T Ford did
ASHRAE OFFICERS The author points out that the win- for automobiles,” the author writes.
President dow air conditioner benefited from Forty-eight thousand units were
Darryl K. Boyce, P.Eng.
President-Elect the development of the first four sold in 1946 as the industry rapidly
Charles E. Gulledge III, P.E. innovations. converted back to peacetime produc-
Treasurer Sealed motor compressors, initially tion. More than 100 million units have
Michael Schwedler, P.E.
Vice Presidents developed by the household refrig- been produced in the United States.
K. William Dean, P.Eng. eration industry, were adapted for Worldwide, nearly that many room air
Malcolm Dennis Knight, P.E.
William F. McQuade, P.E. packaged air conditioning. Automatic conditioners are now sold each year.
Farooq Mehboob, P.E.
control by thermostat was applied to Window air conditioners are now so
Secretary & Executive Vice President
Jeff H. Littleton central AC systems with the technol- commonplace that consumers take
POLICY GROUP ogy downsized and simplified for their value for granted.
2019 – 20 Chair
Publications Committee
packaged equipment. The creation of Enjoy the issue.
Chee Sheng Ow, Ph.D., P.E.
Washington Office
washdc@ashrae.org Mission Statement: ASHRAE Journal reviews current HVAC&R technology of broad interest through publica-
tion of application-oriented articles. ASHRAE Journal’s editorial content ranges from back-to-basics features
to reviews of emerging technologies, covering the entire spectrum of professional interest from design and
construction practices to commissioning and the service life of HVAC&R environmental systems.

4 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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INDUSTRY NEWS
More than 35,000 visitors and more than 1,000 exhibitors attended Chillventa 2018. One of the awards at the interna-
tional trade fair highlighted innovation in the cooling sector and outstanding displays of teamwork.
Assistance, Awards Drive
Innovation in Europe
BY WS COMSTOCK, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, EUROPE & MIDDLE EAST
NUREMBERG, GERMANY—Initiatives are
underway in Europe to stimulate the
application of innovative technolo-
gies to improve energy efficiency
through government assistance and
award programs.
An example of government assis-
tance is the European Commission’s
Horizon 2020 program that pro-
motes breakthrough discoveries.
With a pool of €80 billion aimed at
supplementing private investment
and by coupling research and inno-
vation, Horizon 2020 is helping to
achieve innovative discoveries with
its emphasis on excellent science,
industrial leadership and tackling
societal challenges. The goal is to
ensure Europe produces world-class
science, remove barriers to innova-
tion and make it easier for the public
and private sectors to work together
in delivering innovation.
Other European initiatives center
6 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org
on award programs. One of the
award programs recognizing inno-
vation in the cooling sector launched
late last year at the international
trade fair Chillventa. The trade fair
and companion technical congress
attracted 35,000 visitors and experts
in air conditioning, refrigeration
and heat pumps.
A twist to the Chillventa award
program was that it recognized out-
standing displays of teamwork along
with design functionality, innova-
tion, cost-effectiveness and opera-
tion in four categories of refrigera-
tion and air-conditioning.
In the large-scale refrigeration
category, Duschl Ingenieure was rec-
ognized for a new refrigeration sup-
ply system for Ecoform Multifol. The
designers switched from a decen-
tralized supply system to a central
refrigeration supply network. The
key to the system’s success was the
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
optimization of all parameters and
plant components across all systems
to ensure a high level of overall
efficiency. Compared to similar
systems, power savings of 70% were
achieved at a relatively low cost since
most of the improvements focused
on making standard components
work better together.
The air-conditioning systems
award was given for Hotel Nordport
Plaza, a new four-star-plus hotel
opened within sight of Hamburg’s
airport. The hotel opened in 2018.
The designer, premero Immobilien
GmbH & Co. KG; main supplier
Daikin Airconditioning Germany
GmbH; and the installation firm,
Climatech Leipzig Montage GmbH,
planned and implemented the
building services strategies. For the
hotel’s energy strategy, the own-
ers wanted to use mainly renew-
able energy sources to minimize
its CO2 emissions. The highlight of
the energy strategy is that geother-
mal energy meets all heating and
refrigeration needs. Geothermal
wells provide 261 kW of power, and
435 kW of heat sink power is also
available.
In the heat pumps category,
Athoka GmbH designed a new
stand-alone residence for the Büthe
family. The goal was to achieve year-
round comfort in terms of heating
and service water while ensuring the
building was both highly cost-effec-
tive and environmentally friendly.
One special aspect of the project was
the installation of Germany’s first
air-to-water heat pump using R-32
for underfloor heating and service
water production. A multi-split air-
to-air heat pump with three termi-
nals ensures air-conditioning com-
fort in the winter garden, the living
 INDUSTRY NEWS

rooms and bedrooms. Pedotherm GmbH was responsi-
ble for engineering the underfloor heating and the con-
trolled room ventilation with integrated heat recovery.
One of the system’s special features is the combination
of panel heating and quick-response air heating dur-
ing changes of season. This is with an active cooling and
dehumidifying function in the living and sleeping areas
and controlled home ventilation in the form of an in-
floor system with heat recovery.
A refrigeration plant that expanded capabilities of
pharmaceutical manufacturer Biotest AG was selected in
the commercial refrigeration category. One of the cus-
tomer’s specifications was to only use natural refriger-
ants while delivering a total of 100 kW for frozen storage
and 30 kW for temperature control, hot air curtains and
precooling. All machines had to come with 100% redun-
dancy. Operational safety, short downtimes and the
need to observe the latest requirements of Germany’s
Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV 2015), the Renewable
Energy Act, the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and
the F-Gas Regulation were all essential conditions. KKR
Kälte-Klima-Reinraumtechnik GmbH worked with sys-
tem supplier compact Kältetechnik GmbH on an option
that uses four CO2 assemblies generating an ambi-
ent temperature of -35°C (-31°F) in the storage areas
through direct expansion. Cooling for the cascade stages
is provided using cooling brine at -8°C (17.6°F). Eight
cold-water sets using propane as a refrigerant produce
the brine. The eight machines and the resulting eight
individual circuits make small refrigerant fill volumes
possible for each circuit.
The Chillventa awards are expected to be an ongo-
ing feature of the trade fair, allowing for progress and
implementation of successful solutions to be tracked.
The next Chillventa is scheduled for October 13 – 15,
2020, details at www.chillventa.de.

INDUSTRY IN BRIEF

Rittal, Industry Partners Unveil cylinders. These products began

Resilient Data Center shipping in January. The exclusive
CHICAGO—Rittal is partnering with ABB distribution agreement broadens
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provide a turnkey edge data center
solution for industry and telecom-
munications environments. The
Adding an organic solvent to a water-based turbulent resilient micro-modular data centers
heat exchange system creates bubbles, removing will be purpose-built for rough
heat.
environments. The Secure Edge
Boosting Heat Exchanger Capacity Data Center allows customers to run
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Researchers from enterprise-grade IT near their op-
Brown University and Tsing- erational technology environments,
hua University have devised a machines and equipment to enable
way to dramatically speed up low-latency, secure and reliable digi-
turbulent heat exchange. The tal processes.
new method works by adding an
organic solvent to a water-based The Harris Products Group Expands
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to maximize the speed of heat tributor of Worthington Industries
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rosive, non-flammable and ozone wholesale channel, and a distribu-
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uct lines.
FabricAir Turns 45
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA.—FabricAir® Inc.
celebrated its 45th anniversary in
August. The first modern fabric duct
was developed and installed in a
slaughterhouse in 1973 by FabricAir’s
precursor, and the company made
its North American market pen-
etration in 1989. Today, FabricAir
continues to innovate and expand,
including its new research and de-
velopment AirLab.
For breaking news sent to
your inbox, subscribe to
ASHRAE HVAC&R Industry
News at https://tinyurl.com/
hvacr-signup.

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 7

LETTERS

Changes in IAQ TABLE 1 Comparison of contaminant levels.

Caused By Corona CONTAMINANT

Ozone
HIGH MEASURED VALUE
34.8 ppb
STANDARD
100 ppb (NIOSH)
OTHER GUIDELINE
50 ppb (CARB)
Discharge Air Cleaner Formaldehyde 3.74 ppb 16 ppb (NIOSH) 27 ppb (USGBC)
Acetaldehyde 1.71 ppb 200,000 ppb 25,000 ppb
In the December 2018 column “Changes in IAQ Caused (OSHA) (ACGIH)
By Corona Discharge Air Cleaner,” an in situ test done in Propionaldehyde .44 ppb N/A 20,000 ppb
a high school classroom formed the basis for the column. (ACGIH)

On reviewing this column, AtmosAir saw several incon-
sistencies and data presented in such a way that could
bias the reader into an uninformed conclusion. This let-
ter is written to help readers of this column better under-
stand those inconsistencies and better educate the reader.
The column concludes that operation of the corona
discharge air cleaner degraded air quality as there were
increased levels of ozone, aldehydes and ultra-fine par-
ticles on days when the air cleaner was in operation.
In the testing described, lemon essence, containing
d-limonene, was evaporated into the subject classroom
during the four separate phases of tests, as described
in the column. It is well known that limonene when
introduced to an environment with any ozone level,
regardless of the source of the ozone, will precipitate
an increase to aldehydes and ultra-fine particles. Many
studies have concluded this (Weschler, C. J., and Shields,
H. C. 1999. “Indoor Ozone/Terpene Reactions as a Source
of Indoor Particles.” Atmos. Environ. 33(15):2301–2312).
The column would seem to suggest that the corona dis-
charge air cleaner operation was solely responsible for
these increases, but in fact ambient ozone levels in the
classroom, which cannot be definitively traced to solely
the operation of the air cleaner, were a causal link to any
levels of aldehydes and ultra-fine particles measured.
Also as we well know, ozone is a natural element of
air and can be found in varying levels in both outdoor
and indoor air. Indoor ozone levels have been found
to track to outdoor ozone levels closely (Weschler, C.J.
2001. “Ozone in Indoor Environments: Concentration
and Chemistry.” Indoor Air 10(4):269–288). The measured
increases in indoor ozone the test cites had no corre-
sponding outdoor ozone measurements taken, so the
increase in any indoor ozone level cannot be definitively
traced to solely an indoor source or the corona discharge
air cleaner.
Average outdoor ozone levels for the upstate New
York region in 2013 averaged 64 ppb (New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation). The testing
Butyraldehyde .31 ppb N/A N/A
Valeraldehyde .27 ppb N/A N/A
Hexaldehyde .37 ppb N/A N/A
Acetone 8.22 ppb 250,000 ppb 250,000 ppb
(NIOSH) (ACGIH)
NIOSH = National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration
USGBC = United States Green Building Council
ACGIH = American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists
CARB = California Air Resources Board
cites indoor levels ranging from 16.3 ppb to 34.8 ppb.
Since ambient indoor ozone levels can be 10% to 50%
of outdoor levels (Estimating Mortality Risk Reduction and
Economic Benefit From Controlling Ozone Air Pollution. 2008.
The National Academies Press, Washington D.C.), it stands
to reason indoor levels in the ranges measured could be
attributed to the concentrations found outdoors.
The column makes reference to various measured lev-
els of contaminants sampled in the space. However, the
column does not reference what the acceptable expo-
sure limits are for the various compounds measured.
See Table 1 for a comparison.
As you can see the contaminant levels measured
were significantly lower than any published standard
or guideline, and some contaminants were so obscure
that no published permissible exposure limits could be
found. These levels do not show that bad air quality was
found in the tested space in any of the test conditions.
The same can be attributed to the measurements of
ultra-fine particles. Since no baseline was established
nor outdoor levels measured, they cannot be definitively
traced to an indoor source or the corona discharge air
cleaner. Ultra-fine particles lack any indoor standards or
guidelines or permissible exposure limits, so a compari-
son table cannot be provided.
The column also implies that the findings of this
test were a factor in the New York State Education
Department determining corona discharge air cleaner
systems cannot be used to apply the 403.2 exception,

8 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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LETTERS
which allows for reduction of out-
side air from standard ventilation
rates. The fact is prior to and sub-
sequent to this testing; the 403.2
exception has not been allowed
in New York State Education
Department.
Corona discharge is just one form
of an ionization process and one
type of an electronic air cleaner.
There are many types of these tech-
nologies, and they have been used
in literally 10,000-plus applications
in schools across the U.S. over the
past 20 where the 403.2 excep-
tion was applied. No IAQ issues
have ever been reported from any
of these applications, and these
schools have benefitted from lower
HVAC equipment and conditioning
costs plus good IAQ in those treated
spaces. Many studies with findings
of improved IAQ using electronic air
cleaning products have been done.
It is our position that the testing
the column was based on was poorly
constructed. It lacked an adequate
baseline and an outdoor air compar-
ison. The column then makes state-
ments based on this flawed test. This
column would leave the reader with
more questions than answers.
Anthony M. Abate, Member ASHRAE, Fairfield, Conn.
The Authors Respond
Thank you for asking New York
State Department of Health
(Department) to respond to the
most recent letter regarding our col-
umn in the December 2018 issue of
ASHRAE Journal.
The Department determined
that increases in concentrations of
aldehydes and ultra-fine particles
resulted from operating the corona
discharge air cleaner in the classroom
by comparing the concentrations
10 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org
during periods when the corona dis-
charge was turned on to periods when
it was turned off. The data, summa-
rized in Table 1 and Figure 2 in the
column, show that the concentrations
of aldehydes and ultra-fine particles
were consistently higher when the
corona discharge was operating.
Data collected by the New York
State Department of Environmental
Conservation (data available upon
request) shows hourly, average
ozone concentrations ranged from
21 to 38 parts per billion (ppb) at
the outdoor ozone monitor nearest
the school during the study period,
Feb. 18– 22, 2013, considerably lower
than the 64 ppb concentration cited
in the letter. In fact, that value was
the fourth highest eight-hour aver-
age ozone concentration in 2013 and
was recorded on May 2, 2013, during
the ozone season.
As shown in Figure 1 of the col-
umn, the indoor ozone concentra-
tions fluctuated between 2 and 25
ppb when the corona discharge was
turned off and 25 to 40 ppb when
it was turned on. The observed
changes in indoor ozone were clearly
associated with operating the corona
discharge air cleaner.
The measurements were made in
an unoccupied classroom during the
school winter vacation, and the nor-
mal ventilation cycles were modified
to maintain uniform outdoor air
supply rates during the study. There
were no interferences from changes
in room or building occupancy, out-
side traffic patterns or from clean-
ing or maintenance activities in the
classroom during the study.
The study was designed to evaluate
changes in the indoor air quality of a
classroom while operating a corona
discharge air cleaner with a reduced
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
fresh air flow rate provided by the
ventilation system. The Department
found that the concentrations of
ozone, ultra-fine particles and alde-
hydes increased under these condi-
tions. The study was not designed
to determine the health effects of
these air pollutants, but instead was
intended to test the claims that the
amount of fresh air brought into a
classroom can be reduced without
adverse impacts on air quality. Since
corona discharge air cleaners are
marketed as potentially beneficial to
health, it is appropriate to investi-
gate those claims.
Todd Crawford, Patricia Fritz, Member ASHRAE,
and Thomas Wainman, New York State Department of
Health, Albany, N.Y.
Editor’s Note: The authors’ response
to a June 2019 letter regarding this col-
umn can be found at www.ashrae.org/
June2019Letters.
Improving the
Performance of
Steam Turbine
Chiller Plants
“Saving Energy: Improving the
Performance of Steam Turbine
Chiller Plants” by Charles G.
Copeland in August 2019 highlights
the importance of combined heat and
power-based steam power plants,
which could provide an economical
electrical energy source as well as
thermal energy for cooling/heating
for an overall efficient solution.
There are two factors which fur-
ther need the author's attention and
comments:
1. Fuel Options. The advantages of
a steam system-based energy solu-
tion should be highlighted in terms

of fuel options, especially because
oil and natural gas are becoming
more expensive in developing coun-
tries, increasing costs of operating
such plants substantially. Biomass
options should be highlighted, as
in Pakistan and other agro-based
economies a large number of high-
pressure steam boilers are fired by
biomass (mostly bagasse, sugarcane
waste) in combined heat and power
mode, providing both economical
process steam and electrical energy,
some even exporting to the national
grid and making good money.
2. Solar Option. There is a big
opportunity for concentrated solar
power (CSP)-based thermal energy
to supplement boiler feed water
heating, which could considerably
reduce boiler fuel costs. I am not
aware of any industrial or large com-
mercial installation of this option,
but technically this is feasible if roof
or open space allows this.
Mr. Copeland's comments could
clear the above options for possible
implementation.
Ainul Abedin, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, Karachi, Pakistan
The Author Responds
Comments as follows:
1. Biomass is certainly an option as
the primary form of heating for boil-
ers where oil and gas in parts of the
world are becoming more expensive.
2. I’m not familiar with concen-
trated solar power (CSP) to produce
heat; usually solar panels these days
produce electricity. In the 1970s we
worked on an early thermal solar
collector on New York’s lower east
side to heat domestic hot water. The
building later installed a windmill
on the roof, which produced electric-
ity, exporting some of it to the grid.
When the local utility objected, the
former attorney general Ramsey
Clark defended it with the Public
Service Commission, which gave
rise to the Public Utilities Regulation
Policies Act, which recently cel-
ebrated its 40th anniversary. This
permits the export of electricity from
localized generation such as cogen-
eration along with proper safeguards
to be exported into the grid.
Charles C Copeland, P.E.,
Fellow/Life Member ASHRAE, New York, N.Y.
Desiccant
Dehumidification
Process for Energy
Efficient AC
The August 2019 article “Desiccant
Dehumidification Process For
Energy Efficient Air Conditioning”
details a first-generation device
consisting of a desiccant belt, aimed
at reducing energy consumption
for HVAC. Though the article is
well-written and well-presented,
it represents a substantial “step
backward” in desiccant technology,
using a methodology of a poorly
sealed desiccant laden belt, and
insufficient desiccant mass for the
application.
In comparison, multiple manu-
facturers use a similar, though pat-
ented and proven, approach in this
very same application—minimizing
HVAC energy consumption using
desiccant technology. I am baffled
as to why ASHRAE Journal would
publish an article on an unproven,
“step backward,” single example of
a technology which is already sold
commercially and is already saving
energy cost in use.
I request that ASHRAE Journal clarify
for its readers that the method
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
LETTERS
presented in the article is a single
example experimental device, and
that there are multiple equipment
offerings incorporating desiccant
technology that are currently used to
reduce HVAC energy consumption.
Spencer Goland, Baton Rouge, La.
The Authors Respond
Thank you to Mr. Goland for the
interest taken in our article. We fully
acknowledge that desiccant is widely
used and effective in commercially
packaged and well-proven desic-
cant systems, such as the desiccant
wheel discussed in the article. The
belt design from our article is abso-
lutely a first-generation experimen-
tal model. That being said, we saw
design benefits in the belt that are
not present in other commercially
available desiccant technologies,
including the use of low-cost silica
beads and operation at low regen-
eration temperatures.
Our article illustrated a limited
example including application
of a relatively small system (i.e.,
not much desiccant) to a building
with low outdoor airflow located
in a climate with comparatively
low humidity, and yet potential for
energy savings was still observed.
Using a commercial product with
optimized design and size, being
in high humidity climate, and/or
requiring a higher amount of out-
door air would greatly increase the
potential of the desiccant technology
for energy saving. We recommend
that anyone interested in reducing
system latent loads contact a local
commercial HVAC supplier or rep-
resentative to see all the options and
have them assist in the selection.
Tom B. Cremonte, Associate Member ASHRAE, Troy, Mich.,
and Jonathan Maisonneuve, Ph.D.,
Auburn Hills, Mich.
ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 11
MEETINGS AND SHOWS FULL CALENDAR: WWW.ASHRAE.ORG/CALENDAR
OCTOBER
EEBA High Performance Home Summit, Oct.
1–3, Denver. Contact the Energy & Environmen-
tal Building Association at 952-881-1098 or http://
summit.eeba.org.
CONNECT 2019, Oct. 2–4, Indianapolis. Contact
the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Asso-
ciation at 703-237-8100, customercare@naphcc.org
or www.phccweb.org/connect.
AMCA Annual Meeting, Oct. 2–6, Maui, Hawaii.
Contact the Air Movement and Control Association
at 847-394-0150, communications@amca.org or
www.amca.org/news/60thannualmeeting.php.
RETA Conference, Oct. 8–11, Las Vegas. Contact
the Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians As-
sociation at 541-497-2955, info@reta.com or www.
reta.com.
ACEEE National Conference on Energy Efficiency
as a Resource. Oct. 15–17, Minneapolis. Contact the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Econo-
my (ACEEE) at 202-507-4000 or http://aceee.org/
conferences/2019/eer.
IFMA World Workplace, Oct. 16–18, Phoenix. Con-
tact the International Facility Management Asso-
ciation at 713-623-4362, events@ifma.org or http://
worldworkplace.ifma.org.
SMACNA Annual Convention, Oct. 20–23, Aus-
tin, Texas. Contact the Sheet Metal & Air Condi-
tioning Contractors’ National Association at 703-
803-2980, info@smacna.org or www.smacna.org/
annualconvention.
I2SL Annual Conference, Oct. 20–24, Denver.
Contact the International Institute for Sustain-
able Laboratories at 703-841-5484, info@i2sl.org or
www.i2sl.org/conference/2019/index.html.
ASPE Technical Symposium, Oct. 24–27, Pitts-
burgh. Contact the American Society of Plumbing
Engineers at 847-296-0002, info@aspe.org or www.
aspe.org.
CTBUH 2019, Oct. 28–Nov 2, Chicago. Contact the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat at 312-
283-5759, info@ctbuh.com or https://ctbuh2019.
com.
NOVEMBER
Greenbuild, Nov. 20–22, Atlanta. Contact organiz-
ers at 866-815-9824, info@greenbuildexpo.com or
www.greenbuildexpo.com.
DECEMBER
HARDI Annual Conference, Dec. 7–10, New Or-
leans. Contact the Heating Air-conditioning & Re-
frigeration Distributors International at 614-345-
4328, hardimail@hardinet.org or www.hardinet.
org.
Buildings XIV International Conference, Dec.
9–12, Clearwater Beach, Fla. Co-organized by
ASHRAE and ORNL. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-
4723, meetings@ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/
buildingsxiv.
2020
FEBRUARY
ASHRAE Winter Conference, Feb. 1–5, Orlando,
Fla. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723, meetings@
ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/orlando.
12 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
AHR Expo, Feb. 3–5, Orlando, Fla. Cosponsored
by ASHRAE. Contact the International Exposition
Company at 203-221-9232, info@ahrexpo.com or
www.ahrexpo.com.
IAQA Annual Meeting & Expo, Feb. 19–21, West
Palm Beach, Fla. Contact the Indoor Air Quality As-
sociation at 844-802-4103, info@iaqa.org or www.
iaqa.org/iaqa-2020-annual-meeting-expo.
MARCH
IIAR Natural Refrigeration Conference & Heavy
Equipment Expo, March 15–18, Orlando, Fla. Con-
tact the International Institute of Ammonia Refrig-
eration at 703-312-4200, conference@iiar.org or
https://tinyurl.com/IIARexpo.
CMPX 2020, March 25–27, Toronto. Contact or-
ganizers at 416-444-5225, cmpx@salshow.com or
www.cmpxshow.com.
APRIL
NEBB Annual Conference, April 2–4, White
Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Contact the Nation-
al Environmental Balancing Bureau at 301-
977-3698, nebb@nebb.org or www.nebb.org/
events/2020_nebb_annual_conference.
Building Innovation 2020, April 6–9, Arlington,
Va. Contact the National Institute of Building Sci-
ences at 202-289-7800, nibs@nibs.org or www.
nibs.org/page/conference2020.
JUNE
Thermag IX International Conference on Caloric
Cooling, June 7–11, College Park, Md. Endorsed by
ASHRAE. Contact Mary Baugher, Center for Envi-
ronmental Energy Engineering, University of Mary-
land, at 301-405-7661, mbaugher@umd.edu or
www.ceee.umd.edu/events/thermag2020.
ASHRAE Annual Conference, June 27–July 1,
Austin, Texas. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723,
meetings@ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/austin.
SEPTEMBER
AHR Expo-Mexico, Sept. 22–24, Monter-
rey, Mexico. Cosponsored by ASHRAE. Con-
tact the International Exposition Company at
203-221-9232, info@ahrexpomexico.com or
www.ahrexpomexico.com/en/.
OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
OCTOBER
European Heat Pump Summit, Oct. 22–23,
Nuremberg, Germany. Contact Nürnberg-
Messe GmbH at +49 9 11 86 06-49 06 or www.
hp-summit.de/en.
FILTECH 2019, Oct. 22–24, Cologne, Germany.
Contact organizers at 49 (0)2132 93 57 60, info@
filtech.de or www.filtech.de.
14th Annual Conference on Advanced Building
Skins, Oct. 28–29, Bern, Switzerland. Contact or-
ganizers at +49 89 20000-4161, info@abs.green or
http://abs.green.
NOVEMBER
7th International Conference On Energy Re-
search and Development, Nov. 19–21, Kuwait.
Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723, meetings@
ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/kuwait.
CALLS FOR PAPERS
ASHRAE JOURNAL
ASHRAE Journal seeks applications ar-
ticles of 3,000 or fewer words. Submis-
sions are subject to peer reviews and
cannot have been published previously.
Submit abstracts before sending articles
to Jay Scott, Editor, at jayscott@ashrae.
org.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
ASHRAE’s Science and Technology for the
Built Environment seeks papers on origi-
nal, completed research not previously
published. Papers must discuss how the
research contributes to technology. Pa-
pers should be about 6,000 words. Ab-
stracts and papers should be submitted
on Manuscript Central at www.ashrae.
org/manuscriptcentral. Contact Jeffrey
D. Spitler, Ph.D, P.E., at spitler@okstate.
edu.
DECEMBER
50th International HVAC&R Congress and Exhi-
bition, Dec. 4–6, Belgrade, Serbia. Endorsed by
ASHRAE. Contact organizers at 381 11 3230 041,
office@smeits.rs or http://kgh-kongres.rs.
2020
FEBRUARY
ACREX 2020, Feb. 27–29, Greater Noida, India.
Contact organizers at +91 (0)11 47168888, info@
ishraehq.in or www.acrex.in.
MARCH
Refrigeration 2020, March 23–24, Melbourne,
Australia. Endorsed by ASHRAE. Contact the Aus-
tralian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Condi-
tioning and Heating (AIRAH) at 03 8623 3000,
conferences@airah.org.au or www.airah.org.au/
Refrigeration-Conference.
APRIL
CIBSE ASHRAE Technical Symposium, April
16–17, Glasgow, United Kingdom. Endorsed by
ASHRAE. Contact the Chartered Institution of
Building Services Engineers at +44 (0)20 8675
5211, websupport@cibse.org or https://cibse.org/
technical-symposium-2020.
JULY
International IIR Rankine 2020 Conference, July
26–29, Glasgow, Scotland. Endorsed by ASHRAE.
Contact the Institute of Refrigeration at +44 (0)208
6477033, ior@ior.org.uk or https://ior.org.uk/
SEPTEMBER
IAQ 2020: Indoor Environmental Quality Perfor-
mance Approaches, Sept. 14–16, Athens, Greece.
Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723, meetings@
ashrae.org or www.ashrae.org/IAQ2020.
OCTOBER
Chillventa, Oct. 13–15, Nuremberg, Germa-
ny. Contact organizers at +49 9 11 86 06-49 06 or
https://www.chillventa.de/en.
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

New Guidance for

Residential Air Cleaners
BY LEW HARRIMAN, FELLOW/LIFE MEMBER ASHRAE; BRENT STEPHENS, PH.D, MEMBER ASHRAE; TERRY BRENNAN, MEMBER ASHRAE

As HVAC&R professionals, we in the ASHRAE community are sometimes asked ques-

tions about residential indoor air quality (IAQ) and how to improve it. What contami-
nants are most hazardous? How do I get rid of a particular smell? Should I use this
air cleaner or that filter? Sadly, our friends and family generally lose patience when
we helpfully suggest: “Well, it’s complicated. But just read Chapters 46, 60 and 62 in
the ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applications, because there’s great information in there.”
In general, we find that information seekers are frustrated by such helpful advice.
Usually, the question is repeated (with some heat) in a form such as: “You’re the
professional. Can’t you boil it down? What should I DO in my HOUSE?”
Fortunately, two new resources can help you better
answer such questions. First, the ASHRAE Residential
Indoor Air Quality Guide1 is a comprehensive summary of
IAQ for homes and apartments, written by our mem-
ber colleagues and published by ASHRAE in 2018. This
book will be useful for professionals, and for others who
have a deeper interest in understanding and improv-
ing residential IAQ. Still, a 280-page book is more than
most consumers might choose to digest. Frequently, the
homeowner or renter’s IAQ concern is simpler and more
specific, having to do with air filtration, i.e.: “What kind
of air filter should I use?”
Some of us have heard more questions lately, because
public awareness about particle air pollution is high.
Wildfires in North America and Europe, blowing dust in
Asia and Africa, and burning biomass in South America
and Southeast Asia are often highlighted in both
Lew Harriman is emeritus director of research at Mason-Grant Consulting, Portsmouth, N.H. Brent Stephens, Ph.D., is associate professor and department chair: Civil, Architectural
and Environmental Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Terry Brennan is principal and founder, Camroden Associates, Westmoreland, N.Y.
mainstream and social media. When you get questions
from friends and family about residential air filtration
and air cleaners, you may find the U.S. Enivronmental
Protection Agency’s recently updated publications help-
ful.2 The 2018 EPA guidance is specifically written to
inform consumers, as well as technical professionals.
Here’s a simple summary of that guidance:
• First, the most effective ways to improve indoor air
quality are to reduce or remove the sources of pollutants
and to ventilate using clean outdoor air. For example,
refraining from smoking or vaping indoors makes an
immediate and important improvement.
• If those measures don’t address the problem or
can’t be done, running a portable air cleaner and/or
upgrading the air filter in a central furnace or HVAC
system can help to improve IAQ.
• Portable air cleaners can be used to filter the air in a

14 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

 TECHNICAL FEATURE

single room or area. To filter particles, choose a portable FIGURE 1 New residential IAQ guidance, over photos of August 2018 wildfire
air cleaner that has a high clean air delivery rate (CADR). smoke in Sacramento, Calif.
More specifically, choose a portable with a CADR label
that indicates it is large enough for the size of the room
or area in which you will use it. The higher the CADR,
the more particles the air cleaner can filter and the
larger the area it can serve. However, the CADR certifi-
cation only addresses particles. To filter gases, one can
choose a portable air cleaner that has a large amount of
adsorbent or chemisorbent media, such as an activated
carbon filter. Be aware, however, that currently there
is no industry consensus test method or certification
program that provides assurance of the effectiveness
and safety of portable, consumer-grade gaseous filtra-
tion devices.
• Central furnace and HVAC system filters are de-
signed to filter air throughout a home rather than only
in a single space. When the goal is to remove a signifi-
cant amount of airborne fine particles (i.e., particles
with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers and smaller: [PM2.5])
or even ultrafine particles (i.e., particles smaller than Technical Summary” is a much longer 74-page document
100 nanometers), a good choice for a central HVAC sys- summarizing current research about the impact of resi-
tem filter is one rated at a minimum efficiency reporting dential air cleaning equipment on pollutant concentra-
value (MERV) of 13 or higher. tions and human health. It also describes some impor-
• Be aware that for both portable air filters and cen- tant gaps that remain in our understanding. Several
tral systems, filtration effectiveness (i.e., the actual remov- specific recommendations from these documents are
al of particles from a conditioned space) is limited by the discussed in more detail below.
number of hours of fan operation. When a portable unit
is not operating, it’s not removing particles. And the run Reducing PM2.5 Exposure Can Provide Health Benefits
time of fans in residential systems is generally less than Although many contaminants have unfortunately not
25% of the hours in a year. To provide effective removal been comprehensively studied, decades of research
of PM2.5 from the space, much longer runtimes will be provide ample documentation of the negative effects of
needed for both portables and central systems. fine particulate matter exposure, including increased
mortality and other outcomes.3,4 For example, epide-
EPA Guidance miology studies have generally reported increases in
The EPA guidance published in July 2018 includes two all-cause mortality across study populations of ~6 to
documents in PDF format: brief answers for consumers ~7% per 10 µg/m3 increase in annual average outdoor
and a comprehensive technical summary for profession- PM2.5 concentrations.5,6 These studies have tradition-
als. These documents are in the public domain. They ally only used outdoor concentrations as surrogates for
may be distributed, printed, and copied as needed. The exposure. However, one recent study makes clear that
“Guide to Air Cleaners In The Home” is a consumer-targeted, indoor exposures are quite important, as indoor expo-
8-page document that answers many of the questions sure to particles of both indoor and outdoor origin likely
most frequently received by the staff at the Indoor accounts for about 70% of total PM2.5 exposure in the
Environments Division at the EPA. It also provides tips to U.S., on average.7 A detailed review of this large body of
help consumers make choices based on current under- research is beyond the scope of this article. But to help
standing of conclusions from health intervention stud- the reader assess the value of minimizing exposure, it
ies and ASHRAE research. The “Residential Air Cleaners - A may be useful to summarize a few more examples from

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 15

TECHNICAL FEATURE

the literature, particularly as they FIGURE 2 Outdoor air concentration of PM2.5 in Santa Barbara, Calif., during 2017.
pertain to air cleaners.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Portable air cleaners can improve
Sunday
health outcomes. Numerous air Monday
cleaner intervention studies have Tuesday
Wednesday
found statistically significant asso- Thursday
ciations between the use of por- Friday
table air cleaners in homes and (1) Saturday
reductions in indoor particulate Good (<=12.0 mg/m3) 285 Days
matter exposure and (2) at least one Moderate (12.1 to 35.4 mg/m3) 67 Days
measure or marker of improved Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (35.5 to 55.4 mg/m3) 3 Days
Unhealthy (55.5 to 150.4 mg/m3) 9 Days
health outcomes. For example,
Very Unhealthy (>=150.5 mg/m3) 1 Days
Allen et al. deployed portable HEPA
air filters and placebo filtration
in a randomized crossover intervention study of 45 FIGURE 3 Wildfire in Southern California—2017.
healthy adults in a woodsmoke-impacted community
during consecutive seven-day periods of filtered and
non-filtered air.8 Portable HEPA filters reduced indoor
PM2.5 concentrations by 60% on average. That level of
PM2.5 filtration was associated with improved endo-
thelial function (9.4% increase in reactive hyperemia

©TIM GRAY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
index) and decreased concentrations of inflammatory
biomarkers (32.6% decrease in C-reactive protein).
Other studies of interventions with portable units have
shown similar effects. Much less is known about cen-
tral air filtration, primarily because it has been studied
far less than portable air cleaning units that have high
CADRs. rated as having a high CADR for smoke. Then oper-
Short term exposure can also affect health. Most studies have ate them when or if smoke builds up in the outdoor
documented the negative effects of long-term exposure. air. More comprehensive measures beyond air filtra-
However, there is also direct epidemiological evidence tion are also discussed in separate EPA guidance for
that short term exposure affects health. Schwartz, et response to wildfires.10 Readers interested in further
al.,9 performed an analysis of U.S. mortality (7.5 million details of health effects of PM2.5 are encouraged to con-
deaths in 135 U.S. cities) and compared death rates with sult the studies referenced in the technical summary of
locally-reported outdoor air concentration of PM2.5 at the EPA guidance.
the time of death. Over the period examined, each 10 µg/
m3 increase in daily PM2.5 concentrations was associ- Indoor PM2.5 Concentrations Frequently Exceed Outdoor
ated with a 0.6 to 1.5% increase in daily deaths (approxi- Concentrations
mately 112,500 individuals). Indoors, PM2.5 concentrations vary widely depend-
To put this finding into perspective, consider the ing on many factors. In the absence of indoor sources,
measurements of outdoor airborne particulate shown indoor concentrations are sometimes lower than out-
in Figure 2. In Santa Barbara Calif., during December doors, especially in modern tight houses which greatly
2017, airborne PM2.5 increased from less than 12 µg/m3 reduce particle infiltration from outdoors. But studies
3
to over 150 µg/m because of the local wildfire. The have also measured indoor concentration at higher
health-relevance of such short-term exposure suggests levels than outdoor concentrations. One review of 28
that in areas prone to wildfires, it would be wise to large-scale field studies measuring indoor and out-
prepare by acquiring one or more portable air cleaners door concentration in non-smoking homes in North

16 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

 Setpoints
Settings

Clock Alarms
Schedule

Outputs Security
Inputs

Network USB

MARCH
5
TECHNICAL FEATURE
America noted that in 17 studies, indoor concentrations
were between 1.5 and 3.5 times higher indoors than
outdoors.11
These results are not surprising, since there are many
particle sources present in most homes. Heating food in
the oven and cooking on the stove are generally the larg-
est contributors, which is why it’s important to operate
the range hood exhaust when cooking. Also, resuspen-
sion of settled particles can raise indoor concentration
above the outdoor level. For example, walking across
floors can account for a significant increase in PM2.5
concentration in the breathing zones of both adults and
infants. Also, simply sitting down in upholstered furni-
ture generates a cloud of resuspended particles, as does
movement while sleeping.
Interestingly, researchers in Taiwan recently quanti-
fied the increase in airborne particle concentration
that comes from children bouncing on their beds.12
In a field study of 60 occupied bedrooms, research-
ers found increases in airborne PM2.5 concentrations
of 353 mg/m3 using “standardized percussion” as an
approximation of bouncing children. (One can only
regret the lost opportunity for STEM education by using
researchers rather than actual children to whack beds in
60 houses with sticks!)
Operating Hours Limit Filtration Effectiveness
Portable air cleaners and central systems equipped
with high efficiency filters can improve indoor air qual-
ity by removing small particles. But not if the system fan
is not operating.
For example, public health interventions using por-
table air cleaners have shown improvements in health
markers (5% to 10% compared to control groups in some
short-term studies), and sometimes more substantial
improvements (close to 50% improvement in markers
for inflammation and cardiovascular function in other
studies). But without consumer education, the portable
air cleaners may not be turned on, or may not be oper-
ated in bedrooms where they usually provide the great-
est benefit.
For central HVAC systems, there is very little research
that documents a health benefit from better filtration.
While logic suggests that better filters can make a posi-
tive difference, achieving and documenting measurable
improvements is apparently difficult. Perhaps this is
because central systems have been less-studied, and
18 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
because fans operate for a surprisingly short number of
hours over the course of a year.
For example, in a 2018 study of three years of run-time
records from 7,000 residential forced-air heating and
cooling systems in North America, Touchie and Siegel13
found that typically, system fans operate for less than
20% of the hours in a year. Clearly, if air is not being
filtered and recirculated through occupied spaces for
80% of the year, central systems are challenged to make
a significant reduction in PM2.5 exposure. In light of
this limitation, the updated EPA guidance recommends
using a MERV 13 filter or higher to provide a more useful
degree of fine particle removal during its few operating
hours.
Further, many homes are now heated and cooled with
the increasingly popular mini-split systems. These
homes face a different challenge with respect to fine
particle control. In that class of equipment, fans often
operate continuously, using a strategy of variable but
continuous airflow to provide air mixing. Although this
provides a large number of filtration hours, the wash-
able screens in most of these units are designed for
equipment protection rather than for removal of fine
particles. The revised EPA guidance suggests that add-
ing high-CADR portable units to specific spaces can be a
practical alternative, when heating and cooling equip-
ment does not accommodate air filtration at MERV 13 or
above.
Residential Central System Recommendations
The EPA recommends using a filter rated at MERV 13
or higher in central systems. To be rated at MERV 13, the
filter must have achieved a defined level of fine particle
removal efficiency.
That simple recommendation, more or less under-
standable by consumers is based on a (very) long exami-
nation and evaluation of the technical and economic
issues for both existing and new systems by the EPA
and it’s consulting team. Most HVAC professionals will
understand the confounding and critical issues of run
time, filter bypass, airflow velocity, filter cleanliness, air
distribution resistance versus fan static pressure, along
with the variability of building airtightness and domes-
tic cleaning and furnishing preferences. For example,
professionals know that if the filter is not snugly-fitted
into the filter slot, or if the air velocity through the filter
is not ideal, or if the filter is clogged because it has not
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

FIGURE 4 Modeled fine particle removal. FIGURE 5 CADR rating label for portable air cleaners.

100
90
Modeled Removal Effectiveness (%)

80
70 MERV 13
60
50
40
MERV 8
30
20
10

MARIANNE TOUCHIE & JEFFREY SIEGEL

0
30 0 10
40 50 20 60 70 80 90 100
Air Handler Fan Runtime (%)
Monte Carlo model simulating removal of 1 to 3m particles from a home, based on a range of
air leakage rates from outdoors. Upper boundaries estimate effectiveness of a perfectly installed
system and filter in a tight house. Lower boundaries estimate effectiveness in a leaky house.

AHAM
been changed for a few years, or if the system simply
does not run for more than a small percentage of the hours in the year.13 The model suggests that if all other
hours in a year, then its effectiveness (removal of fine factors were equal, a perfectly installed MERV 13 filter
particles from the space) will be far below the lab-tested has the potential to remove 3x more fine particles than a
removal of particles from the airstream. MERV 8 filter (45% v. 15% of particles in the 1-3 microm-
Ultimately, the advice to consumers to choose a MERV eter range).
13 filter is based on the fact that with the low run-times HVAC professionals will also understand that
typical of houses and apartments in North America, the improved indoor air quality comes with some increase
MERV 13 filter has a better chance of removing a signifi- in operational cost. The technical summary addresses
cant percentage of the fine particles of greatest health the issues of energy and HVAC system capabilities.
concern. At present, an informal survey of residential air Certainly for all portables, better filtration effectiveness
filter distribution conducted by one of the authors sug- (through increasing operating hours) comes at the cost
gests that filters rated at MERV 13 and above currently of its fan energy consumption. Also, in central systems
account for about 15% of annual residential air filter more hours of operation mean better filtration—but
sales.14 It could be interesting to follow how this percent- also more fan energy cost. Also higher levels of filtration
age changes over the next few years, in light of the EPA can sometimes add pressure drop that reduces airflow
guidance. low enough to affect heating and cooling effectiveness,
Figure 4 shows the results of a mathematical model that although certainly not in all systems.15,16 So the advice
compares the best-case effectiveness of an ideal system to select a MERV 13 filter was not arrived at casually. The
with respect to removing fine particles from a home. technical summary addresses these issues in consider-
(Note that perfect installation and maintenance of filters able detail, based on field measurements of both energy
is the modeling assumption, namely: no air bypasses the consumption and airflow rates through different MERV-
filter, the filter is clean and remains so over a year, and rated filters in typical residential HVAC systems.
that air velocity is ideal rather than the lower-than-ideal
flow that is more commonly-observed in domestic HVAC Portable Air Cleaner Recommendations
systems.) This Monte Carlo simulation of 1,000,000 The EPA recommends choosing a portable air cleaner
cases estimates removal of fine particles (from the that provides a high clean air delivery rate (CADR)
space) using MERV 8 and MERV 13 filters. Recall that when removing smoke-sized particles. There are chal-
domestic systems typically operate less than 20% of the lenges when providing technically-robust guidance that

20 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


consumers can absorb, in part because portable units
are not covered by ASHRAE Standard 52.2, the standard
that establishes performance criteria for MERV ratings.
Consequently, for portable unit performance ratings,
the EPA guidance refers to the Association of Home
Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), an organization that
offers performance ratings and certification for particle
removal by portable air cleaners.
AHAM testing measures the “clean air delivery rate”
(CADR) of the device. The CADR is the amount of air
(in cfm) that has been cleaned of particles in three size
ranges. The ranges are described by names that consum-
ers can relate to, namely: “smoke”, “dust” and “pollen.”
AHAM defines these as 0.09 to1.0 µm for smoke, 0.5 to
3 µm for dust, and 5 to 11 µm for pollen.
Further, the CADR also estimates the filtration effective-
ness of the device—the reduction in particle concentra-
tions in the occupied space, based on the maximum
recommended floor area for the rated unit. Rated units
are expected to remove 80% of the airborne small par-
ticles (0.09 to 1.0 µm) over an hour, above and beyond
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TECHNICAL FEATURE
the number of particles that would naturally settle out.
Rated removal is also based on the assumptions that
the ceiling height is no higher than 8 ft (2.4 m) and that
the space exchanges less than one air change per hour
with other spaces. The EPA guidance to consumers notes
that units with larger CADR ratings are better, and that
if ceiling heights are greater than 8 ft (2.4 m) (such as
spaces with cathedral ceilings) a consumer might con-
sider using a larger unit or multiple units to achieve 80%
reduction in particle concentration.
Note the most important but unstated assumption is
that the unit is running continuously when the space in ques-
tion is occupied. Short runtimes limit the effectiveness
of portable air cleaners, just as they limit the filtration
effectiveness of central systems. And with portable air
cleaners, operating noise can be an issue. The noise
levels at which a given unit’s CADR was achieved are
not currently described on the AHAM-verified label. It
would be helpful if consumer packaging displayed the
sound levels at which the CADR rating was achieved, to
provide a basis for better-informed consumer choices.
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 21
TECHNICAL FEATURE
Efforts to Improve ASHRAE and Industry Standards
Helping to update the EPA guidance has reinforced the
authors’ opinion that there is an urgent need for a test
method and certification program for portable air clean-
ers that measures safe removal of gaseous contaminants.
Progress in this area has been slower than the prolifera-
tion of consumer products.
AHAM is participating in the arduous process of
international consensus to establish a set of facility
and instrumentation requirements for testing gaseous
contaminant removal by consumer devices. After those
decisions are eventually agreed upon, we might expect
they will begin the even more arduous effort to achieve
international agreement on a test method and rating
system for labels on consumer products. This would be
an important tool to protect the public from ozone and
from potentially unwanted by-products of emerging gas
cleaning technologies.
Devices that claim to remove gaseous contaminants
through electrochemical or photochemical means are
not yet tested nor rated by any independent organiza-
tion. The EPA guidance clearly states that ozone is a
pollutant to be avoided, and that without independent
testing and certification neither the safety nor the effec-
tiveness of technologies that rely on ozone, plasma,
ionization and photocatalysis (as implemented in air
cleaners in the consumer space) can be easily assessed
at present. The guidance suggests that until testing and
certification is available, the consumer can be aware
that activated carbon filters have been shown to absorb
airborne gaseous contaminants and that chemisorp-
tion and contaminant conversion by sorbents such as
potassium permanganate have been widely used for gas
cleaning in the past.
ASHRAE standards could also be improved to assist
homeowners. ASHRAE-funded research confirms that
while MERV ratings are useful for abstract comparison
of products, there is an equally important need to define
the requirements for the frames that holds such filters.
In addition to short run times from oversizing equip-
ment, air bypassing the edges of filters is responsible for
significant shortcomings in particle removal from con-
ditioned spaces. Future ASHRAE standards could con-
tribute to better indoor air quality in homes by limiting
the amount of airflow that can bypass a residential air
filtration assembly (the filter as installed in its holding
frame and surrounding duct).
22 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
Finally, for better health outcomes through air
cleaning we need more filtration operating hours.
For portables, this suggests reduction of current noise
levels. For central systems, the need for more operating
hours means we need to reduce the energy penalty of
continuous fan operation. In the HVAC community, we
know how to do this: supply and return ducts need to
be short, straight, big, airtight and heavily-insulated.
In other words, we need the construction budgets and
architectural designs that allow systems to be designed
and installed the way all HVAC professionals would
choose to do, when indoor air quality excellence is the
consumer’s goal.
Summary
Based on the research that supports the 2018 EPA resi-
dential air cleaner guidance, there are relatively simple
answers that can help when our friends, relatives or
clients ask for advice about filtration and air cleaning
in their homes. First, let them know that reducing the
concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) has provided the
best-documented health benefits. Next, the best way to
reduce particles is to avoid producing it by not smoking
or vaping indoors, and by exhausting the large amounts
of particles produced by cooking. After those basic steps,
to remove PM2.5 using portable air cleaners, choose
units that have a high CADR rating for smoke. And when
using a central system, choose a filter rated at MERV 13
or higher. Finally, keep in mind that for any filtration
method, longer operating hours provide better par-
ticle removal effectiveness, which in turn increases the
potential for health benefits.
Acknowledgments
The authors served as consultants for the 2018 EPA
guidance for air cleaners in the home. We are grateful to
the EPA Indoor Environments Division for the support
needed to generate this article, and also grateful to Jeff
Siegel and Marianne Touchie of the University of Toronto
for the modeling and graphic shown in Figure 4.
References
1. ASHRAE, ed. 2018. Residential Indoor Air Quality Guide: Best
Practices for Acquisition, Design, Construction, Maintenance and Operation.
Atlanta: ASHRAE.
2. EPA. 2018. Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home and Residential Air
Cleaners: A Technical Summary. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
 TECHNICAL FEATURE

3. Cohen A.J., Brauer, M., Burnett, R., et al. 2017. “Estimates
and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to
ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden
of Diseases Study 2015.” The Lancet 389:1907–1918.
4. EPA. 2009. “Integrated science assessment for particulate
matter.” Research Triangle Park, NC: National Center for
Environmental Assessment.
5. Krewski, D., et al. 2009. “Extended follow-up and
spatial analysis of the American Cancer Society study linking
particulate air pollution and mortality.”
Res Rep Health Eff Inst. 5–114; discussion
115–36.
Group. http://built-envi.com/analyzing-a-database-of-over-6-
million-online-sales-of-residential-hvac-filters-from-2008-
to-2017/.
15. B. Stephens, J.A. Siegel, A. Novoselac. 2010. “Energy
implications of filtration in residential and light-commercial
buildings (RP-1299).” ASHRAE Trans. 116:346–357.
16. I.S. Walker, Dickerhoff, D.J., Faulkner, D., Turner, W.J.N. 2012.
“Energy Implications of In-Line Filtration in California.” Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Report No.: LBNL-6143E.

FOAMGLAS
6. Fann, N, E.A. Gilmore, K. Walker.
®
2016. “Characterizing the long-term PM
2.5 concentration-response function:
comparing the strengths and weaknesses

INSULATION
of research synthesis approaches:
characterizing long-term PM 2.5
concentration-response function.” Risk Anal.
36:1693–707.
7. Azimi, P., Stephens, B. 2018. “A
framework for estimating the US mortality
burden of fine particulate matter exposure FOR CHILLED WATER
attributable to indoor and outdoor
microenvironments.” J Expo Sci Environ FOAMGLAS® CELLULAR GLASS
Epidemiol. www.nature.com/articles/s41370- INSULATION PROPERTIES
018-0103-4. Accessed Jan. 5, 2019. • Moisture Impermeable
• Constant Thermal Efficiency
8. Allen, R., Carlsten, C., et al. 2011. “An
• Mold and Mildew Resistant
Air Filter Intervention Study of Endothelial • Superior Compressive Strength
Function among Healthy Adults in a
Woodsmoke-impacted Community.” Am. SERVICES
Jrnl of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine • Education & Training
(183):1223–1230. • Energy & Thermal Imaging Surveys
• Insulation Thickness Calculations
9. Schwartz, J., K. Kong, A. Zanobetti.
• Insulation Guide Specifications
2018. “A national multicity analysis of the • Jobsite & Start-Up Support
causal effect of local pollution, NO2, and • Special Testing Services
PM2:5 on mortality.” Environmental Health
Perspectives 126(8).
Contact us to learn more
10. EPA. “Smoke-Ready Toolbox for www.foamglas.com
Wildfires.” (https://www.epa.gov/ 800-327-6126
smoke-ready-toolbox-wildfires).
11. Chen, C., B. Zhao. 2011. “Review of
relationship between indoor and outdoor
particles: I/O ratio, infiltration factor and
penetration factor.” Atmospheric Environment
45: 275–288.
12. Yen, Y.C, Yang, C.Y. et al. 2019.
“Jumping on the bed and associated
increases of PM10, PM2.5, PM1,
airborne endotoxin, bacteria, and fungi
concentrations.” Environmental Pollution
245:799–809.
13. Touchie, M., J.A. Siegel. 2018.
“Residential HVAC runtime from smart
thermostats: characterization, comparison,
and impacts.” Indoor Air. DOI: 10.1111/
ina.12496.
14. Stephens, B. 2019. “Analyzing a ©2019 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.
©2019 Pittsburgh Corning, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
database of over 6 million online sales
of residential HVAC filters from 2008 to
2017.” The Built Environment Research

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 23

TECHNICAL FEATURE
Pressure Sustaining Valves
How They Helped Solve Insufficient Plant Static Pressure on Large Campus Loops at Texas A&M
BY HUI CHEN, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE; JAMES RILEY; AMY CHEN; LES WILLIAMS; WYATT HAHN, ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE; ROBERT HENRY, P.E.
Texas A&M University (TAMU) has implemented numerous energy conservation initia-
tives on its utility plants and buildings that have achieved $210 million in cost avoid-
ance through increased operating efficiencies since 2002. Two of these plants, TAMU’s
Central Utility Plant (CUP) and Satellite Utility Plant 3 (SUP3), provide low temperature
hot water (LTHW) and chilled water (CHW) to over 230 buildings with over 16 million ft2
(1,486,448 m2) through the hydronic network on main campus (Figure 1).
Negative pressures on the top coils of the cam-
pus’s four tallest buildings were identified during
LTHW and CHW plant optimization projects in 2016.
Negative pressure in buildings that exceed the plant
static pressure (PSP) is a common problem on large
hydronic loops, and is often overlooked. This prob-
lem causes excessive pump power consumption
and introduces air into the water system, causing
noise, corrosion, and most importantly, decreases
heat transfer efficiency. A study1 was previously per-
formed on several buildings to find a solution to the
problem, and it looked at several possibilities such as
raising PSP, installing heat exchangers, or installing
pressure sustaining valves (PSV) on the return pipes
of each of the buildings experiencing the issue. After
extensive examination of the different possible solu-
tions, PSVs were chosen as the best option because
the heat exchanger option was too costly due to exist-
ing building spacing constraints, and raising PSP
would cause leaks widely throughout the hydronic
loop because large portions of it are over a cen-
tury old. Consequently, PSVs were installed on four
Hui Chen, P.E., is senior utility engineer; James Riley is executive director; Amy Chen is energy engineer; Les Williams is director; Wyatt Hahn is mechanical engineer; Robert Henry,
P.E., is manager of technical services, at the Utilities and Energy Services, Texas A&M University.
24 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
buildings, as of February 2018, and the tuning and
adjustments were completed after the installation.
This article presents a PSV operation study that
was carried out as an extension of the previous study
in order to qualify the practicality of the solution.
Hydronic loops pressure distributions and simula-
tions are used for scenario comparison and identify-
ing PSV pump requirements. The field PSV operation
is analyzed to determine the PSV’s performance. This
article addresses the concerns of effects that PSVs have
on building pump requirements, nearby buildings’
flow return, and building pump power consumption.
Building A was one of the four buildings previously
identified with negative top coil pressure, and is the
focus of this case study. This study provides a techni-
cal guide for both large hydronic loop and building
design, operation, and improvement.
Pressure Distribution Profile and Pump Requirements
A detailed plant, loop, and building pressure analysis
was performed to analyze building pump requirements
for different scenarios based on the Bernoulli2 and
 TECHNICAL FEATURE

FIGURE 1 Texas A&M main campus CHW (blues lines) and LTHW (red lines) map. FIGURE 2 Schematic of plant and Building A with PSV.

Bldg. Side
548 ft. 5 AHU 6

Current Plant Static Pressure 50 psig 8 9

465 ft.
AHU

AHU
Plant Side
Plant Pumps Bldg. Pump
2 3 4
PSV
Boiler 10 7
Chiller
Exp. Tank
1

the Darcy-Weisbach equations.3 Building FIGURE 3 Simplified pressure distribution profiles (points correspond to Figure 2 Points) (a) raising
pump requirements vary with primary loop whole loop PSP; (b) pre-PSV operation; (c) new operation with PSV.
pressure, building friction pressure loss,
2
and the difference between PSP (in ft w.c.) 110 4
106 7
and top coil height. Figure 2 is a simplified 100
3
Pressure (psig)

schematic of TAMU’s large hydronic loop 1

90
that includes the CUP and Building A. It dia- Plant Static Pressure
grams the current PSP at 50 psig (344 kPag) 18
5
6
at an elevation above sea level of 465 ft (142 16
(a)
m), and the top coil elevation above sea level 4
102
of 548 ft (167 m). The building top coils are 2
198 ft (60 m) above the plant elevation. The 70
3 7
PSP only yields 115 ft (35 m) of head, which
Pressure (psig)

60
causes the negative pressures in the top coils 51 1 8
50
since Building A was built in 1974. Pressure Plant Static Pressure 5
14 9
distribution profiles for three scenarios 11
0
were generated to evaluate pump require- –24
(b) 6
ment and further identify whether the PSV 4
option is the best solution. These pressure 96 7
90
distribution profiles are displayed in Figure 2 10
70
Pressure (psig)

3: (a) is raising PSP to remove negative top

3
coil pressure; (b) is pre-PSV operation; and 60
1
(c) is with PSV and positive top coil pressure. 50
Plant Static Pressure 5
The purpose for listing scenario (a) here is 8 6
6
just for reference even though this scenario
(c)
has already been invalidated in the previous
study.1 These pressure distribution profiles
are drawn based on trend pressure values on the plant (Figure 2). In the Figure 3, the vertical axis indicates pres-
and building as shown in the simplified schematic sure value and the horizontal axis shows approximate

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 25

TECHNICAL FEATURE
location. Each of pressure distribution diagrams in
Figure 3 clearly shows primary plant pump head (Points
1–2), building pump head (Points 3–4), top coil inlet
and outlet pressures (Points 5–6), and building return
pressure at Point 7. The pre-PSV scenario (b) results in
negative top coil outlet pressure, which is detrimental
to the hydronic loop. Raising PSP (a) and installing PSVs
(c) both eliminate negative top coil pressure, but raising
PSP affects the entire hydronic loop and might lead to
other issues, while the PSV option just affects individual
buildings with insufficient PSP.
Table 1 summarizes the building pump head require-
ment for the three pressure distribution diagrams shown
in Figure 3. The pumping head required varies as a result
of building friction loss and other factors such as lifting
water head. The Raising PSP option shown in Table 1 has
the lowest building pump head requirement at 6 psig
(41 kPag), which is only the friction head loss shown for
comparison here. The PSV option requires a significantly
lower required building pump head of 36 psig ( 248 kPag),
compared to pre-PSV operation, which requires 42 psig
26 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
TABLE 1 Pump head requirement for three options.
OPTIONS RAISING PSP W/O PSV PSV
ITEMS
PSP in Height > Top Coil in Height? Yes No No
Top Coil Outlet Pressure ± psig +16 –24 +8
Bldg. Friction Loss, psig 6 6 6
Lift Head, psig 0 36 30
Bldg. Pump Requirement, psig 6 42 36
(289 kPag) of pumping head. The building pressure pro-
file analysis confirms the building pump head and power
for the PSV option is much lower than the pre-PSV opera-
tion. When PSP is lower than top coil pressure in height,
the PSV is able to gain hydraulic pressure to meet the
top coil’s requirement. Options 1 and 3 belong to closed
hydronic system operation while Option 2 is a “half” open
hydronic system because air infiltration from leaks and
water will coexist in the top coil outlet just above PSP.
Simulation Model and Scenarios
Generally, large hydronic systems are too complicated
to manually test, so valid simulation software is becom-
ing more widely accepted as a reliable source of infor-
mation for understanding a hydronic system’s charac-
teristics and deciding on the best solution for compli-
cated problems. A commercially available hydraulic
simulation software has been used for the analysis of the
hydronic loop while varying primary pressure scenarios.
The software assumes incompressible, one-dimen-
sional flow and uses principles of heat transfer and
system energy balance to model pressures, flows, tem-
peratures, and power consumption in the loop. The
model was developed based on as constructed loop pipe
dimensions, materials, and elevation, and calibrated
using field data to obtain the most reliable results possi-
ble. Figure 4 shows a large campus loop simulation model
with two plants (CUP and SUP 3), four tall buildings
with PSVs, and others without PSVs. These two plants are
approximately a mile apart with 90,000 ft (27 432 m) of
underground piping throughout the loop.
The simulation assumes varying pumping speed to
react to primary pressure variation and to keep the
coil flow and design temperature differential constant.
Two scenarios were evaluated: varying primary sup-
ply pressure and varying primary return pressure. In
each case, a simulation was performed with the PSV
installed as well as without it, so the effect of the PSV
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TECHNICAL FEATURE

could be analyzed. In the first case, FIGURE 4 Hydraulic loop simulation model.
the primary return pressure was kept
Bldgs. with PSV
constant at 57 psig (393 kPag) while the SUP 3
primary supply pressure was varied CUP
from 45 to 70 psig (310 to 482 kPag). B
In the second scenario, the primary
supply pressure was kept constant at
59 psig (406 kPag), while the primary C
return pressure was varied from 50 to
70 psig (344 to 482 kPag). The simu-
lation’s primary pressure data and
ranges were based on trended yearly
data patterns.

Building Pump and Primary Loop Pressure

The simulation results in Table 2 are
shown to compare building pump D

capacity and its power consumption A

for different scenarios (with and with-
out PSV). Table 2 exhibits primary sup- TABLE 2 Primary supply pressure vs. top coil pressure and pump data.
ply versus top coil pressure, pumping METHOD PRI. SUPPLY COIL INLET COIL OUTLET PUMP PUMP PUMP
power, and pump speed for Building PRESSURE, PSIG PRESSURE, PSIG PRESSURE, PSIG POWER, HP HEAD, FT SPEED (%)
A. Without the PSV installed, the top W/O PSV 45 10.2 –27 20.8 117.6 99%
coil inlet pressure was 10.2 psig (70 50 10.2 –27 18.8 106.1 96%
kPag) and the top coil outlet pressure 55 10.2 –27 16.7 94.6 92%
was –27.0 psig (–186 kPag). With the PSV 60 10.2 –27 14.7 83.0 88%
the top coil inlet pressure decreases 65 10.2 –27 12.7 71.5 84%
from 10.2 psig to 5.2 psig (70.3 to 35.8 70 10.2 –27 10.6 60.0 79%
kPag), and the top coil outlet pres- PSV 45 5.2 3.1 18.8 106.1 96%
sure becomes 3.1 psig (21.3 kPag). As
50 5.2 3.1 16.7 94.6 92%
primary supply pressure increases
55 5.2 3.1 14.7 83.0 88%
from 45 psig to 70 psig (310 kPag to 482
60 5.2 3.1 12.7 71.5 84%
kPag), pumping speed decreased from
65 5.2 3.1 10.6 60.0 79%
99% to 79% without the PSV, and 96%
70 5.2 3.1 8.6 48.44 74%
to 74% with the PSV. Pump head with
PSV dropped on average 14%, around
11.5 ft (3.5 m), compared to the pre-PSV option. With both pump power and head differences (with PSV or
the PSV the power consumption is about 2 hp (1.5 kW) not) are independent of primary return pressure.
lower than without the PSV, which declined about 13%.
The PSV method is able to reduce CHW pump power Return Pressure Blockage Identification
at $2,380/year and has an estimated payback period of One of the concerns that needed to be addressed was
3.5 years. how the installation of PSVs on each of the tallest build-
Field observations display that each existing pump ings on campus would affect the return loop pressures
was oversized and ran at full capacity before PSVs were of nearby buildings. A hydraulic simulation for Building
installed, so the actual pump power savings from the A (with PSV) and its surrounding Buildings E, F, and
PSV installation is more than the simulation estimation G (without PSVs), was performed for this hydronic
at Table 2. The second scenario simulation shows that return pressure blockage issue. Figure 5 shows the return

28 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

pressure blockage identification map. Buildings F and FIGURE 5 Return pressure blockage identification map.
G are downstream from Building A, while Building E is
located upstream. Each building has a different demand Bldg. G
flow and pump pressure requirement because of the
building type, geographical location, and elevation. 8 in.
The “Return Pressure Blockage” simulation has two sce- 8 in. Bldg. E
narios: with and without PSV installed at Building A. The Bldg. A
building return pressure values only rely on primary 8 in. 10 in.
return pressure, and not primary supply pressure. 8 in.
Figure 6 shows the building return pressure versus 10 in. 10 in.
the primary loop return pressure with PSV installed
at Building A. Whenever primary return pressure
CHWR Bldg. F
increases, the nearby return pressures at each junc- CHWS
12 in.

tion also increase. The different return building pres- Bldg. w/PSV
sure values are all higher than their associated primary Bldg. w/o PSV
return pressure values at each junction, which is related
to their physical location on the hydronic
FIGURE 6 Varying primary return pressure effect upon nearby buildings.
loop with respect to the plants. Building E
has a higher return pressure than Building 80 p Building A Building E Building F Building G
Building Return Pressure (psig)

p
A because it is upstream of Building A, and 75
p
the higher pressure value is consumed to 70
overcome pipe friction loss between two 65
p

buildings: A and E. There was no reduced p

60
or completely blocked flow identified on p
Building A’s return flow pipe. Also Building 55

A does not block any flow from Buildings 50

50
F and G because water flow and pressure
converges at each junction. Therefore, it
was determined that the installation of the PSV had no
impact on the surrounding buildings.
PSV Operation & Performance
Sequences of Operation
CHW and LTHW distribution systems at the university
consist of variable hydronic flow, primary pumping, and also directly connected to building pump control as an
building pumping as shown in Figure 2. The hydronic
system operation for plants and buildings is heav-
ily related to ambient temperature and the university
schedule. Based on primary and building pressure pro-
files, along with flow profiles and pump affinity laws, 4 = 
the sequences of PSV operation have been developed
to make sure the top coil receives sufficient pressure to
maintain the PSV upstream pressure at its PSV set point.
There are two types of PSV control, one is an automatic
remote control and another is a standalone control. The the PSV
PSV at the university has standalone control, so its pres-
sure set point has to be physically set or adjusted on the
55 60 65 70
Primary Return Pressure (psig)
valve, not remotely. A wire sensor connects the control-
ler to the direct digital control (DDC) to provide PSV
position data (percent open). The valve has an automatic
modulation feature that reads the upstream pressure
of the valve and then adjusts the position of the valve
according to the pressure set point. The PSV operation is
equation (1):
Building Pump Speed
1/ 2
 Ppri. supply − Ppri. return + ∆Pbldg . + Safety Factor  (1)

 Pbldg . pump head 
where
P_(pri.supply) = primary supply pressure
P_(pri.return) = primary return pressure downstream of
∆P_(bldg.) = pressure loss when building pump delivers
water throughout the building, safety factor is for the top

30 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

coil and recommended to be around
3 to 5 psi (20 to 34 kPag) to ensure
Redefine
Flexibility
positive pressure at all times
P_(bldg.pump head) = actual pump
head
The speed of the pump needs
to be modulated to keep the PSV
upstream pressure equal to the PSV
set point. If the PSV upstream pres-
sure is higher than the PSV set point
pressure, then the pump needs to
decrease its speed and the PSV will
adjust itself to increase flow to main-
tain the set point value. If, instead,
the PSV upstream pressure is lower
than PSV set point, the pump needs
to increase its speed and the PSV also
needs to modulate to reduce flow.

PSV System Performance

Figure 7 and 8 illustrate the PSV
operation on the CHW system
at Building A on May 29, 2018.
Building Pump 1 runs (Pump
2 idle, in parallel) from 68% to
90% provides daily average pres-
sure head of 30 psig (206 kPag) to
deliver the water to the top coils of
the building and then back to pri-
mary return loop.
The PSV upstream pressure (blue
line in Figure 7) keeps a constant
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and modulation of PSV from 27% to
31% in Figure 8. Figure 8 shows the top
coil inlet pressure remains about 7.8
psig (53 kPag), while top coil outlet
pressure averages around 5.5 psig
(37 kPag).
The field operation shows that WaterFurnace Commercial Product Line
the replacement of the pre-PSV
pumps with large capacity pumps at
Building A is not necessary because
the PSV option requires smaller
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building pump capacity than pre-
PSV. The daily field operation graphs

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 31

TECHNICAL FEATURE

clearly exhibit that both pump speed and FIGURE 7 Primary pressure and building pressure profile.
PSV modulation converged at the PSV set

Pri. Supply and Return, Bldg. Supply and

point, and pump power consumption 95

PSV Upstream Pressure (psig)

and pump head were reduced, compared
85
to the existing pump without the PSV, a
75
high operation performance as designed.
The PSVs are in full operation at all four 65
buildings which previously experienced 55
negative pressures in their top coils, and 45
all PSVs have been tuned, balanced and 11:45p 2:30a 5:15a 8:00a 10:45a 1:30p 4:15p 7:00p 9:45p
commissioned. Pri. Supply Pressure Bldg. Supply Pressure
Table 3 shows an inspection of PSV’s opera- Pri. Return Pressure PSV Upstream Pressure
tion as of May 15, 2018. The top coil outlet
pressure stays around 5 psig (34 kPag) for FIGURE 8 Daily PSV and pump operation.
all buildings, which provides some safety 100 10
PSV Position and Pump Speed (%)

during operation should anything not act 90 9

Top Coil Supply and Return

according to design. The building PSV posi- 80 8
70 7

Pressure (psig)
tion varies from 11.6% to 45.3%, which is 60 6
related to the PSV’s distance from the plant 50 5
40 4
and its modulation to keep its set point. In 30 3
same way, pump speed is also related to 20 2
10 1
each buildings demand flow, PSV set point, 0 0
11:45p 2:30a 5:15a 8:00a 10:45a 1:30p 4:15p 7:00p 9:45p
and distance from the plants. The inspec-
tion indicates these PSVs performed as PSV Position Pump Speed Top Coil Inlet Pressure Top Coil Outlet Pressure
designed.
TABLE 3 PSV operation and performance.
Conclusion
BUILDING HYDRONIC TOP COIL OUTLET DT °F PSV PUMP
This follow-up study confirmed that the PSV method NAME TYPE PRESSURE PSIG POSITION (%) SPEED (%)
is an energy-saving as well as practical solution. The
CHW 4.1 12 24.2 68
operation study revealed the installation of PSVs A
reduces pumping power by 13% and pump head LTHW 4.5 23 23.5 98
by 14%. These improvements resulted in one exist- CHW 4.8 11 25.4 73
ing CHW pump to save an estimated $2,380/year at B
LTHW 5.1 22 30.7 80
Building A with an associated payback period of 3.5
CHW 5.0 11 11.6 64
years. The PSV solution not only saves money, but also C
LTHW 4.3 25 22.8 82
eliminates the problem of insufficient PSP on the large
campus loop and improves the hydronic loop perfor- CHW 5.5 12 35.6 60
D
mance. The PSV method does not cause any block- LTHW 4.5 23 45.3 70
age on the return flow from surrounding buildings,
and the high PSV operation performance indicates References
the building pump capacity for PSV method is much 1. Hui Chen, et al. 2017. “Dealing with insufficient plant static
pressure: improving thermal loop performance.” ASHRAE Journal
smaller than pre-PSV’s requirement. This study will 59(4).
help engineers fully understand hydronic loops, build- 2. 2017 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals, Chapter 3, Fluid Flow,
ing pressure distribution, and building pump require- pp. 3.2.
3. 2017 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals, Chapter 22, Pipe Design,
ments. It offers a cost-effective solution and can be pp. 22.5.
used as a resource for PSV design and operation for 4. 2016 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Systems and Equipment, Chapter
design engineers and facility personnel. 44, Centrifugal Pumps, pp. 44.9.

32 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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 CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

How HVAC&R
Changed the World
BY BERNARD A. NAGENGAST, LIFE MEMBER ASHRAE

The HVAC&R industry has changed our lifestyles so thoroughly that we take many
engineering innovations for granted. Although they have been continuous throughout
our industry’s history, some developments in the 20th century broadly and directly
affect our lives today. This article explores how these innovations developed in rela-
tion to one another. Much of the information presented here was published previ-
ously in expanded form by the author, and readers who wish to explore the topics
more deeply are encouraged to consult the references cited.
The 24-Hour Stationary Engineer—The Electric Motor
Much of what heats, cools and ventilates is operated
by an electric motor. The motors used in HVAC&R
equipment are reliable, and their energy efficiency is
continually improved, but consider that, at the turn of
the 20th century, electric motors were a relatively new
phenomenon. Also consider that their development
and application made HVAC&R technology available
unlike it had been before.
Although electric motors had been invented in the
19th century, their use was limited by underdevelop-
ment and limited availability of electric power. That
began to change after the 1880s as power distribution
systems using the Edison direct current and the Tesla/
Westinghouse alternating current approaches began to
spread throughout the world (Figure 1).
In 1900, it was common for heating-ventilating fans
and refrigeration compressors to be driven by heat
engines, principally steam-operated, but they were
also powered using oil or gasoline. Heat engines had
the disadvantages of complicated construction that
frequently required skilled operation by an on-site “sta-
tionary engineer,” and they were noisy, often dirty, and
required a large amount of space. Also, they needed the
additional boiler or fuel tank. And then there was the
inability, or at least great difficulty, of operating them
with automatic control.
1880–1910 saw much inventive activity in the electri-
cal industry, with increasing emphasis on alternating
current systems and components. It was becoming
clear that direct current systems had disadvantages
over alternating current systems, especially in the area
of transmission over longer distances. Direct current
motors with the high starting torque needed for fans
and compressors were available, but they required
hand-operated “starting boxes,” which contained
a variable resistance used to bring the motor up to
speed.

Bernard A. Nagengast is an HVAC&R engineer and historian in Sidney, Ohio. He is a member of and past chair and consultant for the ASHRAE Historical Committee.

34 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

 ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

Development of the alternating current motor revo-

FIGURE 1 125 years ago, electric power was being introduced in cities, replacing
lutionized the HVAC&R industry by providing a less gas lighting. (From: author’s personal collection, unattributed source).
complicated, less expensive way to operate equipment,
and ac motors could be turned on and off using auto-
matic controls. Also, these motors were developed in
smaller sizes, opening the door to packaged equipment
development for heating, refrigeration and later, air
conditioning.
By 1920, most developed urban areas had ac power
available for homes, businesses and factories. Polyphase
ac induction motors, as well as synchronous motors,
were available for factory and large commercial equip-
ment. Homes and small businesses were served by
single-phase electric service within a voltage range of
104 to 230 volts. For those customers, a number of small
single-phase induction motors were soon available for FIGURE 2 The repulsion-start induction motor was widely used until the 1930s for
high-starting torque applications such as refrigerators in homes with skimpy elec-
appliances, including refrigerators, and for oil burners, tric service. (From: The Heating and Ventilating Magazine, July 1927, p. 189).
ventilating fans, etc. At first the need was served using
so-called “split-phase” induction motors; however, the
need for higher starting torque for refrigeration com-
pressors, etc. brought about invention of capacitor-start
and repulsion-start motors. The repulsion-start induc-
tion motor proved to be a solution to a vexing problem
when motor-powered HVAC&R equipment was intro-
duced into household use. Well into the 1930s, most
homes were wired with 30- or 60-ampere service. With
such skimpy capacity, it was common for the locked-
rotor (starting) current of a refrigerator to cause the
line voltage to drop precipitously, dimming lights and
often blowing a branch circuit fuse (which were usually
15-amp quick-blow fuses). The solution was to use the
repulsion-start motor, which could develop very high
starting torque at low line voltage using less current
than other types of motors. Repulsion-start motors were
available from 1/8 to 25 horsepower and were the pre-
ferred motor type used for HVAC&R in that power range
until they began to be supplanted by capacitor-start
motors beginning in 1930 (Figure 2).
Over time, electric motors were continually improved
by reducing weight and relative cost while increas-
ing efficiency, especially in the last 25 years. And now
we have variable-frequency drive motors that allow a ”the electric motor,” serves us silently, unobtrusively
level of energy efficiency and control that would amaze and with increasing efficiency as applied in heating,
the engineers of the early 20th century—we are well refrigeration and air conditioning. And that is quite an
aware of that within our engineering profession. What accomplishment!
about everyone else? Outside the community read- That progress in electrical development opened the
ing this essay, the “24-hour stationary engineer,” i.e., door to more innovations we also can’t live without.1

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 35

ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
Cease Firing by Hand!—Automatic
Heating
By 1900, many homes and build-
ings, particularly in cities, were
equipped with central steam, hot
water or hot air heating systems.
Before the 1920s, most homeowners
using central systems heated with
hand-fired coal furnaces or boilers.
They had to descend into a basement
and contend with coal shoveling
from a “coal bin,” ash clearance and
a method of temperature control
requiring a judgment of how much
coal to use and how much draft to
allow for the firebox. Although ther-
mostat-controlled draft regulators
had been available since the 1880s,
they were seldom used in homes or
small businesses. Automatic firing of
heating equipment was hampered
at first by lack of widespread avail-
ability of electric power and reli-
able electric motors, as previously
discussed. Once the motors were
available, inventors had to figure
out how to apply them to the firing
of heating systems. They also had to
develop controls that would permit
direct control of the equipment.
These efforts began before 1900 and
accelerated through the next two
decades. During WWI, a coal short-
age and government initiatives to
conserve energy gave a push to auto-
matic system development in the
United States.
Homeowners and businesses
were used to “banking” coal fires at
night, waking up early to stoke the
fire with fresh coal, opening and
adjusting draft dampers, and then
waiting for bulky heating systems
to respond. Guesswork, weather
conditions and experience dictated
how much coal and draft to use,
but this was inherently wasteful.
36 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org
The first electric-motor-powered FIGURE 3 The first night setback thermostat was
“coal stoker,” which mechanically introduced in 1907. (Engineering Review, December
1908, p. 104).
fed coal and removed ash from a
boiler or furnace and could be con-
trolled by thermostat, was placed
on the market in 1912, and by the
1920s, automatic coal systems were
available from many manufactur-
ers. However, this improvement in
coal-fired systems soon succumbed
to what was seen as better fuels—oil
and gas.
Wartime restrictions on and
subsequent shortages of coal
stimulated the use of oil and gas as
substitute energy sources for heat-
ing. Certainly oil and gas had been
investigated and even used in lim-
ited circumstances for heating prior.
Before World War I, there were sev-
eral manufacturers of domestic oil
burners. Underwriters Laboratories
certified an oil burner in 1912. The
first oil burner with high-voltage
electric ignition, tradenamed the
“ELECTROL,” was introduced in
1918. By the mid-1920s, the market
for household and commercial oil
burners skyrocketed.
Gas heating advanced too. By
1900, there was a well-developed
infrastructure for gas distribution
in many cities for gas lighting, but take off until the World War I coal
there was no real incentive to push shortages. By that time, electrically
the use of gas for heating until the operated gas valves had been devel-
gas utility companies saw their oped, so the heating system could
revenue decline as electric light- be readily controlled by thermostat.
ing advanced. Casting about for a Although thermostatic control for
way to increase gas use, they began heating had been invented in the
to investigate its use for heating. 1830s in England, it was not until
For example, the Ohio Gas Light the 1880s that it was improved and
Company installed gas heating sys- extensively promoted by innovators
tems in 50 homes as an experiment such as Albert Butz, Warren Johnson,
in 1891. After 1900, some furnace William Powers, William Sweatt and
and boiler manufacturers added others. Various heating thermostat
gas-fired equipment to their lines, designs were available by 1900.
but gas equipment did not really The clock-operated night setback
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

thermostat was first marketed by Jewell Manufacturing FIGURE 4 Successful development of automatic heating systems led to industry
Company in 1907 (Figure 3). Such thermostats were promotion, as exemplified by a mid-1930s campaign by an industry trade journal.
widely promoted as fuel-saving devices during World (From: Automatic Heat and Air Conditioning, October 1936, p. 32).
War I and ultimately became popular enough that the
largest manufacturer of wind up clocks in the world was
said to be none other than the Minneapolis Honeywell
Regulator Company!
Other appurtenant controls were developed, such as
those designed and marketed by Honeywell Heating
Specialties Company beginning in 1924 exclusively.
Frankly, many factors were in place for a technical
development spurt. In the United States, progress was
hampered by the post-war depression that persisted
in the early 1920s. As the economy recovered, so did
renewed enthusiasm for technological development
in HVAC&R. A review of the trade publications of the
period shows increases in “new products” announce-
ments, accompanied by expanded advertising (Figure 4).
Packaged gas furnaces incorporating a burner,
blower, humidifier and filter did not appear until
the late 1920s. Probably the first was a gas-fired unit
invented by Carlyle Ashley, which was marketed as the
“Weathermaker” furnace by Carrier-Lyle Corporation
beginning in 1928. Ashley’s design was significant FIGURE 5 The oil-fired boiler that was introduced by General Electric in the mid-
1930s incorporated the latest heating technology. (From: Automatic Heating With
because it was the first high-efficiency (91%) gas furnace. Oil, General Electric Co., 1936, form FP-108, p. 12).
From the early 1930s on, advertisements and
announcements for packaged heating units with steel
cabinets began to appear in the trade press. Often these
units were promoted as being so clean and quiet that
they were suitable for placement in a home living area.
Such was the case with General Electric’s oil-fired boiler
introduced in 1932.
GE’s packaged boiler featured all the latest innova-
tions for comfort, safety and style. The unit included
a high temperature limit, pre- and post-purge of the
combustion chamber, automatic control by a night set-
back thermostat and were suitable for steam or forced
hot-water systems. And the unit included a built-in
heat exchanger for domestic hot water with separate
thermostatic control. The GE boiler could be combined
with air-cooling using a heat exchanger for a forced-air
residential air conditioning system. A similarly designed
gas-fired boiler, as well as a hot-air furnace, was also
available2 (Figure 5).
The newest technology was a sensation. Complete
home heating and cooling systems were prominently
displayed at the World’s Fairs of 1933 and 1939 by a

38 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

number of manufacturers, and it seemed that a new era FIGURE 6 Servel Corporation was one of the early entrants in the mechanical
of modern convenience was dawning—until it didn’t. refrigerator industry. (Note: SERVEL was an acronym for “Serve Electrically.” )
The “Great Depression” and the World War that imme- (From: Good Housekeeping, November 1925).

diately followed stifled the surge in heating technology.

The innovative systems of companies like Carrier and
General Electric were discontinued from lack of sales.
The period of the late 1930s through the 1960s saw slow
change in packaged furnaces, boilers and systems. The
limited progress included cabinet size reduction as
blowers evolved from belt-driven to direct drive. During
this period, the product mix steadily shifted from oil
toward gas-firing and from steam and hot water to
forced-air systems that could easily incorporate central
air conditioning. A renewed focus on energy efficiency
revived after the “oil shocks” of the 1970s. Then the heat-
ing industry responded with “reinventing the wheel” of
high-efficiency furnaces and boilers using modern tech-
nology that was unavailable 50 years earlier. This new
burst of innovation has continued to this day. Today,
few can remember a central heating system that did not
work automatically. Does anybody in a modern, eco-
nomically well-developed city or country worry about
waking up to a cold house? Firing a heating system by
hand has indeed ceased. frozen foods in an icebox? But that became a possibility
with mechanical refrigeration. And no more waiting
Freedom from the Shackles of Ice—The Mechanical Refrigerator for the ice man to come. The mechanical refrigerator
A survey in 1999 asked more than 1,000 people has made our lives safer and richer—can anyone now
which appliance would be hardest to live without—the imagine life without it?
answer: their refrigerator. The household mechani- The mechanical refrigeration industry before the 20th
cal refrigerator was one of the 20th century’s great- century had shown remarkable progress in perfecting
est inventions, allowing housewives to “strike off the the technology of ice manufacture and cold storage.
shackles of ice” (Figure 6). Previously, refrigerators were This technology worked well in those high-capacity
cooled with block ice, delivered directly to homes or applications, but it was a challenge to transfer it to the
businesses by local merchants. The “ice man” roved city small-capacity requirement for homes. This turned into
streets just like the “milk man,” calling on one place a quest—one that John Starr, the first president of the
after another. But unlike the milk man, the ice man American Society of Refrigerating Engineers, likened
delivered the product right to where it was used—in the to the pursuit of the dream of the old practitioners of
kitchen—to the so-called “icebox,” where he placed a alchemy—discovering the “Philosopher’s Stone” that
block of ice in the top of the refrigerator. The invasion would turn base metal into gold.
was at least a necessary nuisance. More problematic, By 1930, the household refrigerator was a reality, and
iceboxes could not maintain a constant storage tem- no stone was required. The solutions were found in
perature, which was frequently too high for proper electric motors, sealed systems, automatic control and
food storage. With a mechanical refrigerator, consum- non-toxic, non-flammable refrigerants. But these solu-
ers didn’t buy ice—they could even make it. With better tions required a slow and expensive evolution. Before
temperature control, they had new freedom in their WWI, there were scattered attempts to introduce house-
kitchens to store a wider variety of foods for a longer hold mechanical refrigerators—and there were a lot of
time. And frozen foods? Forget it—how could you keep good ideas, even some breakthroughs—but these were

40 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

disjointed, undercapitalized efforts. Mass production of FIGURE 7 By the 1930s, household mechanical refrigerators were becoming an
a low-cost, low-maintenance refrigerator was needed. important part of homes. (From: Good Housekeeping, May 1931).
That challenge was soon met. Refrigeration engineers
introduced eccentric shaft, closed-crankcase reciprocat-
ing compressors, replacing open-frame crosshead or
crank types and allowing higher operating speeds and
smaller size. Leaky stuffing boxes were replaced with
rotary mechanical shaft seals that minimized leaks. By
the late 1920s, using improved electric motors, exter-
nally driven systems began to be replaced with her-
metically sealed motor-compressors that reduced size,
weight and cost further, all but eliminating refrigerant
leaks. Effective methods of refrigerant control, such as
the constant superheat (thermostatic) expansion valve
and the capillary tube, were developed. Temperature
and pressure controls were applied to refrigerating sys-
tems, making them responsive to the vagaries of system
load that varied with room temperature, product load,
frequency of door opening and so on.
Until 1930, engineers had only toxic or flammable
refrigerants to choose from for their systems. Sulfur
dioxide, methyl chloride, ethyl chloride or isobutane
were used in virtually all household systems until chlo- that they assumed would later lead to a substantial mar-
rofluorocarbon refrigerants (discussed next in this ket for their products as well as a decent profit.3
article) were developed in 1928. The new refrigerant The application of engineering and capital from these
family’s use for household systems began in the 1930s two industrial giants, as well as others that joined them,
and accelerated the acceptance of the new technology. spawned a surge of technical development. And the
But this new technology for the home required a con- competition between many manufacturers resulted in
siderable engineering effort and a great deal of money leap-frog technology, where one company’s advance was
to make it a reality. The advances previously mentioned soon topped by another, better innovation. The result:
saw practical reality only after two industrial sectors the increasingly reliable, energy-efficient and affordable
committed engineering talent and a great deal of capi- mechanical refrigerator (Figure 7). The ice man is gone—
tal. The two sectors were the automotive and electrical no longer needed—replaced by the “can’t live without”
industries in the United States. refrigerator, that, like the benefits of automatic heating,
As World War I was ending, two corporations, General we just take for granted.
Motors and General Electric, began pursuing introduc-
tion of refrigeration into the home. GM was worried that It All Depended on a Guinea Pig—The Chlorofluorocarbon
a post-war depression would cause auto sales to plunge Refrigerants
and sought to find something else that dealers could sell. At the dawn of the 20th century, the dominant refrig-
GE had already begun expansion beyond electric light- erant was ammonia. Why? Because for almost 40 years,
ing—into electrical items such as electric irons, toasters it had proven to be the best refrigerant to use—its attri-
and so on—and saw an electric refrigerator as a logical butes included a high refrigerating effect and low cost.
addition to its “string of appliances.” But it had some notable disadvantages too, such as toxic-
Both corporations had large, diversified engineering ity. Since most refrigeration applications were indus-
staffs as well as considerable financial capital. Both were trial, any disadvantages were mitigated, or even toler-
willing to endure the unavoidable development failures ated, using technology that was well-developed by 1900.
and the associated costs to ensure a successful product After 1900, refrigeration took some new courses into

42 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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specialized applications like households (as discussed with a preset pressure controller, connected to the
above), retail groceries or butcher shops, and air condi- system low side, which would cycle the condensing
tioning. Ammonia proved unsuitable for household or unit. A float metered refrigerant into a flooded-type
merchant uses, and although some existing refrigerat- evaporator that responded to the changing load. These
ing machinery manufacturers did try to enter that field, VRF systems had become fairly widespread by the late
downsizing their industrial equipment proved difficult. 1920s, particularly in larger cities. Most used sulfur
Besides, they were satisfied providing for the expanding dioxide or methyl chloride refrigerant and contained
demand for cold storage and ice making. And there was a large refrigerant charge that sometimes let loose into
the new technology of air conditioning for industrial the building if a line ruptured—with spectacular result
processes, as well as for personal comfort. These appli- if sulfur dioxide was involved. With searing lungs and
cations potentially exposed building occupants to a toxic stinging eyes, occupants would flee to the streets, even
refrigerant leak. For air conditioning, ammonia, as well in the middle of the night. However, a methyl chloride
as the other toxic or flammable refrigerants mentioned leak produced a more subdued—but deadly—situation.
previously, would not be acceptable. What to do? Methyl chloride has a sweet, ethereal odor, not irritat-
Obviously the solution was to use a ing like sulfur dioxide. In sufficient
different refrigerant. Previously used FIGURE 8 Before the chlorofluorocarbon refriger- concentration, it has both an anes-
ants, service on many household refrigerators
alternatives to ammonia, such as required a gas mask! (From: Frigidaire Installation thetic and toxic effect. There were a
methyl chloride and sulfur dioxide, and Service Manual, April 1927, p. 4). number of instances where a methyl
had been used in Europe and proved chloride system leaked enough
technically suitable for low-capacity refrigerant at night to kill entire fam-
systems. Some others, such as ethyl ilies. These tragedies were sensation-
chloride and isobutane were also alized in newspapers, and the public,
used. For air-conditioning applica- with the battlefield deaths from
tions, carbon dioxide, dichloroeth- poison gas used in WWI still fresh
ylene and methylene chloride were in their minds, demanded action to
used. All these refrigerants, except prohibit “death gases” from being
CO2, were problematic—toxic and/or used in refrigeration systems. City
flammable. health departments responded with
By the late 1920s, household restrictions on use of large refrigera-
refrigerators were reliable but still tion systems as well as refrigerants4
costly. Apartment houses, with a (Figure 8).
concentration of tenants, proved Improved reliability and lower cost
to be a potentially lucrative market had propelled household refrigera-
for refrigerator manufacturers. Apartment dwellers tor sales into the millions by 1928, and refrigerator
balked at purchasing a high-priced refrigerator, but manufacturers became alarmed that private and public
apartment owners, when constructing new build- concern and restrictions would affect their burgeoning
ings and competing for tenants, often opted for a new market. The Frigidaire Corporation division of General
idea—VRF! Yes, VRF, Variable Refrigerant Flow systems, Motors had been using sulfur dioxide refrigerant since
the concept recently popular in the air-conditioning 1918, even touting the refrigerant’s advantage as being
industry. At that time, the concept was used by plac- non-toxic because it was “self-alarming” and a leak
ing a central refrigeration condensing unit in the would compel a user to get out before any serious health
apartment house basement, directly connected with effects occurred. Frigidaire management was concerned
multiple liquid and suction lines to small refrigerators enough about their business that they asked the newly
in each apartment. The VRF aspect was accomplished formed General Motors Research Laboratory to develop
by using “low-side float” refrigerant controls in each a completely new refrigerant that would be non-toxic,
apartment, with the central system maintaining con- non-flammable and chemically stable. Thomas Midgley,
stant evaporator pressure (and therefore temperature) a research engineer, was assigned to that task. With his

44 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
FIGURE 9 The chlorofluorocarbon FREON could be safely used in packaged
air-conditioning equipment located in private or public places. (From: Kinetic
Chemicals ad, Heating Piping and Air Conditioning, July 1934, p. 67).
assistants, chemist Albert Henne
and chemical engineer Robert
McNary, a new refrigerant was pro-
posed after a remarkable Saturday
afternoon brainstorming marathon.
Midgley had thought that it was
unlikely that one compound could
fulfill the specified requirements
and that some type of blend would
be needed. However, the team
decided to try for a single compound
using an unusual approach. The
Periodic Table of the Elements was
consulted to explore relationships
between elements that might yield
something useful. The thought pro-
cesses resulted in one compound,
dichlorodifluoromethane, which
seemed to be an ideal refrigerant.
One of the most important
requirements was that any new
refrigerant be non-toxic. Prevailing
thought was that any compound
containing fluorine would likely
be toxic. A small batch of the new
refrigerant was prepared and
tested on a guinea pig, with no ill
effects. Another batch was pre-
pared, but this time the guinea pig
died. Investigation showed that the
catalyst used to prepare the new
46 ASHRAE JOURNAL
FIGURE 10 Before comfort air conditioning, one had to resort to using an electric
fan. (From: Bulletin of the Philadelphia Electric Company, June 1914, pp. 12-13).
sample was contaminated, result-
FIGURE 11 The first successful window air
ing in deadly phosgene gas being conditioners were marketed in the late 1930s.
mixed with the refrigerant. In fact, (From: Collier’s, July 1, 1939, p. 52).
another four vials of the catalyst,
antimony trifluoride, were found to
be contaminated. The fact that only
five vials of catalyst had been avail-
able to the researchers—four of them
contaminated with a phosgene-pro-
ducing agent—meant that the odds
were greatly against a successful tox-
icity test.5 Would testing of dichlo-
rodifluoromethane proceed if the
first guinea pig had died? Thomas
Midgley later commented, “… I
often wonder if the sudden death of
our first guinea pig would not have
so completely shaken our confident
expectation that our new compound
could not possibly be toxic, that—
well, I still wonder if we would have
been smart enough to have contin-
ued the investigation.”6
In fact, experimentation with
the new refrigerant did continue,
and it was publicly announced in
1930. The new refrigerant, Freon,
was manufactured by Kinetic
Chemicals Inc., a stock company
owned jointly by General Motors such an important discovery that
and DuPont. Freon was considered the new refrigerant was sold not
ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
just to Frigidaire, but to any manufacturer who wanted
to use it. Freon 12, the first CFC sold, was shortly fol-
lowed by other chlorofluorocarbons for various refrig-
eration applications, and before long, the other toxic
and flammable refrigerants disappeared from use. One
significant advantage of the chlorofluorocarbons was
that they could be used in direct expansion systems for
air conditioning (Figure 9). The new availability of a safe
refrigerant did spur development of central and pack-
aged air conditioners beginning in the 1930s, which
accelerated after World War II ended. The chlorofluo-
rocarbons came to dominate non-industrial refrigera-
tion until scientists discovered that chlorofluorocar-
bons damage stratospheric ozone. This environmental
hazard was not foreseen in 1928 when the concern for
safety was close at hand. No doubt the rapid expan-
sion of refrigeration and air conditioning in homes
and public buildings was surely in large part due to
this new, safe refrigerant. You could say it happened
because a guinea pig didn’t die!
The Model T in the Window—The Window Air Conditioner
“Cooling of rooms … bids fair to be at some time an
industry of considerable importance,” wrote Rolla
Carpenter, Cornell University professor of experimental
engineering in 1896 in his book, Heating and Ventilating
Buildings. The idea that room air should be “refriger-
ated” for comfort (the term “air conditioning” did not
exist before 1906) seemed farfetched to all but a small
number of undaunted engineers. The best folks could do
then was use an electric fan! (Figure 10)
In the 20th century, comfort air conditioning would
become of such considerable importance that daily
life, and even population trends, would be affected.
At first, the technology was used in commercial situa-
tions where the cost and complexity could be justified.
But, just like with refrigerators, an interest developed
for application of refrigeration to comfort cooling in
residences.
Frigidaire introduced the first successful “room cooler”
in 1929, a bulky split-system that used sulfur dioxide
refrigerant. By the 1930s, such companies were begin-
ning to combine cooling and heating technology for cen-
tral home air-conditioning systems that were automatic,
circulating filtered, tempered air to all of the rooms in
a house, office or business. But these central systems
were still too expensive for most folks. Then there was
48 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
a solution. The window air conditioner was introduced
in the late 1930s, a relatively low-cost way to spot-cool
rooms in a home.
How did that happen? This article has discussed electric
motors, automatic systems, household refrigerators and
chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants. In fact, all those innova-
tions played a part in the story of the window air condi-
tioner. Automatic control by thermostat could and was
applied to central AC systems, providing comfort cooling,
and that technology was downsized and simplified for
packaged equipment. The previously mentioned sealed
motor-compressors, initially developed by the household
refrigeration industry after 1918 or so, were adapted for
packaged air conditioning. The development of the safe
chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants opened the possibility of
placing air-conditioning equipment directly into a living
space. Industry was enthusiastic over the prospects, hav-
ing noted the success of the household refrigerator.
The economic depression of the 1930s stymied the
nascent packaged air-conditioning industry, but the
depression’s end saw renewed interest. Although the
first successful window air conditioners were being sold
by the late 1930s (Figure 11), again industry development
was halted, this time by World War II. When wartime
restrictions ended in 1946, the idea of a window air con-
ditioner was pursued with a new vigor. Designs for pack-
aged air conditioners that could be placed in a window
proliferated. Competition and mass production steadily
brought the cost down such that comfort air condition-
ing was affordable for more folks—you could call it the
democratizing of air conditioning, as the Model T Ford
did for automobiles.7 Forty-eight thousand units were
sold in 1946, as pent-up consumer demand began to be
satisfied by industry rapidly converting back to peace-
time production. Annual sales have increased steadily
since then, and today, in aggregate, more than 100 mil-
lion units have been produced in the United States. And
worldwide, almost that many room air conditioners are
now sold each year.8 Window air conditioners in our age
are inexpensive, reliable, increasingly efficient and por-
table (Figure 12)—another engineering triumph most folks
don’t consider at all as they flip the switch to get cool!
Summary
As ASHRAE celebrates its 125th anniversary, we are
looking back at what we have accomplished in our
profession. This article explored some technology we
ASHRAE — CELEBRATING 125 YEARS
invented, used or improved so well that, outside our
technical community, pretty much no one appreciates
how good that technology works to keep us warm or
cool or provide a vast variety of safe food at our finger-
tips, efficiently and affordable. Everyone takes it all for
granted. Insulted? Don’t be—it means we HVAC&R engi-
neers have done our job very well!
References
1. Donaldson, B. and B. Nagengast. 1994. Heat & Cold: Mastering the
Great Indoors, pp. 189-193. Atlanta:ASHRAE.
2. Nagengast, B. 2001. “An early history of comfort heating.” Air
Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News (November 12):10-26. Note:
This issue of ACHR News was titled “Celebrating 75 years of heating” and
has much historical information on heating industry development. See
also: Donaldson, Nagengast 1994, pp. 193-199, 245-261.
3. Donaldson, B. and B. Nagengast. 1994. Heat & Cold: Mastering the
Great Indoors, pp. 204-243. Atlanta: ASHRAE.
4. Donaldson, B. and B. Nagengast. 1994. Heat & Cold: Mastering the
Great Indoors, pp. 137-147. Atlanta: ASHRAE.
5. Bhatti, M.S. 1999. “A historical look at chlorofluorocarbon
refrigerants.” ASHRAE Transactions 105 (Pt.1): 1186-1206.
6. Haynes, W. 1961. “Thomas Midgley, Jr.” Great Chemists, Edited
by E. Farber, pp. 1587-1597. New York: Interscience Publishers.
7. Early room and window air conditioning history is covered
Visit ruskin.com for more information.
49 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
FIGURE 12 By the 1960s, window air conditioners were easy to purchase and
install. (From: Life, June 2, 1961, p. 114).
in: Morgan, R.W. 1950. “Room air conditioners—Past and present.”
Refrigerating Engineering, 58(1):34-41. And also: Galson, Edgar and
Allen. 1995. “Henry L. Galson – pioneer designer of self contained
air conditioning equipment.” ASHRAE Transactions 101:758-767.
8. 1994. “World air conditioner demand by region.” Japan Air
Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration News, p.5. As quoted in Galson,
Edgar and Allen. 1995. “Henry L. Galson – pioneer designer of self
contained air conditioning equipment.” ASHRAE Transactions 101:765.
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TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Achieving Resiliency in
The Cold Chain: Strategies
To Maintain Food Safety
BY MARY KATE MCGOWAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS

Ensuring food security during natural disasters, loss-of-power events or refrigera-

tion equipment malfunctions calls for more than hoarding milk and bread. Whether
grocery stores and the broader supply chain for cold products lose power momen-
tarily, for hours during demand response events enforced by the local utility, or for
days after a hurricane tears through town, maintaining stable temperatures to keep
food safe is vital for everyday life and during emergencies.
Thermal energy storage in the low-temperature cold thermal energy storage can help improve resiliency for
chain provides both temperature stability to protect all of them,” Vance said.
food from temperature fluctuations during daily opera- Thermal storage is a broad umbrella for a lot of differ-
tions and during a catastrophic loss of power. There ent technologies, and applications range from supplying
are multiple strategies to achieve resilience in the cold air-conditioning to refrigeration to pre-cooling to heat-
chain and different viewpoints of what works best. ing to power generation.
Damon Vance, marketing director at Viking Cold “Each solution/end application has a lot of nuances,
Solutions, said TES improves resiliency and supports the so I think it’s important to consult with folks that have
cold chain in several key areas: worked in the end-user application that you’re looking
• Improving refrigeration system efficiency while into,” said John Lerch, vice president of sales and mar-
minimizing temperature fluctuations during normal keting for Axiom Exergy.
daily operations; Resiliency in cold chain application is critical.
• Minimizing the risk to the food from temperature Refrigeration systems operate 24-hours-a-day seven-
fluctuations while enabling power management of the days-a-week. Situations that call for adapting operation
facility; and strategies can happen at any time and vary in predict-
• Extending the protection for products during ability and length of time.
events such as equipment failure or power outages Thermal storage systems inherently provide some
caused by hurricanes, wildfires or other extreme events. resiliency protection, and the systems can add fea-
“Resiliency in the cold chain refers to a facility’s abil- tures to increase their resiliency protection, said
ity to withstand and recover from several factors, and Lerch. Thermal systems can play three major roles

50 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


in resiliency: backup cooling during power outages,
supplemental cooling during equipment failures and
supplemental cooling during heat waves and high ambi-
ent temperatures.
Strategies
Using backup cooling during power outages is a strategy.
Thermal storage can maintain temperature stability when
the grid fluctuates when coupled with a small genera-
tor or electrochemical battery, which powers pumps and
fans. This can save money by preventing food spoilage and
buying enough time to get refrigerated truck or backup
generator on site for longer duration outages, said Lerch.
Thermal storage can provide cooling services if a com-
pressor, condenser or another piece of equipment fails
or underperforms. During heat waves, thermal stor-
age can supplement the cooling capacity, he said. This
redundancy provides a level of resilience.
Another strategy is connecting thermal storage to a
small, on-site generate or a small lithium ion battery to
power case fans. If the power goes out on-site, this can
ASHRAE Technology Portal
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Member access to ASHRAE Journal articles and
ASHRAE Research Reports. Other content on a
subscription basis.
www.ashrae.org/technologyportal
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
provide cooling to the cases and the walk-in freezers for
an extended period.
When frozen food experiences temperature changes,
micro-thawing and micro-freezing create larger ice
crystals that degrade cell structure and reduce food
quality and shelf life, Vance said.
Thermal energy storage systems provide a key element
of resiliency for long-term duration power outages and
normal daily business operations, which can also affect
temperature, food quality and product shelf life, said
Vance. He said TES systems use latent heat to absorb
50%-85% of the heat infiltration, consolidate the heat
near the top of the room directly in the refrigeration
airflow and shift more compressor runtime to nighttime
hours. The result is systems with thermal energy storage
use an average of 25% less energy while improving tem-
perature stability.
“When all of this is understood, engineers and facility
operators can use TES for disaster back-up, temperature
stability during normal daily operations and for broader
energy reduction strategies,” Vance said.
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TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

‘
The integration of intelligent controls and phase change materials
(PCM) for thermal energy storage applications has advanced to the
point that any refrigeration project should consider TES for resiliency,
risk reduction, operational improvements and energy savings.

Design Considerations
Some TES systems for low-temperature, frozen appli-
cations can be designed into new facilities or added as
a retrofit to existing facilities, said Vance. He said most
design firms consider the heat loads, product turn,
refrigeration capacity, airflow circulation, humidity and
envelope insulation when designing a facility’s refrig-
eration system.
“When adding a TES system, designers should also
consider the installation requirements (the system
’
footprint, racking measurements, mechanical interface
with the refrigeration system, control system integra-
tion), the local utility fee structure (demand charges,
time-of-use fees, efficiency or demand incentives avail-
able) and required life-time maintenance of the TES
system,” he said.
TES systems can provide additional benefits such as
improved temperature stability, energy use reduction,
component-level energy use measurements and tem-
perature data for increased visibility and actionable

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information for the facility operator.
“The integration of intelligent controls and phase
change materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage
applications has advanced to the point that any refrig-
eration project should consider TES for resiliency, risk
reduction, operational improvements and energy sav-
ings,” Vance said.
Grid Operations
Thermal storage systems can also help customers with
load shifting and demand-response revenue benefits.
The utility grid is changing. Operators are challenged
with dealing with utility grid shut-offs, extreme weather
events and other obstacles that make managing the grid
difficult. With higher demand charges, customer util-
ity bills are increasing, and refrigeration is a big energy
consumer. Using an energy storage asset at facilities can
help customers save on their utility bill, and thermal
storage systems can take advantage of demand response
or grid service revenue at the same time to help the
operators, according to Lerch.
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Collin Coker, vice president of sales and marketing for
Viking Cold Solutions, said that generation on the utility
grid is no longer centralized due to the increased use of
renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and
the growth of distributed energy storage.
Solar power provides a growing percentage of the load
during the day and the utility grid is now experiencing
spikes when the sun goes down. The utilities must also
manage for fluctuating wind energy. These changes
make it difficult to balance supply and demand on the
grid, so utilities are providing incentives for energy stor-
age systems, including thermal energy storage, that help
level out demand across the grid. 
Regardless of how cold storage facilities are powered,
thermal energy storage systems can help avoid high
demand periods on the grid and improve resiliency for
the site while also protecting food quality and shelf life.
“The load is changing, and thermal energy storage can
help both grid operators and cold storage facility own-
ers tackle some of their greatest challenges at the same
time,” Coker said.
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2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

Renovation Extends
Building Life 100 Years
An early 20th-century Army warehouse has been transformed into
an energy-efficient community cultural center and home for 21st-
century art students.

PHOTO CREDIT ©BRUCE DAMONTE BY ERIC SOLRAIN, P.E. ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE; TYLER BRADSHAW, P.E.; MARSHA MAYTUM, FAIA;
GWEN FUERTES, AIA

ASHRAE JOURNAL
 HONORABLE MENTION | 2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

The transformation of an old U.S. Army warehouse into

a new campus for the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI)
interweaves historic and contemporary. Located at the
edge of San Francisco Bay, Pier 2 preserves the indus-
trial integrity of the 62,422 gross square foot (5799 gross
square meter) pier shed, integrates advanced sustain-
able strategies, reuses existing building resources,
supports the art institute’s teaching and environmental
goals and forges new community connections.

The building now houses a total of 83% less energy than benchmark
160 studios, workshops, media the- buildings per the Architecture 2030
aters, flexible teaching spaces and Zero Tool.
exhibition galleries. All spaces were Thermal Mass. The design relies
designed to welcome the public with heavily on the thermal mass of the
natural daylight, clean air and ther- building’s original structure to resist
mal comfort. outside temperature fluctuations
The evolution of Pier 2 from a and reduce load demands on the
military processing point for sol- inside.
diers and supplies during four wars Daylight. Historic windows and
into an interdisciplinary art campus the clerestory monitor provide
and community cultural center abundant daylight to most of the
was a public/private collaboration interior. Post occupancy daylight
between SFAI, Fort Mason Center readings indicate that 71% of regu-
for Arts & Culture (FMCAC), and larly occupied spaces receive ade-
the National Park Service (NPS). The quate daylight.
project promotes these cultural and Tempered Ventilation Air.
historical values along with eco- Supplied ventilation air is out-
nomic and environmental values door air that has been tempered
by integrating cost-effective sus- and filtered to optimize indoor
tainable systems, including a high- air quality and decrease equip-
efficiency radiant slab, a decoupled ment sizes. Exhaust vents are
HVAC system, a rooftop PV solar strategically located to remove
array, and an intrinsic daylighting contaminants where they occur
strategy. and protect the breathing zone for
occupants.
Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy. Energy bills
This project is a model for sustain- indicate the space is performing 76%
able renovation and exceeds the AIA better than modeled and that the PV
2030 Commitment target, using solar system produces 100% of the
required electricity for the building.
Eric Solrain, P.E., is a senior principal with Integral Group
in Oakland. Tyler Bradshaw, P.E., is principal and founder The building leverages both
of Blue Forest Engineering in Oakland, Calif. Marsha existing resources and modern
Maytum, is principal at LEDDY MAYTUM STACY Architects
in San Francisco. Gwen Fuertes, is associate at LEDDY technologies to achieve lofty energy-
MAYTUM STACY Architects in San Francisco. efficiency goals.

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 55

2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES
The completed renovation with rooftop solar PV.
Indoor Air Quality
The building uses both natural and mechanical venti-
lation to meet ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and ASHRAE
Standard 62.1-2010. A dedicated outdoor air system
(DOAS) was integrated to ensure a comfortable and
healthy environment throughout the space with low
level exhaust where required by the particular art mate-
rials being used, user-controlled supply ventilation and
56 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
low energy destratification fans to ensure even air dis-
tribution. Additionally, the building geometry allows air
to move freely through rooms without ceilings and cur-
tains while grouped spaces allow for shared air supply.
A unique project challenge was the use of art materi-
als in the space. At studio pods and brush washing sta-
tions, low level exhaust captures fumes and particulates.
Furthermore, studios were grouped together to create
little regions within the building for the purpose of pro-
viding a more effective ventilation plan rather than rely-
ing on a high air changes per hour rate. Tempered ven-
tilation air is supplied at an increased ventilation rate
and delivered within breathing range. Material selection
including no-VOC paints, adhesives and sealants and
formaldehyde-free materials ensures healthy indoor air
quality.
Acoustic wood fiber panels were added to the historic
ceiling along with an integral acoustic floor deck at Level
2 to promote acoustic comfort. The workshop and media
theater are isolated using high performance acoustic
glazing.
 2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

Innovation extended for another 100 years.

SFAI at Fort Mason Pier 2 is a pow-
erful example of design for change
spanning over 100 years. This his-
toric structure has been promoting
the concept of long life/loose fit by
being successfully reused, adapted
and transformed. The rehabilita-
tion of the 1909 concrete and steel
structure capitalizes not only on
the embodied energy of the exist-
Take the new hydronic radiant slab
that was installed over the original
pier deck, for example (Figure 1). The
radiant slab, with a little help from
the tempered mechanical ventila-
tion air, meets all heating needs
of the large volume of space and
enhances thermal comfort by creat-
ing an insulated barrier from the
Bay. On top of this, it is preserving FIGURE 1 Thermal image of radiant slab.

ing building materials, but also on the historic tracks by encapsulating

the cultural history. This adaptive
reuse results in a 74.9% reduction
in greenhouse gas (GHG) impact
from an equivalent new construc-
tion building (per Athena Impact
Estimator).
By integrating energy-efficient
systems and structural upgrades,
the life of this building has been
the pier deck.
Using the building thermal mass
and temperate climate, no mechani-
cal cooling is provided for 90% of
spaces. Instead, existing building
thermal mass is used to keep spaces
cool during warm afternoons.
Highly efficient variable refriger-
ant flow (VRF) systems provide
cooling for conference rooms with
higher internal loads and exterior
windows. Limited high-occupancy
program spaces have separate local
HVAC units.
Ideally situated in the heart of Fort
Mason, the SFAI campus welcomes
an interaction between students and
the community. By offering a variety

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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 57

2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES
Figure 2 SFAI ENERGY SUMMARY.
50,000
45,000
40,000
Electricity (kWh)
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0 0
Jul Aug Sep
2017
PV Production (kWh)
of public programs and classes, free
galleries, and open performance
spaces, the project supports SFAI’s
mission to make the creation of
art transparent to the public. The
site’s location is within Fort Mason
Center for Arts & Culture (FMCAC),
a vibrant culture hub of 24 arts
organizations with two million visi-
tors annually. It positions artists at
the center of public life and con-
veniently creates awareness of the
integration of sustainable adaptive
reuse of buildings.
Maintenance and
Operations
For both cost-effectiveness and
ease of operation, very few systems
require control or maintenance.
Boilers, pumps, DOAS air-handler
fans, radiant zone valves and VRF
systems are integrated to provide a
system that is simple to operate and
maintain. Easily accessible valves
and manifolds keep the mainte-
nance and operations crew happy.
Overall, this simplified system has
fewer components, controls and
ultimately less cost.
The building was designed to pro-
vide flexibility in both short and long
58 ASHRAE JOURNAL
economy was an overarching pri-
ority to meet their teaching goals
5,000
within a limited budget. FMCAC,
4,500
4,000
SFAI and the design team actively
Natural Gas (Therms)
sought a variety of complex fund-
3,500
3,000 ing sources, including the National
2,500 Park Service’s Save American
2,000 Treasures program, Federal Historic
1,500
Preservation Tax Incentives program
1,000
500
and a grant from the Department of
Energy to successfully finance the
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun project.
| 2018
Working with SFAI, the design
Electricity Usage (kWh) Gas Usage (Therms)
team rehabilitated the existing
structure and integrated the new
terms. In the short term, studios and program elements efficiently and
teaching spaces can be easily recon- with multiple benefits. We opti-
figured and adapted to serve evolv- mized the radiant zone shapes to
ing programs and technologies. The use a low cost radiant mat system
building spaces are generalized to nearly halving the cost of the radiant
allow for future adaptation for alter- tubing. Program areas serve mul-
native uses in the long term. tiple uses for an economy of space.
Located in an active seismic The shared spaces are flexible and
region, the rehabilitation included adaptable with sliding glass panels
a seismic upgrade for life safety and that allow for an open or a secured
to preserve and protect the historic configuration depending on the
landmark. The large solar PV array event or exhibition. The studio pods
will maintain limited operations are designed to be easily and inex-
during power outages and grid pensively reconfigured over time.
failure. The design responds to the
dramatic physical setting and lever- Environmental Impact
ages the connection between natural Preserving Ecology. Over the last
forces and the built environment. two centuries, the San Francisco
Working closely with the National Bay edge has been highly altered.
Park Service, the design team This includes at Fort Mason where
addressed the requirements of the in 1882 the Army created this mili-
International Dark-Sky Association tary port over a diverse ecosystem
program to determine appropriate that supports 500 species. However,
exterior and interior lighting strate- near Pier 2 remains one of the last
gies, as well as time clock/occupancy unaltered sections of the bay edge—
controls to address light pollution. Black Point. Here, the public can
directly connect with both the man-
Cost-Effectiveness made waterfront and the naturally
SFAI embarked on their campus rocky bay edge. The interior of the
expansion in one of the most chal- SFAI campus maximizes connec-
lenging and expensive real estate tion to the Bay, city and park with
markets in the world. Design for large storefront infill in the historic
ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
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2019 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES
roll-up door openings along the
entire length of the pier.
Adaptive Reuse and Embodied
Energy. The existing resources from
the building itself and the preserved
historical structure were strategi-
cally reused in this rehabilitation. By
60 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org
integrating energy-efficient systems
and structural upgrades, this build-
ing promotes the preservation of
history from the past and energy for
the future.
Renewable Energy. A roof-
top 255 kW photovoltaic solar
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
system—the largest installation on a
national landmark—produces 100%
of the required electricity for Pier
2 and is a highly visible symbol for
a carbon neutral future. Required
electricity is lessened through the
efficient mechanical system and
daylighting strategy.
Water Use Reduction. Since the
project is located on a 500 ft (152 m)
pier over the Bay, the design of the
new plumbing system presented
a challenge. The new fixtures and
routing needed to be efficiently and
strategically placed to minimize
costly under-pier work between the
existing building slab and the Bay
surface.
To preserve the historic military
landmark setting, there is not any
landscaping, irrigation or site
water use at Pier 2. To accommo-
date the students, the required
art studio sinks, brush washing
stations, solids collection points,
and material storage cabinets
were minimized and located at key
points throughout the building.
The placement of the sink pods
was thus consolidated to optimize
the length of supply and waste pip-
ing, minimize material consump-
tion and reduce construction cost.
During full occupancy, the design
is intended to reduce building
water consumption by 32% from
baseline by implementing ultralow
flow fixtures and point of use
water heaters.
Through tours, public events,
press and conferences, the story of
this sustainable historic renova-
tion is being shared widely and
highlights the importance of advo-
cating for state/federal programs
for renewable energy rebates and
energy-efficiency initiatives.
COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK
Selecting and Specifying
Pipe Flow Meters
BY STEPHEN W. DUDA, P.E., BEAP, HBDP, HFDP, FELLOW ASHRAE
In my most recent “Engineer’s Notebook” column (May 2019), I discussed how
measuring airflow rates is an important part of most HVAC controls systems and
reviewed pros and cons of several types of duct-mounted airflow measurement
devices in various HVAC applications. This month’s column is intended to help
designers and engineers select and specify fluid flow measurement devices for
mounting in HVAC piping systems, which I will call “flow meters” hereinafter.
In my experience, measuring chilled water, heating
hot water, condenser water, or steam flow in HVAC sys-
tems is less common than measuring ducted airflow.
Most sequences of operation for hydronic systems con-
trol are based on water temperature, static pressure,
valve position, and the like. Other control sequences
merely need to know whether water is flowing or not,
such as with sail switches. But there are certainly cases
where continuous flow rate measurement is specified
or desired, including medical or educational campus
applications where an owner wishes to track and/or
internally bill individual campus buildings for their
HVAC hydronic water use. Many green building evalu-
ation criteria include flow metering as a recommended
step for comparing or trending building energy use
under the philosophy “you can’t analyze what you don’t
measure.”
Therefore, this column reviews multiple distinct non-
proprietary types of pipe system flow measurement
devices that are commonly applied in HVAC systems and
are commercially available from multiple manufactur-
ers. Subchapter 7 within Chapter 37 of the 2017 ASHRAE
Handbook—Fundamentals1 includes such a discussion of
62 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
Stephen W. Duda
various flow meter types but seems to lack a list of pros
and cons and recommended applications for each. So
this column hopes to expand upon the Handbook chap-
ter and assist the reader in understanding the pros and
cons of each type and ultimately in making an applica-
tion-based selection.
Electromagnetic Flow Meters
Permanent in-line electromagnetic-type flow meters
(Figure 1) are available for measuring flow both locally and
via a transmitter to send signals to a building automation
system (BAS). These are mounted in the line of pipe, usu-
ally joined to the pipe via bolted flanges as if they were
a valve, strainer, or pipe fitting. They feature no moving
parts and are suitable for bidirectional flow measure-
ment. Wetted parts (those parts in contact with the fluid
whose flow is being measured) are typically constructed
of stainless steel or synthetic materials (for good corrosion
resistance in a wide variety of fluid types).
The operating principle for an electromagnetic flow
Stephen W. Duda, P.E., is senior mechanical engineer at Ross & Baruzzini, Inc.,
in St. Louis. He is a member and former chair of TC 9.1, Large Building Air-
Conditioning Systems.

FIGURE 1 In-line electromagnetic flow meter.
Electronics Enclosure
Piping
In-Line Flow Meter
meter comes from Faraday’s Law. We know that a volt-
age will be induced in a conductive fluid when it passes
through a magnetic field. Furthermore, that voltage
will be directly proportional to the velocity of the con-
ductive fluid. So, this flow meter works by generating a
magnetic field (meaning it needs an external source of
electric power) then measuring the induced voltage via
electrodes in the flow tube. Fluids to be measured must
have an electrical conductivity of at least 5 µS/cm, which
covers most HVAC fluids. It would not work with, for
example, deionized water.
In-line electromagnetic flow meters tend to be both very
expensive (especially in larger pipe diameters) and very
accurate—usually much more expensive and more accu-
rate than we typically need in the HVAC world. Accuracy
for the brands I’ve reviewed are about ±0.2% of reading
from 1.6 to 33 fps (0.5 to 10 m/s) fluid velocity, and repeat-
ability is ±0.5% of reading. They can even be used at low
flow rates, below 1 fps (0.3 m/s), with reasonable accuracy.
In addition to excellent accuracy, another advantage is
that you only need three diameters of upstream straight
pipe and two diameters downstream in order to achieve
that accuracy. Pressure loss in the conveyed fluid is usu-
ally negligible because there are no restrictive devices,
and no parts of the flow meter protrude into the flow
area. And since these types of meters have no moving
parts, they offer long-term reliability with little mainte-
nance and minimal recalibration. Potential applications
include chilled water, hydronic hot water, condenser
water, water/glycol/brine solutions, and bidirectional
flow detection for primary/secondary decouplers, and
domestic water. They are not appropriate for steam
systems, as they are rated for fluids up to 212°F [100°C]
only. Because of the high cost, I typically specify these
COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK
FIGURE 2 Insertion turbine flow meter.
Electronics Enclosure
Insertion Rod (Inside Assembly)
Ball Valve
Branch Outlet Fitting
Turbines
Piping
only for very critical measurement applications.
Incidentally, there are a few manufacturers of inser-
tion electromagnetic flow meters, which offer a signifi-
cant improvement on cost while sacrificing just a little of
the accuracy of the in-line type. It may be worth keeping
an eye on this technology as more vendors begin to offer
such a product.
Insertion Turbine Liquid Flow Meters
Another type of permanent flow meter in HVAC sys-
tems is the turbine flow meter, which is more common.
These are not mounted in-line as valve or fitting would
be, but instead are inserted into a standard length of
pipe via an orifice designed for that purpose (Figure 2).
Some are even designed to permit installation in an
active pipeline via “hot tap” and are therefore good for
retrofit installations without pipeline shutdown. As
with the previous meter, wetted parts are typically con-
structed of stainless steel or synthetic materials for good
corrosion resistance.
The operating principle for the turbine flow meter is
fairly simple. The device includes one or two small tur-
bines inserted directly into the flowing fluid. The flow of
passing liquid spins the turbine, and a small magnetic
counter mounted on the turbine’s shaft counts the num-
ber of revolutions in a minute (rpm). Simple calibration
converts the rpm to a fluid flow rate (ft/min or m/s) and
then to a volumetric flow rate (gpm or L/s) based on a
known pipe diameter. A single turbine may be used in
small-diameter piping (NPS 2 or DN 50 and smaller) and
dual independent turbines with an averaging feature
are recommended in larger pipes.
Turbine flow meters are a good compromise between
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 63
COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK
lower cost and respectable accuracy and reliability, mak-
ing them probably the most common choice for HVAC
hydronics purposes. Accuracy is typically about ±2% of
reading from 0.4 to 30 fps (0.1 to 9 m/s) fluid velocity. The
cost of these devices is significantly lower than electro-
magnetic flow meters, especially in larger pipe sizes, as
the cost of an insertion turbine device does not increase
nearly as rapidly (it grows in physical size in only one
dimension) compared to the in-line pipe device, which
grows in three dimensions as pipe size increases.
In addition to somewhat less accuracy, another disad-
vantage of this type of flow meter is a longer straight run
requirement. You will need 10 diameters of upstream
straight pipe and five diameters downstream to achieve
the quoted accuracy. There is some pressure loss in the
conveyed fluid because of the protruding turbine and
shaft, but it is typically less than 1 psig [7 kPa]. Turbine
flow meters provide unidirectional flow measurement.
Since these types of meters have moving parts, they can-
not be expected to last as long between recalibrations
and/or maintenance attention as those devices with no
moving parts.
Typical uses for this type of flow meter include chilled
water, hydronic hot water, condenser water, domes-
tic water, process cooling, and brine. This is the type I
typically recommend and specify most often in HVAC
hydronic applications where extreme accuracy is usu-
ally not necessary, because I find that it offers a good
combination of low initial cost, an acceptable degree of
accuracy, and reasonable longevity. If you specify high-
temperature construction materials, a variation on the
turbine flow meter can also be used in steam systems,
pressurized high-temperature hot water systems, and
pumped steam condensate lines that always run full. It
is not suitable for measuring flow in pipes that operate
less than completely full, such as with gravity conden-
sate return systems, because at lower flow rates, the
fluid could miss the turbines completely.
Vortex Shedding Flow Meters
The operating principle for the vortex shedding flow
meter (in-line, similar to Figure 1) involves immersing a
blunt-shaped object in a stream of fluid flow. The fluid
separates and generates small low-pressure vortices that
alternate from side to side and are shed along the length
of, and downstream from, the blunt object. Sensors
located downstream from the blunt object can detect
64 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
the lateral pressure changes, first on one side and then
on the other. The frequency at which another vortex is
shed is proportional to the velocity of the flowing liquid.
A microprocessor can be used to display totalizer flow,
flow rate, temperature, pressure, time, and date; micro-
processors can also be used as alarms for high and low
flow rate and temperature.
This type of flow meter includes stainless steel wetted
parts and flange pipe connections for permanent in-line
service. Performance is published at 10:1 turndown with
±1.5% accuracy over full-flow range, including all errors
associated with velocity measurement, temperature and/
or pressure measurement, and density compensation.
One important advantage of the vortex shedding flow
meter is that it can be used for steam and gases in addi-
tion to typical HVAC hydronic applications. If specifiable
options are included, it can withstand temperatures as
high as 500°F [260°C] and pressures as high as 1,500 psi
[10 MPa], making it a good choice for process applications.
A key disadvantage is a very long straight pipe length
requirement, ranging from 10 to 50 straight pipe diame-
ters upstream of the device and another five straight pipe
diameters downstream. The inlet-side straight length can
be shortened by installing an insertion flow straightener,
but at added cost and pressure drop. This is the type of
flow meter I typically recommend and specify most often
in HVAC steam applications.
Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meters
The operating principle for the ultrasonic flow meter
involves the transit-time technique. The flow meter uses
a pair of transducers, with each transducer sending and
receiving ultrasonic signals through the fluid (Figure 3).
When the fluid is flowing, signal transit time in the
downstream direction is shorter than in the upstream
direction; the difference between these transit times is
proportional to the flow velocity.
One key advantage of this type of meter is that it can
be used on existing piping that is in service without cut-
ting into the pipe itself, making it the meter of choice in
many retrofit applications, or in troubleshooting during
commissioning or test-and-balance. Since the meter
clamps onto the outside of the pipe, it causes no pres-
sure drop in the fluid being measured, other than the
pressure drop in the piping itself. Because the meter is
never in contact with the fluid being measured, it is use-
ful for metering corrosive, toxic, high-purity or sterile
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COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK
fluids. Ultrasonic flow meters can also be used on large
diameter piping (up to NPS 24 or DN 600), whereas
a full-body in-line type meter may be prohibitively
expensive in those large sizes.
Since no tapping or cutting of the pipe is required, the
cost of labor to install is lower. Materials of construction
do not need to be compatible with the fluid being mea-
sured. Performance is published at ±1% accuracy for liq-
uids and ±2% for gases over a very wide range of velocities.
A disadvantage of the ultrasonic meter it that it must
be individually configured and programmed for each
specific application. The customer must specify data,
including pipe material and pipe wall thickness, and
the exact fluid being metered. Once it is configured for
a given application (for example, natural gas in a Type L
copper pipe), it cannot be easily installed for a different
service (e.g., steam in a Schedule 40 steel pipe) without
somewhat complex field reprogramming. The cost of the
electronics and clamp-on transducers is comparatively
high when used on small-diameter piping, versus the
insertion turbine type, but the relative cost differential
is more favorable on larger piping.
Straight pipe length requirement is typically 10 straight
pipe diameters upstream of the device and another five
straight pipe diameters downstream. This may defeat the
previously mentioned advantage of installation in a retro-
fit if suitable straight lengths of piping cannot be found in
the run where flow measurement is desired.
I typically apply the permanent version of this meter
on natural gas piping for non-custody transfer conve-
nience metering, not for utility company billing, but
for purposes internal to a building, such as metering
natural gas to each laboratory in a university research
building. It is also the meter I choose for gravity steam
condensate return lines where flow may be less than
full pipe volume. And, it is sometimes the only practical
option in existing systems operating 24/7/365 when it is
not allowable for system shutdown to install in-line or
insertion style flow meters.
Thermal Energy Meters
Finally, I want to mention thermal energy meters
(often known as “Btu meters” in the United States).
Thermal energy meters are found in some multi-tenant
buildings that have a central heating and/or central
chilled water plant, or at each building in a campus
environment with a central heating/chilled water plant.
66 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
FIGURE 3 Clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter.
Electronics Enclosure
Clamp-On Transducers
Piping, Any Size
Mounting Hardware
It gives the building or campus owner a way to track
individual building use or even to bill individual tenants
for their chilled water and heating water usage based on
energy used.
This meter combines any of the flow meter technolo-
gies discussed herein with a pair of temperature sen-
sors in the supply and return piping. In my experience,
the insertion turbine flow meter is the most common
choice for routine hydronic system thermal energy
metering. By measuring flow rate of either chilled
water or hydronic heating water, in combination with
temperature sensors measuring the rise (or drop) in
temperature entering and leaving a building, a Btu
(kW) measurement is an easy calculation. Advantages
and disadvantages match those of the flow meter itself,
plus the additional inaccuracy of temperature measure-
ment—now flow rate inaccuracy and temperature mea-
surement inaccuracy could compound each other. To
minimize that inaccuracy, the two temperature sensors
are usually bath-calibrated and matched for the specific
temperature range for each application. The calculated
differential temperature used in the energy calculation
is typically accurate to within 0.15°F (0.08°C), including
the error from individual temperature sensors, sensor
matching, input offsets, and calculations.
Conclusion
This column offers an overview of several available
technologies for selecting and specifying pipe flow
metering in building HVAC systems, in an attempt to
add to and expand upon the information provided in
the ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals.1 While there is not
one correct answer for all flow measurement applica-
tions, I most often choose the following:
COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK

1. For new HVAC hydronic ap- TABLE 1 Summary of common HVAC flow meter types.
plications, including chilled water, FLOW METER PIPE COMPARATIVE COST* MID-RANGE REQUIRED PIPE DIAMETERS
hot water, and condenser water, I TECHNOLOGY MOUNTING NPS 2/DN 50 NPS 8/DN 200 ACCURACY UPSTREAM DOWNSTREAM
choose insertion turbine flow me- Electromagnetic In-Line $1,900 $5,800 0.2% 3 2
ters; for sizes larger than NPS 2 [DN Turbine Insertion $700 $700 2.0% 10 5
50], I specify them to be dual-inde- Vortex Shedding In-Line $3,800 $9,200 1.5% 10 to 50 5
pendent turbines with an averaging
Ultrasonic Clamp-On $8,200 $8,200 2.0% 10 5
feature. *Costs are in U.S. dollars and should be used for comparison only, not for estimating or purchase.
2. For steam flow measurement, I
usually apply vortex-shedding flow meters. 6. For very critical measurement applications (exclud-
3. For pumped steam condensate flow measurement, I ing steam) where very high accuracy is necessary, I sug-
suggest using the insertion turbine flow meters specified gest specifying the electromagnetic flow meter, in spite
for higher-temperature components. of its high cost.
4. For gravity steam condensate return lines where 7. See Table 1 for additional guidance.
flow may be less than full pipe volume, I typically apply Ask the flow meter manufacturer for recommenda-
clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters. tions when metering cooling tower water, which may
5. For retrofit applications and for troubleshooting vary slightly in viscosity and in particulate concentra-
applications in existing systems where pipe service shut- tion, as to how these variations may affect the accuracy
down is inconvenient or worse, I suggest specifying the of each of these types of measuring devices.
clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters. I also specify these for References
non-custody transfer natural gas flow measurement. 1. 2017 ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals, Chap. 37, pp. 37.20-37.24.

68 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—ASHRAE
Editor’s Note: The following columns regarding indoor air quality and occupant productivity appear in the September issues of
ASHRAE Journal and CIBSE Journal.
Do Indoor CO2 Levels
Directly Affect Perceived
Air Quality, Health, or
Work Performance?
BY WILLIAM FISK, FELLOW/LIFE MEMBER ASHRAE; PAWEL WARGOCKI, PH.D., ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE; XIAOJING ZHANG
This article summarizes the findings of 10 recent studies investigating whether
increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, with other factors constant, influence
perceived air quality, health, or work performance of people.
Concentrations of CO2 in occupied buildings exceed
outdoor concentrations because CO2 is a product of
peoples’ metabolism. Indoor CO2 concentrations are
indicators of the rates of building ventilation with out-
door air per person. A higher indoor CO2 concentra-
tion is often considered an indicator of poorer indoor
air quality (IAQ), although many factors unrelated to
indoor CO2 concentrations influence IAQ. When indoor
CO2 concentrations increase and decrease, concentra-
tions of other indoor air pollutants emitted from indoor
sources, particularly the bioeffluents from humans,
may also increase and decrease. Increased indoor CO2
concentrations have often been associated (correlated)
with decreases in perceived air quality, with increases in
acute health symptoms, and with reductions in aspects
of human performance.1-3 Research prior to 2012,
indicated that levels of CO2 itself, with other condi-
tions constant, had no significant impacts on peoples’
health or performance unless the CO2 concentrations
far exceeded the levels found in buildings.4-10 The
occupational limit for CO2 in the U.S. is 5,000 ppm
for a 40 hour workweek.11 Therefore, the previously
70 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
documented associations of indoor CO2 concentrations
with perceived air quality, health symptoms, and per-
formance have been attributed to the other indoor air
pollutants with changes in concentrations indicated by
the changes in indoor concentrations of CO2.
Since 2012, 10 studies12–23 have investigated whether
increases in moderate CO2 concentrations, with other
conditions constant, adversely influence perceptions
of indoor air quality, health, or cognitive performance
in humans. The study features are described in Table 5
in the IAQScience website.24 These studies have been
performed with subjects in research facilities enabling
CO2 concentrations to be modified by adding pure CO2
to indoor air while maintaining all, or nearly all, other
conditions constant. By providing high ventilation rates,
these studies have maintained low concentrations of
bioeffluents. All studies maintained subjects unaware
of the CO2 concentrations. All studies recruited healthy
William Fisk is a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley,
Calif. Pawel Wargocki, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Technical University of Denmark,
Lyngby, Denmark. Xiaojing Zhang is an assistant professor at Beijing University of
Technology, Beijing, China.
 COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—ASHRAE

FIGURE 1 Associations of CO2 concentrations with cognitive performance.

Statistically significant effect (P<0.05) # No statistically significant dose-response trend

12
Reduced Percent of Detected Errors in Proofreading Test 12
14
12
Reduced Reading Speed in Proofreading Test 12
14
13
Reduced Decision Making Test (SMS) 17
18
# 20
Pilot's Performance from Flight Simulator Data 16

Pilot's Performance Based on Examiner 16

Reduced Cognition Battery Speed # 20

Cognition Battery Accuracy # 20

Reduced Cognitive Performance 22

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 14,500 15,000
CO2 Concentrations (ppm)

FIGURE 2 Associations of CO2 concentrations with perceived outcomes.

12
Statistically significant effect (P<0.05)
12
14
23
Reduced Perceived Air Quality
19
18

12
12
14
Increased Fatigue 23
19
18
Increased Sick Building
22
Syndrome Symptoms)

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 14,500 15,000
CO2 Concentrations (ppm)

adults, often college-age adults, as subjects. One study
employed pilots16,21 as subjects, another employed sub-
marine staff,18 and a third employed staff trained as
astronauts.20 All but one of these studies18 measured
changes in perceptual, health, or performance outcomes
for each subject, with each subject exposed to multiple
CO2 concentrations. This design eliminated the poten-
tial errors that may occur when comparing different
groups of subjects. One study18 employed a study design
with three different groups of subjects, each group
exposed to a different level of CO2 in the indoor air.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 depict the major results of this body of
research with each horizontal line representing results
from a single study or a part of a study. The circles indi-
cate the CO2 concentrations employed in the study. A
filled in circle indicates a statistically significant (SS)
worsening in the outcome at the indicated CO2 concen-
tration relative to the CO2 concentration denoted by the
leftmost circle. The numbers to the right of each hori-
zontal line indicate the data source.
With respect to subjects’ cognitive performance, there
are substantial inconsistencies among the results of

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 71

COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—ASHRAE

these experiments. Five studies12,13,16,17,20 found SS
decreases in aspects of cognitive performance, when
CO2 concentrations were increased and, in some
instances, the performance decreases were quite sub-
stantial in magnitude. Concentrations of CO2 as low as
approximately 1,000 ppm, relative to 500 to 600 ppm,
significantly reduced performance.13,17 Four of these
five studies13,16,17,20 employed demanding tests of cog-
nitive performance, either a 90-minute assessment of
decision making via a test system called the strategic
management simulation (SMS) or a 180-minute test of
pilots’ performance in flight simulations. One of these
studies20 found an SS reduction in decision-making
performance at 1,200 ppm CO2 relative to 600 ppm, but
performance decreases were not found at 2,500 or 5,000
ppm CO2. Besides assessing performance in decision-
making, this study also employed a battery of more
traditional cognitive performance tests and perfor-
mance in this battery of tests was generally not affected
by CO2 concentrations. The exception was a general
trend toward reduced performance with 1,200 ppm CO2
with the reduction in speed at 1,200 ppm being SS. The
fourth study12 found a SS decrease in performance of
a proof reading task but not in other tasks, when CO2
levels were increased to 3,000 ppm, and proof-reading
performance decreased only in one of two experiments.
Five additional studies14,18,19,22,23 found that CO2 levels
had no SS effects on performance. Four of these stud-
ies14,19,22,23 used tests of task performance (e.g., arith-
metic tasks, text typing, proof reading, memory) as well
as tests of reaction time and attention. In one study,23
CO2 levels as high as 5,000 ppm did not influence per-
formance. One of these studies,19 was conducted at high
indoor air temperature of 95°F (35°C) and increased
CO2 did not modify responses attributable to increased
temperature. The fourth study18 found CO2 levels as
high as 15,000 ppm to not affect performance in the SMS
test. Overall, among the 10 studies, three13,16,17 provide
strong evidence of reductions in cognitive performance
with increased levels of CO2. Two additional studies12,20
provide limited evidence of cognitive performance
decreases with increased CO2 levels, but also include

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evidence of CO2 not affecting performance. The results
of one additional study,22 suggest a possible effect of
increased CO2. The mechanism by which increased CO2
concentrations may affect cognitive performance was
not clearly identified in any of the studies. A possible
explanation is provided by another study,25 albeit one
that increased CO2 levels by restricting ventilation rate
per person, hence concentrations of other bioeffluents
increased when the CO2 levels were higher. In this study,
as subjects were exposed to levels of CO2 increasing from
approximately 400 to 3,000 ppm their forced expiratory
volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity decreased.
Using models and prior published data, with exposure
to higher levels of CO2, the authors predicted increases
in arterial CO2 partial pressure and corresponding
increases in the bicarbonate content of the blood with a
reduction in blood pH. The increased blood bicarbonate
and reduction in blood pH was suggested as the expla-
nation for a change in brain functioning when occu-
pants are exposed to higher levels of CO2.
Two papers15,19 hypothesized that the level of stress
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associated with the cognitive performance test might
explain the discrepancies among findings. Higher CO2
levels were associated with diminished performance
primarily from studies with very demanding, likely
stressful, tests of performance. In support of their
hypothesis, they found a tendency for subjects to have
higher salivary α-amylase concentrations, suggesting
higher mental stress, when CO2 concentrations were
increased. Further support for this hypothesis comes
from findings that pilots’ performance in flight simu-
lations was reduced when their heart rate variability
indicated a high level of stress.21 Also, two studies12,15
report some increases in blood pressure with exposure
to higher CO2 levels, suggesting higher levels of stress.
The authors of two papers hypothesized that the dis-
crepancies among research findings when subjects took
stressful cognitive performance tests was a consequence
of the different types of subjects. In one paper,20 the
authors suggested that the astronaut-like operations
personnel and submariners might have been better able
to compensate for effects of elevated CO2 due to their
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COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—ASHRAE

FIGURE 3 Associations of CO2 concentrations with physiological outcomes.

Statistically significant effect (P<0.05)

12
12
15
Increased Respiratory Frequency 23
19
22
15
Increased Exhaled CO2 Concentration (ETCO2) 23
19
12
12
Increased Diastolic Blood Pressure 15
23
19
12
12
Increased Heart Rate 15
23
19
22
Increased Mental Effort Based on Heart Rate 12
Variability (HRV) 12

Increased Stress Based on HRV 21

15
Increased Stress Based on Salivary α-amylase 23
19

Sleepiness Measured with

Electroencephalogram (EEG) 22

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500
CO2 Concentrations (ppm)

prior training. The authors of the other paper20 hypoth-
esized that their subjects (submariners) might have been
unaffected by CO2 as a consequence of their prior regu-
lar occupational exposure to CO2 at 2,500 ppm or higher
concentrations.
Five of the studies12,14,18,19,23 investigated whether sub-
jects’ perceptions of IAQ, e.g., acceptability of indoor air,
was influenced by CO2 concentrations. Only one study12
found that subjects reported air quality as less accept-
able with 3,000 ppm, 4,000 ppm, and 5,000 ppm CO2
relative to 600 ppm.
Six studies, reported in eight papers,12,14,15,18,19,21-23
investigated whether the level of CO2 influenced health
symptoms reported on questionnaires or health-related
physiological outcomes such as blood pressure, pulse,
respiration rate, markers of stress, and exhaled concen-
trations of CO2. Four studies that included question-
naires on acute health symptoms,14,19,22,23 including
fatigue, found that CO2 level had no statistically sig-
nificant effect on symptoms. One study12 reported that
subjects were significantly more tired with 5,000 ppm
CO2 relative to 600 ppm CO2. This study12 also found
that blood pressure, respiration rate and volume, and
mental effort (based on heart period variability) were
increased with higher CO2 concentrations. In contrast,
other studies15,19,23 generally found no statistically sig-
nificant effects of CO2 levels on a broad range of physi-
ological outcomes except for increases in the concentra-
tions of CO2 in exhaled air, called end-tidal CO2, and two
instances of increases in heart rate. In one study,15 heart
rate decreased less during the exposure session with
3,000 ppm CO2 vs. 500 ppm CO2 while another study22
reported a SS increase in heart rate with exposure to
2,680 ppm CO2 relative to 700 ppm CO2. Another study19
found that levels of α-amylase, markers of mental stress,
were higher with 3,000 ppm CO2 compared to 380 ppm
CO2. Other research26 has shown that exposure of mice
to 2,000 and 4,000 ppm CO2 for two hours triggers an
inflammatory response and vascular injury with genera-
tion of microparticles by immune system cells. Also, in
human immune system cells, microparticle generation
resulted from increased CO2 exposures.27
Main findings of this research are summarized below.
• There is very limited evidence that CO2 levels below

74 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

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 5,000 ppm influence perceived air
quality, acute health symptoms, or
physiological outcomes other than
end-tidal CO2 and heart rate. The
studies using mice and human im-
mune cells (in vitro) indicate that
higher CO2 levels trigger inflamma-
tory responses, but these findings
have not yet been demonstrated in
people.
• With respect to acute health
symptoms and perceived air quality,
the study results, with one excep-
tion,12 are consistent and find no
effects at CO2 below 5,000 ppm.
• The results of research on the
effects of moderate CO2 levels on hu-
man cognitive performance are not
consistent. Some studies find effects
of higher CO2 concentrations on cog-
nitive performance while other stud-
ies find no effects on this outcome.
• There is substantial, but still in-
consistent, evidence that performance
on challenging tests of decision-mak-
ing and challenging flight simulations
is worsened by CO2 concentrations as
low as 1,000 ppm. The mechanisms
underlying the reductions in perfor-
mance are unknown.
• Further research is needed to
address the discrepancies among
the current findings. Additionally,
research to date has not investigated
the effects of CO2 on children, the
elderly, and people with health
problems. Also, the effects of long-
term continuous or periodic expo-
sures to elevated CO2 levels has not
been investigated. Finally, the extent
to which CO2 mediates the influence
of other factors on health or perfor-
mance requires more research.

References
1. Seppänen, O.A., W.J. Fisk, M.J.
Mendell. 1999. “Association of ventilation
rates and CO2 concentrations with health

76 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


and other responses in commercial and institutional buildings.”
Indoor Air 9(4):226–52.
2. Sundell, J., et al. 2011. “Ventilation rates and health:
multidisciplinary review of the scientific literature.” Indoor Air 21(3):
191–204.
3. Fisk , W.J. 2017. “The ventilation problem in schools: literature
review.” Indoor Air 27:1039–1051.
4. Case, E., J. Haldane, 1941. “Human physiology under high
pressure: I. Effects of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and cold.” Journal of
Hygiene 41(3):225–249.
5. Fothergill, D., D. Hedges, J. Morrison. 1991. “Effects of CO2 and
N2 partial pressures on cognitive and psychomotor performance.”
Undersea Biomedical Research 18(1):1–19.
6. Vercruyssen, M., E. Kamon, P.A. Hancock. 2007. “Effects
of carbon dioxide inhalation on psychomotor and mental
performance during exercise and recovery.” International Journal of
Occupational Safety and Ergonomics 13(1):15–27.
7. Sayers, J., et al. 1987. “Effects of carbon dioxide on mental
performance.” Journal of Applied Physiology 63(1): 25–30.
8. Sheehy, J.B., E. Kamon, D. Kiser. 1982. “Effects of carbon
dioxide inhalation on psychomotor and mental performance
during exercise and recovery.” Human Factors 24(5):581–588.
9. Henning, R., et al. 1985. “Behavioral impairment with
normobaric, hyperoxic 6% CO2.” in Undersea and Hyperbaric
Medical Society Annual Scientific Meeting. Long Beach, Calif.
10. Consolazio, W., et al., 1947. “Effects on man of high
concentrations of carbon dioxide in relation to various oxygen
pressures during exposures as long as 72 hours.” American Journal of
Physiology-Legacy Content. 151(2):479–503.
11. U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health
Administration. 2018. Table Z-1 “Limits for air contaminants.”
[cited 2018 December 7]; Available from: https://www.osha.gov/
laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1000TABLEZ1.
12. Kajtár, L., L. Herczeg. 2012. “Influence of carbon-dioxide
concentration on human well-being and intensity of mental work.”
Quarterly Journal of the Hungarian Meteorological Service 116(2):145–169.
13. Satish, U., et al. 2012. “Is CO2 an indoor pollutant? Direct
effects of low-to-moderate CO2 concentrations on human decision-
making performance.” Environmental Health Perspectives 120(12):1671–
1677.
14. Zhang, X., et al., 2017. “Effects of exposure to carbon dioxide
and bioeffluents on perceived air quality, self-assessed acute health
symptoms and cognitive performance.” Indoor Air 27:47–64.
15. Zhang, X.,Wargocki, Z. Lian. 2017. “Physiological responses
during exposure to carbon dioxide and bioeffluents at levels
typically occurring indoors.” Indoor Air 27:65–77.
16. Allen, J.G., et al. 2018. “Airplane pilot flight performance
on 21 maneuvers in a flight simulator under varying carbon
dioxide concentrations.” Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental
Epidemiology https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0055-8.
17. Allen, J.G., et al. 2016. “Associations of cognitive function scores
with carbon dioxide, ventilation, and volatile organic compound
exposures in office workers: a controlled exposure study of green
and conventional office environments.” Environmental Health
Perspectives (Online). 124(6):805-812.
18. Rodeheffer, C.D., et al. 2018. “Acute exposure to low-to-
moderate carbon dioxide levels and submariner decision making.”
Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 89(6):520–525.
19. Liu, W., W. Zhong, P. Wargocki. 2017. “Performance, acute
health symptoms and physiological responses during exposure to
high air temperature and carbon dioxide concentration.” Building
and Environment 114:96–105.
COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—ASHRAE
20. Scully, R.R., et al. 2019. “Effects of acute exposures to carbon
dioxide on decision making and cognition in astronaut-like
subjects.” npj Microgravity 5(1):17.
21. Cao X., et al. 2019. “Heart rate variability and performance of
commercial airline pilots during flight simulations.” International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16:237.
22. Snow, S., et al. 2019. “Exploring the physiological,
neurophysiological and cognitive performance effects of elevated
carbon dioxide concentrations indoors.” Building and Environment
156:243-252.
23. Zhang, X.,Wargocki, Z. Lian. 2016. “Human responses to
carbon dioxide, a follow-up study at recommended exposure
limits in non-industrial environments.” Building and Environment
100:162–171.
24. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 2018. “Building
ventilation, supporting information.” [cited 2018 December 3];
Available from: https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/vent-info.
25. Shriram, S., K. Ramamurthy, S. Ramakrishnan. 2019. “Effect
of occupant-induced indoor CO2 concentration and bioeffluents on
human physiology using a spirometric test.” Building and Environment
149:58–67.
26. Thom, S.R., et al. 2017. “Inflammatory responses to acute
elevations of carbon dioxide in mice.” Journal of Applied Physiology
123(2):297–302.
27. Thom, S.R., et al. 2017. “Increased carbon dioxide levels
stimulate neutrophils to produce microparticles and activate the
nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor 3 inflammasome.” Free
Radical Biology and Medicine 106:406–416.
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COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—CIBSE

Identifying the
Knowledge Gaps for IEQ
BY JULIE GODEFROY

A key focus for the revision of CIBSE TM40 has been to define performance criteria for
significant environmental factors, underpinned by scientific evidence from medical
bodies such as the World Health Organization and Public Health England wherever
available, as detailed in the recent CIBSE Journal supplement on Health and Wellbeing,
June 2019. However, the work is constrained by gaps in current understanding, which
combine broadly into three strands:
• How individual environmental factors affect health, Institute for Health and Care Excellence) have recently
comfort, and cognitive performance . published a consultation guideline for IAQ in homes.1
• The impact of combined factors: guidelines are However, there are still gaps in a number of areas:
typically based on the impact of a single factor, rather • Exposure to multiple pollutants: cumulative effects,
than the concurrent exposure to several factors, as is and mixture effects (“cocktails”) that may reduce or
likely in real life. For example, exposure to air pollution dampen the overall effect.
and noise in locations near busy roads, or the effects of • Emerging pollutants, whether new or sparsely
cold, damp, and inadequate ventilation in low quality studied, for example those emitted by consumer prod-
housing. ucts such as air freshener, cleaning or personal care
• How to cater for a wide range of physiologies, medi- products, or by fire-retardant materials in furniture,
cal conditions, personal preferences and other criteria furnishings, etc.
that contribute to the needs of the individual. • Effects on cognitive performance and productivity
Some of these knowledge gaps may be filled in the (see sidebar on CO2).
future; for others, their complexity likely means that a • Mold, microbial contaminants and allergens such
precautionary approach will be required with informa- as dust mites: guideline levels would be very complex
tion accumulated from monitoring over time, to evolve a to define and are unlikely to emerge in the near future.
range of environmental conditions and design measures Instead, CIBSE guidance follows recommendations
that do not cause detrimental effects. by the WHO2 and refers to a recommended range of
relative humidity, surface temperatures, and ventila-
Defining Good Indoor Environments— tion, based on empirical evidence of environments that
Air Quality and Humidity reduce the risk of detrimental conditions such as mold
Broad guidelines for indoor air quality are available as
starting point. In England for example, NICE (National Julie Godefroy is technical manager at CIBSE in London.

78 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


growth and fabric degradation.
In addition, current guidelines are necessarily simpli-
fied to apply to most cases for healthy adult populations.
There is a paucity of established guidance for specific
parts of the populations that may be more sensitive,
such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, or peo-
ple with existing medical conditions.
This complexity is illustrated by allergies, asthma
and sensitivities, an area where our understand-
ing of causes and effects is still relatively limited. In
some cases, individuals who exhibit strong responses
to exposure to a particular substance may be seen
as “canaries in the coal mine” as they exhibit a more
immediate, obvious and acute reaction to something
that affects us all but to lesser degrees. Others, such
as food allergies, produce reactions that are specific
to the individuals, whether due to medical conditions
or other factors such as medication or drug use, while
the rest of the population does not risk harmful effects
from exposure.
In other cases, individuals are convinced that exposure
to a particular factor is causing them harm, and they
suffer from very real symptoms, but the science does not
support a causal link to the factor being blamed; this is
the case for example with “electro-sensitivity,” or per-
ceived hypersensitivity to electromagnetic fields (EMFs),
where metaanalyses and double-blind experiments do
not support a link between such symptoms and short- or
long-term exposure to EMFs.3,4
Some evidence suggests there may be broader causes,
such as personal circumstances or the acceptance (or
not) of new technologies, particularly when these tech-
nologies are perceived as imposed without personal
control. This means that built environment profession-
als sometimes need to show an understanding of the
distress of individuals, while being able to support their
design proposals with the best available knowledge at
the time.
Innovative Solutions for Indoor Air Quality
There is much R&D regarding how to deliver the
most appropriate environments. Some features being
researched, such as indoor planting (flora) and the use
of traditional building materials, have been in use for a
number of years and the main uncertainty is about the
claims being made. There is much more uncertainty and
risk of unintended consequences with new products, or
COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—CIBSE
Effects of Internal CO2 Levels on
Performance—CIBSE and ASHRAE Reviews
Recent research reviews by CIBSE8 and ASHRAE9
have reached similar conclusions on what should be the
right limits to internal CO2 levels, and the associated
potential for improvements to cognitive performance:
CO2 does seem to have an effect on its own, other than
simply being a proxy for ventilation effectiveness, but the
evidence is still somewhat inconsistent and most statisti-
cally significant effects are shown as occurring at CO2
levels well above the CIBSE recommended range (itself
based on BS EN 15251, with similar or higher levels rec-
ommended in its replacement BS EN 16798:1-2019).
even with well-intentioned phaseouts and substitutions:
for example, some concerns have been expressed that
the use of low-VOC paints may lead to increased risks
of bacteria and mould growth, or to the use of biocides,
which themselves have adverse effects.5 The following
approach is recommended when examining potential
new solutions:
• Are the product’s claimed benefits based on real-
world experiments? If so, how were the multiple param-
eters of a real-world environment controlled for? In the
case of laboratory studies, how representative are they of
real-life situations?
• Are the effects expected and proven in the long-
term?
• The proposed solution may have proven positive
impacts on specific target pollutants, but have possible
reactions with other components in the air been consid-
ered?
• What is the required extent of application of the
system or product (such as in exposed area per room
volume), and is this realistic?
• If a pollutant is claimed to be “removed,” by which
process is this? In the case of absorption (or other “fixa-
tion” process), is it proven over time, taking account of
possible re-release? In the case of decomposition, what
are the by-products and their effects?
• Are the claims based on independent research?
• Is data available from existing case studies?
The following examples illustrate the importance of
these questions. Indoor planting is a large R&D topic
in itself and is, therefore, not discussed here; there are
recent articles in the CIBSE Journal and a planned CIBSE
publication on this.
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 79
COLUMN PRODUCTIVITY—CIBSE
Photocatalytic removal using titanium dioxide. This
has been studied for many years to address a range of
pollutants, with potential indoor and outdoor applica-
tions including paints or wall coverings and internal
duct surfaces. A recent independent comprehensive
review6 on its potential to reduce NOx levels concluded
there is little evidence of impact in outdoor applications,
or the impact would be very small and require very large
exposed areas; it does appear to reduce NOx levels when
applied indoors, but there remains much uncertainty
as to other possible consequences—for example, other
hazardous pollutants such as ozone may be generated
from the photocatalytic decomposition of NOx and other
air pollutants.
VOC-reducing materials. A number of claims are
being made about materials that may help reduce
indoor VOC levels, typically either by absorbing or
decomposing them. One example is wool, which has
been shown to have VOC absorbent properties. The
extent would depend on the type of wool, and the
air would need to be in contact with the wool, which
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implies applications for furniture, floor and wall cover-
ings rather than insulation.7 The body of evidence is not
yet substantial and the effect may be small, but long-
standing historic applications mean there is little risk of
unintended consequence. Other new products claim to
decompose VOCs into “inert products” that would then
be either released into the air or bound to the product
in question; however, there is little public data on the
mechanisms and by-products, and claims should be
examined carefully.
Conclusions
An important conclusion from this evolving field is
to follow the precautionary principle and apply source
control, as some effects on health many only manifest
themselves in the long-term, as in case of asbestos
and lead paint. This does not prevent innovation, but
requires a cautious review of claims, possible effects,
and monitoring and evaluation so as to keep new uses
under review.
Further articles in the next few months will cover
other topics, including housing refurbishment and its
impact on comfort, air quality, humidity and energy
consumption; and air quality monitoring procedures
and equipment.
References
1. NICE. 2019 Forthcoming. “Indoor air quality at home.”
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10022/
consultation/html-content-2.
2. WHO. 2009. "Guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and
mould,” World Health Organization.
3. WHO. 2005. "Electromagnetic fields and public health—
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Backgrounder.” December.
4. SCENIHR. 2015. “Opinion on Potential health effects of
exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF).” European Commission.
5. Cullinan P. 2016. Building health and ill-health, Presentation
at annual BSRIA Briefing, November 2016, London.
6. Defra and Air Quality Expert Group. 2016. “Paints and
Surfaces for the Removal of Nitrogen Oxides.” Prepared for:
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Scottish
Government; Welsh Government; and Department of the
Environment in Northern Ireland, Crown.
7. Mansour E., R. Marriott, G. Ormondroyd. 2016. “Sheep wool
insulation for the absorption of volatile organic compounds.” Young
Researchers’ Forum III Innovation in Construction Materials.
8. Godefroy, J. 2019. “A rigorous exercise.” CIBSE Journal: Health
and Wellbeing Special. June.
9. Fisk, W., P. Wargocki,X. Zhang. 2019. “Do indoor CO2 levels
directly affect perceived air quality, health, or work performance?”
ASHRAE Journal 61(9).
COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS

The Wellness Smart Home

Opportunities for
Connected Devices to
Improve IEQ
BY CHUAN HE, PH.D., MEMBER ASHRAE; CAROLYN B. SWOPE; JIE ZHAO, PH.D., MEMBER ASHRAE

Connected devices that make up “smart homes” are increasingly in high demand.
Such connected devices may include home automation systems, consumer elec-
tronic devices, home appliances, security, and communications and entertainment.
Traditionally, smart home systems employing these connected devices have aimed
at energy efficiency, convenience, and security. Connected devices have easily auto-
mated settings and are remotely controllable, and such devices can easily concentrate
energy usage at programmed times (e.g., when residents are home), and reduce it at
other times, to achieve overall energy savings and improve convenience.
As the incorporation of connected devices into smart
homes has evolved, however, one potential benefit is
often overlooked: the potential to improve residents’
health, comfort, and well-being. In this piece, we define
the “wellness smart home”—the integration of wellness
solutions in connected home devices to help promote
health and well-being through improving IEQ, includ-
ing major opportunities in air quality, thermal comfort,
and lighting.
Air Quality
A number of air pollutants in the home environment
have well-established linkages to adverse health out-
comes for residents. Airborne particulate matter pol-
lution is the sixth-leading risk factor for disease and
premature death globally, contributing significantly
to respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.1 Volatile
organic compounds can increase risk of short-term
health effects including eye, nose and throat irrita-
tion, headaches, and nausea, as well as long-term
health problems such as kidney, liver, and central
nervous system damage, and potentially cancer.2
Such pollutants can be remediated in home envi-
ronments through different types of air purification
technologies, e.g., media filters or activated carbon
filters. Carbon dioxide levels can also be an indicator
of whether the home is receiving adequate outdoor
air ventilation, which is important given that concen-
trations of many internally-generated pollutants are
Chuan He, Ph.D., is a senior director at Delos in New York City. He is a member of ASHRAE
TC 2.3 and 2.4. Carolyn B. Swope, MPH, is a senior associate at Delos. Jie Zhao, Ph.D., is an
executive vice president and head of Delos Labs at Delos. He is a voting member of MTG.OBB.

81 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


often two to five times higher indoors than outdoors.3
Thus, it is critical to ensure both appropriate outdoor
air ventilation rates in addition to filtration of indoor
air, in order to protect residents from harmful expo-
sure to airborne pollutants.
A wellness smart home endeavors to maximize health
and well-being benefits for its residents as its primary
goal. Traditionally, smart homes consider energy sav-
ings and equipment life in determining demand opti-
mization for HVAC systems. A wellness smart home,
however, would also consider air quality, operation-
alized as the levels of potentially harmful airborne
pollutant concentration, to be important as well. As
one example of how a wellness smart home could be
driven by a health priority of reducing exposure to
pollutants, a connected sensor network could monitor
pollutant levels, and the system could then turn on air
filtration or ventilation when it detects that pollutants
reach and stay above programmed thresholds that are
known to pose risks to residents’ health. The filtration
or ventilation would then turn off once pollutant levels
have been reduced to an acceptable level. Smart sen-
sors could also help protect residents’ health by going
beyond accessing data about air quality, to inform
them of whether the air quality may pose a health
risk and to suggest tips for residents to protect their
health (e.g., using kitchen exhaust fans). The wellness
smart home concept focuses on human health ben-
efits, but also includes energy saving features, such as
occupancy-based products and systems that are able to
detect when residents are not home and reduce energy
use at those times.
Thermal Comfort
Indoor temperature has important effects on resi-
dent comfort as well as beneficial physiological and
cognitive outcomes. For example, core body tempera-
ture decreases in preparation for sleep and conversely
increases in preparation for waking. Sleep is criti-
cal for physiological and mental function, yet 35% of
Americans do not achieve the recommended amount
of sleep per night.4 Fluctuations in daily ambient
temperature—with lower ambient temperature when
going to sleep, and warming temperature close to wake
time—support a healthy sleep cycle by sending cues
to help keep the body’s circadian clock aligned, and
facilitating thermoregulation to reach the appropriate
COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
core body temperature for the sleep cycle.5,6 As another
example of how temperature can affect well-being, a
slightly cooler temperature has been associated with
higher productivity7 and a warmer temperature with
relaxation.8
Traditionally, smart homes offer residents the ability to
adjust and program the temperature, but residents may
not be aware of health-based temperature standards.
Wellness smart homes can help provide optimized tem-
peratures for health and well-being through default
settings, while still maintaining residents’ ability to
adjust the temperature to their comfort. For example,
devices could reduce the temperature before an indi-
vidual’s scheduled bedtime to help align the body to
circadian rhythms and prepare for sleep, or could warm
the temperature when residents come home to help
them decompress after a long day at work. They can also
include setback strategies that reduce energy use during
unoccupied periods.
Lighting
Light is the most potent environmental signal
impacting the human circadian clock.9 As noted ear-
lier, the body has circadian rhythms synchronized to
the Earth’s 24-hour cycle that govern the timing of
physiological functions like sleep, physical activity,
and energy intake. Emerging research over the last
few years has found that the eye not only perceives
visibility effects from light, but also receives non-
visual signals that regulate these functions.9 Bright
light with a cool blue-white temperature during the
day stimulates alertness and activity, while dimmer
and warmer light in the evening and before bed sup-
ports sleepiness. Indeed, inappropriate exposure
to light – such as insufficient light in daytime or too
much light at night—has been linked to a range of
health and well-being outcomes, from depression
and impaired cognitive function, to diabetes and
obesity.9–11
Smart homes offer advanced functionality with
customizable lighting intensity and spectrum (corre-
lated color temperature), as well as ability to control
lights remotely and program them for energy savings.
However, given the novelty and technical nature of
research on lighting’s health effects, residents may
not know how to independently program health-
based settings. Wellness smart homes can optimize
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 82
COLUMN IEQ APPLICATIONS
artificial lighting intensity and color temperature to
mimic the natural pattern of sunlight, which aligns
with and may help to maintain residents’ circadian
rhythm when they are in indoor spaces. Specifically,
wellness smart homes offering bright cool light to
keep residents energized and alert may help sup-
port general functions during the day, and gradually
dimming to a warm amber glow in evening may help
them get a good night’s sleep.
Conclusion
Currently, smart home products and platforms have
shown significant potential to help improve health as
well as sustainability and convenience goals—specifically
with respect to improved air quality, thermal comfort,
and lighting. Even if residents already have smart home
devices installed, they may be unfamiliar with the opti-
mal settings for health (e.g., light intensity for different
times of day), or lack knowledge of how to program their
devices for these settings. The popular and easy-to-use
settings for energy efficiency provide a model for how
83 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
to make the healthy choice the easy choice. By automat-
ing smart home devices, wellness smart homes can
make a meaningful difference in residents’ health and
well-being.
References
1. Institute for Health Metrics (IHME). 2019. GBD Compare.
Seattle, WA: University of Washington; http://ihmeuw.org/4sux.
Accessed April 22, 2019.
2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2014. “Volatile Organic
Compounds’ Impact on Indoor Air Quality.” US EPA. https://www.
epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-
impact-indoor-air-quality. Published August 18, 2014. Accessed
May 21, 2019.
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1987. “The
Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study:
Summary and Analysis.”; https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.
cgi?Dockey=2000UC5T.TXT. Accessed May 22, 2019.
4. Liu, Y., et al. 2016. “Prevalence of healthy sleep duration
among adults—United States, 2014.” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep.
2016;65. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6506a1.
5. Joshi, S.S., et al. 2016. “The importance of temperature
and thermoregulation for optimal human sleep.” Energy Build.
2016;131:153-157. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.09.020.
6. Yadlapalli, S., et al. 2018. “Circadian clock neurons constantly
monitor environmental temperature to set sleep timing.” Nature.
2018;555(7694):98-102. doi:10.1038/nature25740.
7. Seppänen, O., W.J. Fisk, Q. Lei. 2006. “Effect of Temperature
on Task Performance in Offfice Environment.” Ernest Orlando
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
8. Wargocki, P., D.P. Wyon. 2017. “Ten questions concerning
thermal and indoor air quality effects on the performance of office
work and schoolwork.” Build Environ. 2017;112:359-366. doi:10.1016/j.
buildenv.2016.11.020.
9. LeGates, T.A., D.C. Fernandez, S. Hattar. 2014. “Light as a
central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect.” Nat Rev
Neurosci. 2014;15(7):443-454. doi:10.1038/nrn3743.
10. Cho, Y., et al. 2015. “Effects of artificial light at night on human
health: A literature review of observational and experimental
studies applied to exposure assessment.” Chronobiol Int.
2015;32(9):1294-1310. doi:10.3109/07420528.2015.1073158
11. Park Y-MM, et al. 2019. “Association of exposure to artificial
light at night while sleeping with risk of obesity in women.” JAMA
Intern Med. June 2019. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0571.
COLUMN REFRIGERATION APPLICATIONS

Andy Pearson

Refrigeration on a Budget
BY ANDY PEARSON, PH.D., C.ENG., FELLOW ASHRAE

The investment in new refrigeration equipment is one of the largest capital commit-
ments that a cold store or freezer operator can make. There is always pressure to
figure out how to minimize the “sticker shock” associated with the project cost.
Careful purchasing can pay dividends, but there is always the risk that a false econ-
omy will result in a significantly higher spend over the life of the project.
It can be difficult to get a hard-pressed project manager and irreparable damage to reputation that follows all such
to care about this. They will be measured on the bottom- incidents, simply isn’t worth it.
line cost of their project, and usually the operating cost Having said that, do take stock of the true nature of the
doesn’t feature highly in their thinking during the plan- cooling requirements and ensure that the plant is not
ning stages; they just want a lower capital expense figure. oversized for the job required. This might involve installa-
There are several ways that they can get their life-cycle tion of modular systems that can be extended as the busi-
cost approach wrong, with expensive consequences, but ness grows, or it could simply be a modest increase in the
also many ways to save money without courting disaster. size of a cold water buffer tank to enable a smaller chiller
Don’t economize on the operating perfor- to be specified. Even the use of one size larger
Saving is cool.
mance of evaporators and condensers by diameter chilled water pipe can provide useful
undersizing them. Putting in air-coolers that buffer capacity and save on capital plant cost.
are too small could result in operating a low Do ensure that sufficient measures are
suction pressure that could easily add 10% to included for performance measurement, even
CREDIT: ISTOCK/BEANO5

15% to the annual electric bill. It might knock
$50,000 off the project cost but will add more
than that every year to the energy tab. Turning
that around, who wouldn’t want a payback of
less than a year on an energy saving measure?
Don’t skimp on maintenance access provisions that will
result in lack of attention to the condition of equipment.
If it requires a lot of effort to arrange a mobile platform to
clean condensers then they are likely to operate in a dirty
condition more than you might think. This may not have
an obvious effect for most of the year, although energy
consumption could again be higher than it ought to be,
but when the hot summer weather comes the plant may
be unable to cope. The cost then is the consequence of
cooling plant failure and all the panic response that fol-
lows, in addition to the hike in annual energy cost.
Don’t economize on other health and safety issues
through the project or in the operation of the plant. The
danger of something going wrong and resulting in seri-
ous injury or worse, coupled with the business disruption
if this is only the provision of pockets for tem-
perature probes and a few pressure gages. The
number of systems that are “flying blind” with
no way of knowing how well they are perform-
ing is really quite depressing, when for a few dollars more
some simple metrics could have been included.
Do take every possible measure to minimize the heat
load imposed on the refrigeration system. We ought to
measure buildings and production systems on the basis of
the amount of cooling required divided by the minimum
necessary to achieve the output. Currently, this is only
done for data centers with the power usage factor (the
total amount of electricity used divided by the amount
used by the computers). How about introducing a refrig-
eration usage factor along similar lines?
Most importantly, do specify the plant in sufficient
detail to ensure you get what you need, and then hold the
project team to account to make sure you really get it.
Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng., is group managing director at Star Refrigeration in Glasgow, UK.

84 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19


PRODUCT SHOWPLACE
To receive FREE info on the
products in this section, go to:
www.ashrae.org/freeinfo
A HVAC&R Environmental Meter
The EM54 meter from FLIR features
humidity, wet bulb and dew point functions
to measure deviations from proper
relative humidity levels. Its Type-K contact
temperature probe can check electric motors
and thermal equipment components for
proper operating temperatures.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-151
B Scroll Compressors
Danfoss DSH scroll compressors with
Intermediate Discharge Valve (IDV)
technology to enhance seasonal part-load
cooling efficiency now support R-454B
and R-452B refrigerants. The compressors’
multi-refrigerant compatibility, along with
similar drop-in performance versus R-410A,
is designed to ease refrigerant transition.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-152
C Data Center Heat Exchanger
Nortek Air Solutions introduces the ADHX 35-
6B, a 35 kW active rear door heat exchanger
(ADHX) to its ServerCool™ data center
liquid cooling product line. The upgraded
design consumes less than 500 watts of
power.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-153
D Thermostat
The Bosch Connected Control (BCC100)
thermostat from Bosch Thermotechology has a
touchscreen for easy scheduling. It connects
to Wi-Fi to control temperature and settings
from a mobile device or laptop and is fully
functional without Wi-Fi signal.
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E Fume Hood Blowers
HEMCO blowers remove hazardous fumes
from a fume hood. The belt or direct-drive
blowers, which have adjustable discharge
and weather covers, come in sizes from
250 cfm to 2,000 cfm (118 L/s to 944 L/s).
www.info.hotims.com/72836-155
Condensing Gas Furnace
Carrier’s Comfort™ 95 59SC5 condensing gas
furnace can achieve 95% or higher AFUE.
This product is part of Carrier’s revamped
gas furnace line redesigned to meet new
DOE fan energy ratings.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-156
PRODUCTS
Gas Detector
Bacharach has added 22 halogen refrigerants
for its MGS-400 gas detectors in commercial
and industrial gas leak monitoring
applications. The product uses three different
sensor types, depending on the measurement
range, temperature and gas types.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-157
Air-Source Heat Pump Outdoor Unit
Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS)’s A HVAC&R Environmental Meter
S-Series (PUMY) air-source heat pump By FLIR
outdoor unit has been expanded to include
Hyper-Heating INVERTER® technology in its
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temperatures.
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Differential Pressure Transmitter
Dwyer Instruments’ Differential Pressure
Transmitter Series 629HLP is now available
in ranges up to 90 psi (621 kPa). It is suitable B Scroll Compressor
for monitoring differential pressure in By Danfoss
applications such as air handlers, heat
exchangers, chillers and hydraulic systems.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-159
Ductless Split System
Heil ductless systems are available in a variety
of single and multizone configurations,
including new light commercial and ducted
to offer installation flexibility, especially in
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Service Valve Kit
C Data Center Heat Exchanger
Webstone, a brand of NIBCO, announces new
E-X-P Service Valve Kits for tankless water By Nortek
heaters with integrated PRV and/or drain
ports. The kits isolate the unit for servicing
and feature color-coded handles and easy-
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www.info.hotims.com/72836-161
Cooling Tower
The Marley NC Everest factory-assembled
cooling tower from SPX Technologies offers D Thermostat
up to 50% greater cooling capacity, higher By Bosch Thermotechnology
energy savings, fewer components and
lower maintenance costs. It can be used in
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industrial applications.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-162
DOAS with Inverter Compressors
Greenheck dedicated outdoor air systems
feature inverter compressors on select RV
and RVE models. New models RV-110 and
RVE-180 can provide 30 tons to 70 tons E Blower
(105 kW to 246 kW) of cooling. By HEMCO
www.info.hotims.com/72836-163
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL 85
SPECIAL PRODUCTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY
EQUIPMENT
To receive FREE info on the
products in this section, go to:
www.ashrae.org/freeinfo
A Thermal Ice Storage Modular Tanks
Thermal ice storage tanks from EVAPCO have
a capacity from 370 to 1,000 ton-hours (1300
to 3516 kWh). They complement renewable
power generation. They provide cooling
during peak demand, and excess renewables
can charge ice banks.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-200
B Energy Recovery Ventilator
The InspirAIR® Compact E80-HRX from
American ALDES Ventilation Corporation
features an EC Motor that saves up to 35%
on electricity compared to PSC motors. The
E80-HRX delivers ENERGY STAR® qualified
performance and a latent transfer of over
65% in a compact package.
www.info.hotims.com/72836-201
86 ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.org S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19
Variable Frequency Drive With App
Greenheck’s VGD-100+ internal variable
frequency drive is equipped with Bluetooth
communications and a smartphone
companion app that makes set-up, status
monitoring and troubleshooting easy and A Thermal Ice Storage Modular Tanks
intuitive. By EVAPCO
www.info.hotims.com/72836-202
Chilled Beam Pump Module
FläktGroup SEMCO’s NEUTON smart, plug-
and-play controlled chilled beam pump
module can provide condensation control
to up to 20 chilled beams and serve larger B
spaces. It reduces installation costs by up to
Energy Recovery Ventilator
30%.
By American ALDES Ventilation Corporation
www.info.hotims.com/72836-203
Dedicated Outdoor Air System
Heat Recovery System The DN Series from RenewAire is a non-
Daikin’s new VRV IV X heat recovery compressorized, fully integrated dedicated
systems adapt Daikin’s industry leading outdoor air system using state-of-the-
VRV technology to the unique North art energy recovery ventilation with
American HVAC market. VRV IV X static plate enthalpy core technology for
systems are engineered to provide ease of dehumidification. It is designed for sensible
configurability and optimal total life cycle and latent load management that reduces
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transmitters are now outfitted with Bluetooth® low energy technology for one touch monitoring on
your cell phone or tablet!

• Ideal for commissioning and balancing agents

• Retrieve individual /average airflow rates and temperatures
• Download transmitter settings and diagnostic data

Download the free app to your Android® or Apple® device today and put the
power of EBTRON in the palm of your hand.

EBTRON, Inc. | 1663 HWY 701 S., Loris, S.C. 29569 | Internet: EBTRON.com | Phone: 800 2 EBTRON | email: sales@ebtron.com