Arch-333 Test #1
Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)
"Exists when a significant percentage (e.g., more than 20%) of the occupants complain, during a two week period, of a set of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, nausea, eye irritation, and throat irritation, that are alleviated by leaving the building, and are not known to be caused by specific contaminants."
Respirable Particles
#1 allergen in homes is the dust mite • Dust mite (insect) populations decrease below 50% RH • Dust mites die below 40% RH
Widespread use of air- conditioning happened in the
1990s
Humans are sensitive to what range of air temperature? 8 to 10 degrees F 7 to 8 degrees F 4 to 6 degrees F 2 to 3 degrees F
2 to 3 degrees F
A building is said to be suffering from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) when what percentage of the occupants complain of a general array of symptoms that abate after leaving the building?
20%
so it is advised to keep the air velocities between _________ feet per minute at the person to try to minimize these issues.
20-50
Static electricity starts to manifest itself at what percent of Relative Humidity? 30% 25% 20% 15%
25%
In the construction industry, a 1% decrease in direct cost translates into what increase in new profit?
29%
Designers often design to what range of Relative Humidity for occupied spaces? 20 to 40% RH 30 to 60% RH 2 to 3 % RH 40 to 50% RH
30 to 60% RH
Dust mites die below ___% RH
40%
In proper applications energy savings can range from __________ percent depending on climate and control strategy. 50 to 75 5 to 25 5 to 75 25 to 75
5 to 25
Dust mite (insect) populations decrease below ______% RH
50%
Which ASHRAE standard applies to Human Comfort? 62.1 55 100 90.1
55
Legionella, the biggest problem in the built environment, is dormant below __ºF and begins to die off at __ºF
68ºF, 122ºF
What percentage of the occupied building must be satisfied with the conditioned space in order to comply with the appropriate ASHRAE standard? -100% -90% -70% -80%
80%
Contaminant Zone
A room or a grouping of rooms that contains contaminants of a similar nature or source. The boundary of a contaminant zone may be tangible (wall, ceiling, etc.) or intangible (air pressure).
Temperature Zones
A space or group of spaces within a building with heating and/or cooling requirements sufficiently similar that comfort conditions can be maintained by a single controlling device [i.e. a thermostat]
Moving air through an Air Handling Unit (AHU) is an example of which of the following systems? Hybrid Active Mixed Passive
Active
Which of the following items is considered a personal parameter with respect to thermal comfort? Dry bulb temperature Humidity Air movement Activity level
Activity level
Water Usage in the US
Americans extract approximately 3,700 billion gallons per year more than they return to the aquifers
Good professional Practice
Assist the designer Assist the estimator Assist the project manager Identify problems/ solutions ahead of time add USP= Unique selling proposition
Legionella is which of the following? Bacteria Fungi Virus Mold
Bacteria
Which of the following is a common surrogate gas used in Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV)?2 CO CO2 O3 NH4
CO2
Personal Parameters
Clothing (clo) Metabolism (met) Age Size health
Good professional Practice 2
Conduct with owner & operating engineer Use of video Audio recording device excellent notes use a checklist
If the Contract Documents are silent on unforeseen conditions, the risk falls on... Owner Operating Engineer Consulting Architect / Engineer Contractor
Contractor
The dust mite creates the second most allergic reaction(s). What part of the dust mite is the cause of the reaction?
Corpses
DOAS stands for ... Dedicated Outside Air Systems Demand On Air Systems Dehumidification Over Air Systems Delivered Outside Air Systems
Dedicated Outside Air Systems
Which of the following is the most important determinate of comfort? Activity level Air movement Humidity Correct Answer Dry bulb temperature
Dry bulb temperature
Environmental criteria
Dry bulb temperature ◆ Humidity (both Relative and Absolute) ◆ Air velocity ◆ Air quality ◆ Lighting ◆ Noise ◆ Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT)
Ventilation systems that increase the air flow across the human body produce cooling by which of the following processes?
Evaporation
Sick Building Syndrome
Exists when a significant percentage (e.g., more than 20%) of the occupants complain during a two week period of a set of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, nausea, eye irritation, and throat irritation, that are alleviated by leaving the building, and are not known to be caused by specific contaminants
A single DOAS unit might be used to deliver ventilation air only to one conditioning unit. True False
False
Bacteria can be killed with either heat or cold.
False
Dilution removes contaminants from the occupied space.
False
Dilution removes contaminants from the occupied space. True False
False
In a human being, the metabolic rate or level (Met) is always negative. True False
False
Mold is a type of virus. True False
False
Mold requires a critical mass be attained before it can grow a colony. True False
False
The single largest expense experienced by most of our clients is energy costs.
False
Ventilation is not intended to be a part of the building pressurization process. True False
False
Asbestos that is disturbed into a respirable particle is referred to by what name? Allergenic HEPA Friable Respirable gas
Friable
Shutting off the Outside Air (OA) in a dilution system is likely to produce which of the following outcomes?
Higher absenteeism
Which of the following is a common disadvantage of using dilution as an IAQ strategy?
Higher energy costs
A system that uses a combination of ceiling fans and operable windows would be referred to as what kind of ventilation system?
Hybrid
Uncontrolled air entering the building through cracks and other openings is referred to by what name?
Infiltration
Sitting next to a cold window on a winter's day is likely to chill the occupant due to which of the following phenomena? Mean Radiant Temperature Wet bulb temperature Dry bulb temperature Effective temperature
Mean Radiant Temperature
The air "seen" by the Air Handling Unit (AHU) in a dilution-ventilation scheme is called by what name?
Mixed Air (MA)
Which one of the following could be a potential hazard you need to look for during a site visit? -Mold -Light -Air -Moisture
Mold
Green Buildings
One that achieves high performance over the full life cycle in the following areas: • Minimal energy consumption • Minimal atmospheric emissions • Minimal discharge of harmful wastes • Minimal negative impacts of site ecosystems • Maximum quality of the indoor environment
Which of the following is an organic material that is commonly used in construction? Steel studs Brick Glass Paper-backed drywall
Paper-backed drywall
When was the first recorded example of a bioterrorist attack?
Persia (600 BC) mold in water
LEED® v4 Categories
Points divided into NINE categories •Integrative Process •Location and Transportation (LT) •Sustainable Sites (SS) •Water Efficiency (WE) •Energy and Atmosphere (EA) •Materials and Resources (MR) •Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) •Innovation (IN) •Regional Priorities (RP)
Comfort vs Productivity
Research from Texas: •Building conditions can impact student achievement by as much as 17% •Any temperature over 74° F harms student's math and science scores • Productivity is key to any client
The condition where an air-conditioning unit runs a very short period of time before reaching the thermostat setting, thus allowing Relative Humidity to rise, is called by what name? Staging Short cycling Temperature mixing Dumping
Short cycling
Which of the following is likely to be the most effective and least costly IAQ strategy?
Source elimination
The ASHRAE Standard that applies to ventilation is which of the following?
Standard 62.1
Which of the following is not affected by the indoor environment? Employee turnover Temperment Productivity Absenteeism
Temperment
Comfort
The condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment. A building is considered comfortable when 80% or more of the occupants will find the environment thermally acceptable •Usually defined in terms of Dry Bulb (DB) Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) •LEED Credit 5 - Compliance with ASHRAE Standard 55 (v4)
ASHRAE Standard 55 - 2016
Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy That point in the environmental conditions where 80% of the people find the environmental condition satisfactory
A 'chimney effect' is also referred to as the 'stack effect'. True False
True
Absolute Humidity refers to the mass of water vapor in the air. True False
True
Capture velocity increases by the square of the distance from the contaminant source.
True
Dilution is a common IAQ strategy and is often used in conjunction with another IAQ strategy. True False
True
If using a Dedicated Outside Air System (DOAS) an economizer is no longer needed at the Air Handling Unit (AHU)? True False
True
Some molds produce a respirable spore that is pathogenic.
True
The Outdoor Air (OA) intake is generally up higher off the ground. True False
True
The following are components of Good Documentation Practices: 1. Written in Ink 2. Dated Accurately 3. List of Attendees 4. Signed by Author True or False
True
The stack effect causes tall buildings to draw cold air low into the building during winter and warm air into the building during summer. True False
True
The widespread use of air-conditioning has led to architecture with lower ceilings and large, deep floor plates, and non-operable windows. True False
True
When the same percentage of outside air is supplied to each space, the amount of outside air depends on the load in the space, rather than occupancy levels. True False
True
Sources of IAQ problems
Vapors and gases • Respirable particles • Mold, fungus and viruses • VOCs • Formaldehyde • Cleaning supplies • Chlorine • Bio-effluents • Human odors • Organic odors Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) 19 • Asbestos • ETS • CO • CO2 • Ozone / smog • Radon
Formaldehyde is considered to be what type of contaminant.
Volatile Organic Compound
What to look for? Productivity issues:
acces temp facilities temp services kitchen
Comfort and Heat transfer
cold does not move heat moves to and away from an object
Below are all common arguments against operable windows, except for the argument that operable windows ... interfere with building temperature controls. work against the control of buidling airflow and pressure relationships. connect the user with the outdoors when this is a desired feature. allow dust and allergens unfiltered into occupied space.
connect the user with the outdoors when this is a desired feature.
What balances heat transfer?
environment and personal
Producing a system that allows everyone to have personal control of local space conditions is technically impossible: t or f
false
Viruses are metabolicaly active
false
reasonable site visit
full disclosure how much how long to evaluate
Risk Mitigation
identify components that you may need help with identify components that you don't want to tackle minimize legal risk latent defects patent defects
The first step in charting a successful strategy to produce acceptable IAQ in a building:
identify likely contaminants
Fundamentals of Documentation
if it is not on paper, it never happened accurate record of info useful in understanding the decisions made good practice
human comfort
is one of the primary reasons for a heating and cooling system in a building
Best practices in conducting a site visit
know the location plan travel time study layout ahead of time identify potential problems/solutions create a list of questions
The Dry Bulb temperature
largest factor affecting human comfort.
What do you need to look for potential hazards?
mold, lead, asbestos
What to look for? Design issues:
occupancy smoking bathroom/ lockers kitchen
Documentation rules
on paper only ink no erase , cross out with line sign and date has to be trained
Is the met level positive or negative in a human?
positive
What to look for? construction:
safety staging storage
Relative Humidity
the amount of water vapor that is present in the air compared to the amount of moisture the air at that temperature can hold. (30%-60% is good RH)
ASHRAE
the world's leading technical society for the development of standards for human comfort in buildings
The faster you blow air across a person the faster it will transfer heat through evaporative cooling.
true
What to look for? Envelope:
type condition
Absolute Humidity
which is a measure of the mass of water vapor in the air, per pound of air.
Building Related Illness (BRI) v. (SBS)
• BRI has a known contaminant • Vapors, gases, lead fumes • Bioeffluents • Respirable particles (5 to 10 microns) • ETS (Smoking)
Strategies for Chemical
• Be cautious with the use of chemicals •We associate smell to cleanliness
Strategies for Filtration
• Collecting the pollutants prior to distribution •30/30 filters •Bag filters •HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters •Gas filters (charcoal, etc.)
Strategies for IAQ solutions
• Elimination • Capture • Filtration • Dilution • Chemical • UV
Businesses that focus obsessively on meeting the needs of clients:
• Revenues increase 4 times faster • Job creation is 7 times faster • Owner equity grows 12 times faster • Profit performance is 750% higher
Strategies for Ultra-Violet (UV)
• UVc •One of many electromagnetic frequencies emanating from the sun. •The "C" frequency of the UV family has, amongst other things, germicidal effects.
Strategies for Capture
• Walls to the deck above and sealed • Independent exhaust • No return or recirculation air • Neutral (negative) air pressure •Pressurization •Controlled Air Flow
BRI - Mold
•>64,000 different types of fungi •A few are toxic •Considered a "growth industry" for both remediation contractors and the legal profession 1 viable spore •Acceptable temperature range •Nutrition Source •Moisture •Could be present in nutrition
LEED - Credit 3: IAQ Management Plan
•Credit 3 - IAQ Management Plan • Meet or exceed SMACNA's 'Guidelines for Occupied Buildings under Construction' • Protect stored on-site or installed absorptive materials from moisture damage •Use MERV-8 filters at each return air grille if permanent air handling units are used during construction
Conditions Needed for Mold Growth
•One viable spore •An acceptable temperature range •A usable, organic food source •Adequate moisture •Might be in the food source
Steps for producing a HighPerformance Building
•Reduce the load •Owner operation •Building orientation •Envelope •Service life? •Select the right HVAC system •Service life? •Look for synergies (in this order)
IAQ Strategies
•Source Elimination •Capture •Filtration •Dilution •UV/Chemical
•Identify the contaminants that are in your building
•They will be unique •Try to (in this order): •Eliminate •Capture •Filter •If all else fails, dilute them (stay tuned!)