Is there a minimum ventilation rate in a room that minimizes adverse health effects?

Minimum ventilation rate and indoor air quality that will be acceptable to human occupants and are intended to minimize the potential for adverse health effects can be estimated using the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62.2 “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings”.

Ventilation air requirements for each dwelling unit can be calculated using the following equation based on the floor area of the conditioned space and number of bedrooms:

Qfan = 0.01Afloor + 7.5(Nbr + 1)

Where:
Qfan = Fan flow rate in cubic feet per minute
Afloor = Floor area in square feet
Nbr = Number of bedrooms; not less than one

Ventilation air requirements for each dwelling unit can be also be estimated from the rate specified in Table below:

Ventilation Air Requirements (cubic feet per meter (cfm))
Floor Area (square feet (ft²))	# of Bedrooms
Floor Area (square feet (ft²))	0-1	2-3	4-5	6-7	>7
< 1,500	30	45	60	75	90
1,501 - 3,000	45	60	75	90	105
3,001 - 4,500	60	75	90	105	120
4,501 - 6,000	75	90	105	120	135
6,001 - 7,500	90	105	120	135	150
> 7,500	105	120	135	150	165

These ventilation rates include a default credit for ventilation provided by infiltration of 2cfm/100 ft2 of occupiable space. They also assume two persons in a studio or one-bedroom dwelling unit and an additional person for each additional bedroom. Where higher occupants’ densities are known, the rate shall be increased by 7.5 cfm for each additional person.

Rating:

129 Votes

Was this answer helpful?

Is there a minimum ventilation rate in a room that minimizes adverse health effects?

Frequent Questions