ATLANTA - A proposed standard setting requirements for inspection and maintenance of HVAC systems is open for public comment. ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180P, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems, would establish minimum HVAC inspection and maintenance requirements that aid a system’s ability to achieve acceptable thermal comfort, energy efficiency, and IAQ in commercial buildings.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) are developing the standard. It is open for public review until April 30.

“The comments we received during the first review were almost universally supportive and constructive,” Robert Baker, chair of the Standard 180 committee said. “There were several excellent comments that helped us to clarify and re-word some areas to avoid confusion. Most of these revisions were minor and could have been considered editorial in nature. The committee, however, preferred to be conservative so voted to submit the entire document for public review again.”

A more significant set of comments was directed to Section 5, which described mandatory inspection and maintenance items, he said. Although the suggestions for text revision were minor in nature, the layout of the section was seen as difficult and potentially confusing to use. As a result, the committee created 25 separate tables, each of which deals with a specific type of system component. In addition, several comments observed that the proposed 563 optional inspection points were better reserved for inclusion in a future guidance document as they detracted from the clarity and impact of the standard. The committee concurred and removed these, according to Baker.

Proposed ASHRAE standards are available during public review periods. To read the addenda or to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

Publication date: 04/23/2007