On average, Americans spend over 90 percent of their time indoors where concentrations of some pollutants can be two to five times higher than typical outdoor concentrations, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In fact, the EPA ranks indoor air quality (IAQ) as a top-five environmental risk to public health while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that approximately 1.4 million buildings in the U.S. have indoor air problems. There is also a growing awareness of the importance of IAQ among both HVAC industry and non-industry professionals. The following case studies highlight several ways in which IAQ products have been implemented to help various commercial buildings meet air quality, energy-efficiency, and comfort goals.
Originally designed to support an occupancy level of 850 people, the ArcBestSM corporate headquarters, located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, grew to 1,085 employees plus visitors. Ten percent of the people work at night, requiring 24/7 air conditioning. The increase in occupancy drove a need to introduce more outside air to maintain air quality. The outside air had to be conditioned, which increased electrical energy costs. In addition, the extra outside air caused draftiness on cold winter days, and, during the summer, the extra air flow through the air handlers resulted in some parts of the building getting too cool.