ATLANTA, GA — The reliability of CO detectors and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE’s) proposed residential ventilation standard will be discussed in a special session the day before the Society’s 2003 Winter Meeting is slated to begin in Chicago, IL.

The session has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at the Palmer House Hilton. It will be hosted by the committee writing proposed Standard 62.2P, “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” The meeting will be chaired by David Grimsrud, chair of the committee’s IAQ subcommittee.

At various times in its preparation, the proposed standard has included a requirement that CO alarm devices be installed in all residences. The current draft, recently released for its fourth public review, does not contain the requirement.

The requirement was removed after the standard’s first public review, when the reliability and expense of alarms were questioned, and some stated that these devices aren’t needed if there are requirements for CO sources, according to committee chair Max Sherman. In the second public review, Sherman stated that the committee received many comments requesting that the requirement be returned to the standard.

The committee held a public meeting in December 2001 to discuss the recommendation. Members rejected requests to return the requirement to the proposed standard based on reports questioning the reliability of devices currently in the marketplace.

For more information, contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723 (U.S. and Canada); 404-636-8400; 404-321-5478 (fax); www.ashrae.org (website).

Publication date: 12/23/2002