Unpacking the Newly Released Ventilation Standard for Healthcare Spaces

The American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE) recently released an updated Standard 170-2021. Seventeen addenda were issued to modify the 2017 edition of the American National Standards Institute/ASHRAE/American Society for Health Care Engineering Standard 170, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities, which became the basis of the new Standard 170-2021. The purpose of this Standard 170 is to define ventilation system design requirements that provide environmental control for comfort, asepsis, and odor in health care facilities.  

Much work was undertaken to align and correlated Standard 170-2021 with Facility Guidelines Institute’s 2018 Guidelines Edition.  Hear from an engineer who chairs the Standard 170-2021, an architect and FGI member who worked with ASHRAE to align the two documents, and an authority having jurisdiction who interprets and enforces both standards.

The new Standard 170-2021 includes: 

• 3 separate sections – Hospitals, Outpatient and Residential 
• New glossary definitions 
• Listing of relevant FGI reference section numbers 
• Clarification on ventilation requirements for inhalation gases 
• Join us for a high-level overview of the changes in this new document.