ASHRAE Publishes Second Edition of Hospital Design Manual

Healthcare HVAC systems serve facilities in which the population is uniquely vulnerable and exposed to elevated risks of health, fire and safety hazard. These heavily regulated, high-stakes facilities undergo continuous maintenance, verification, inspection and recertification, typically operate 24/7 and are owner occupied for long life.

A newly published manual from ASHRAE provides guidance on addressing these issues for mechanical and consulting engineers, designers, architects, facility managers, infection control personal, maintenance staff, contractors, developers and code accreditation and licensure officials.

HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics, Second Edition, provides in-depth design recommendations based on best practices, and presents proven, cost effective and reliable solutions that result in low maintenance cost and high reliability with systems providing desired performance and efficiency. The book, a complete rewrite of the first edition, focuses specifically on HVAC system design for health care facilities, omitting general system descriptions that are readily available in other ASHRAE publications.

The manual presents a unified and comprehensive summary of engineering background on the standard, how to meet it and alternatives for best engineering practices beyond the minimum requirements, says Daniel Koenigshofer, PE, editor of the manual. A principle objective of the manual is to present what is different about designing HVAC systems for hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Chapter 2 describes how the principles of infection control have influenced the regulations which in turn are the bases for the unique design principles needed for hospitals.

ASHRAEs first HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics, which serves as a comprehensive source for the design, installation and commissioning of HVAC systems for hospitals and clinics, was published in 2003.

Koenigshofer, of Dewberry, noted the writing of this manual was a highly collaborative effort by 20 of the top consulting and hospital engineers in the country. These contributors include:
 John Murphy, Trane Co.
 Walter Grondzik, P.E.
 Reg Brown, P.E., Price Industries
 Donald Burroughs, P.E., Dewberry
 Jill Connell, P.E., CDi Engineers
 Hal Corin, Dewberry
 Jeff Crozier, P.E., Precis Engineering Inc.
 Jeremy Fauber, P.E., Heapy Engineering
 Traci Hanegan, P.E., Coffman Engineers, Inc.
 Jeff Hardin, P.E., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
 John M. Kramer, P.E.,  Duke University Medical Center
 Nicolas Lemire, P.Eng.,  Pageau Morel
 Michael Meteyer, P.E., Erdman
 Frank Mills, C.Eng.,  Sinclair Knight Merz
 Heather Platt, P.E., Seneca Construction Management Corp.
 Layle Thomas, Dewberry
 Jerry Thompson, P.E.,  Duke University Medical Center
 Ron Westbrook, P.E., State University of New York

The cost of HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics, Second Edition is $115 ($99 for ASHRAE members). To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax: 678-539-2129, or visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore.

Source: ASHRAE