ASHRAEhas announced a major change to availability of addenda to code-intended standards. The move puts ASHRAE in line with issuance of model building codes. In the past, addenda for code-intended standards on continuous maintenance were posted individually on ASHRAE.org after being approved by the board of directors for publication. Now, board-approved addenda to code-intended standards will be published in a supplement. The supplements for each standard will be published on a regular schedule halfway between the three-year publication of each standard. The addenda also will be incorporated into each standard when it is reissued after its last publication.

Richard Hermans, P.E., chair of ASHRAE's Standards Committee, acknowledges the change is significant.

"Our whole approach to how we relate to the building code industry is changing," Hermans said. "We are seeking more involvement with the model code development community to assist us in our code proposals. We are responding to member concerns over the cost of keeping up with our code-intended standards. By cost, I am not referring to the dollars spent for obtaining the updated documents but rather the cost in time to train employees about the new requirements contained in addenda. And we are aligning our release of certain standards to coincide with the model code schedules for code change proposals."

All of these actions point to a policy of releasing addenda on a predictable schedule spaced out over years, he said.

"In this way, we will develop our code-intended standards in the same way that groups such as the International Code Council and the National Fire Protection Association, both of which incorporate ASHRAE standards, maintain their model codes," he said.

The change applies only to code-intended standards that are on continuous maintenance. These are:

  • Standard 15, Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems;
  • Standard 34, Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants;
  • Standard 52.2, Method of Testing General Ventilation Air Cleaning Devices for Removal Efficiency by Particle Size;
  • Standard 62.1, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Commercial, Institutional, Industrial and High-Rise Residential Buildings;
  • Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings;
  • Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings;
  • Standard 90.2, Energy Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings;
  • Standard 140, Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs.

The first supplements for standards published will be available in March 2006.

For more information on ASHRAE's work in standards, visit www.ashrae.org/standards.