A guide to RESET Air Residential - healthy building standard
The Biofilico guide to RESET AIR Residential healthy building standard
RESET Air Residential in summary
RESET approach the subject of indoor air quality with a long-term perspective and therefore have created a healthy building standard for residential projects that specifies continuous monitoring rather than a one time only test.
This healthy building standard for residential projects specifies air quality monitor deployment, performance, maintenance and reporting. It can be applied to both new and existing interiors, whether single home or multi-family.
What is the goal of the RESET AIR Residential?
The standard sets out to continuously monitor particulate matter / PM2.5, as well as Total Volatile Organic Compounds / TVOCs, CO2 and CO in all regularly occupied space types.
This data must then be communicated to the residence’s inhabitants as a way to raise awareness and promote engagement with the theme.
Daily Indoor Air Quality IAQ targets are set to measure performance, in addition to zeroing in on the monitors themselves, their installation, the data they produce and ongoing calibration.
This healthy building standard is all about good data in other words!
Indoor Air Quality Certification
RESET Air recognizes that hours of occupancy, cooking areas, sleeping and entertaining all have a direct impact on indoor air quality within a home, which in turn should influence the air quality monitor deployment plan in their view.
For this reason, the certification is non-prescriptive, with space types includes or excluded based on a rationale provided by the ‘Reset AP’. Targets are given for average indoor air quality for PM 2.5, TVOC and CO2, as well as Carbon Dioxide (in spaces with combustion only) while Temperature and Relative Humidity have to be monitored but no specific targets are given.
High performance targets are also provided as global benchmarks in excellence for indoor air quality, specifically for PM 2.5, TVOC and CO2.
Indoor Air Quality Performance Targets
PM 2.5 can cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. It is not to exceed 35 g/m3 or 12 g/m3 (high performance).
VOCs include formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and styrene, with long-term exposure a risk for liver and kidney damage, amongst other things. The targets are not to exceed 500 g/m3 or 400 g/m3 (high performance).
CO2 affects productivity and comfort, causing headaches and cognitive issues so should be limited to 1000 ppm or 600 ppm (high performance).
Carbon Monoxide results from combustion and can cause dizziness, unconsciousness or worse, so levels should not exceed 9 ppm.
Data is sent to the RESET Assessment Cloud for analysis and daily averages calculated from hours of occupancy should not exceed performance targets for a total of three months in order to receive the initial certification… but that is just the start!
What data providers and air quality monitors are required?
Only accredited data providers can report data to the RESET Assessment Cloud, with hourly data uploaded for occupant’s to see on an ongoing basis, for example via screen display or smartphone app.
Our friends at AWAIR offer monitors and the data upload as well, making them a sensible solution.
Only calibration grade (A) or commercial grade (B) air quality monitors are accepted, not consumer grade monitors (C).
These monitors need to be installed on a wall, in a central location within each designated space type, 3-6 ft from the ground and at least 16 ft from an operable window, a minimum of 16 ft from air filters or fresh-air diffusers and hard wired to a permanent power source.
Finally, a Carbon monoxide detector has to be within 5 metres of bedrooms.
How to calculate monitor deployment
This is a key deliverable for the RESET AP (professional consultant on the project) and requires that they:
define the project boundary
identify regularly occupied spaces (more than 1hr each day), with sleeping areas individually itemized / treated separately
deploy one monitor for each space type and one in every sleeping area
deploy one CO detector within 16 ft of each bedroom (this could be in a corridor between multiple bedrooms), if there is a source of combustion, or is adjacent to a parking garage for example (monitors should also comply with local code)
ensure a monitor range of 500m2, i.e. no single space type larger than 500m2 can use a single monitor, that is the maximum range for a single unit
Contact us to discuss your indoor air quality project requirements