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ASHRAE Guideline 44-2024 -- Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events, 2024
- ASHRAE Online Bookstore
- Addenda
- Errata
- Return to Previous Page
- ASHRAE Guideline 44-2024 [Go to Page]
- Contents
- Foreword
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope [Go to Page]
- 2.1 This guideline applies to commercial buildings; institutional buildings, including health care facilities; and multiunit residential buildings, as well as dedicated spaces within these building types intended for temporary human occupancy during ...
- 2.2 This guideline addresses buildings expected to be occupied by potentially at-risk populations, including children and older adults.
- 2.3 This guideline provides recommendations related to the design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of building envelope, ventilation, and air-cleaning systems.
- 2.4 This guideline and its measures do not apply to internally generated smoke (e.g., from internal fires or structure fires).
- 3. Definitions and Symbols [Go to Page]
- 3.1 Definitions
- 3.2 List of Acronyms
- 4. Background [Go to Page]
- 4.1 Wildland Fires. There are many different types of fire that can occur on the landscape, which are broadly classified into controlled fires and wildfires. Controlled fires include prescribed burns for ecological restoration or wildfire risk reduct...
- 4.2 Composition of Wildland Fire Smoke. Smoke from wildland fires is a complex and dynamic form of air pollution. Its composition depends on the fuels being burned, their moisture content, the temperature of the fire, the weather conditions, the dist...
- 4.3 Ambient Air Quality Impacts of Wildland Fire Smoke. “Ambient air quality” is a term used to describe the status of outdoor air concerning the mix of air pollutants from all anthropogenic and natural sources. Many jurisdictions have regulatory...
- 4.4 Focus on Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). The mass concentration of PM2.5 is often used as a proxy for the complex wildland fire smoke mixture, its air quality impacts, and its potential health effects. There are three key reasons for this. The f...
- 4.5 Health Effects of Wildland Fire Smoke. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 in wildland fire smoke has been associated with a comprehensive and growing range of acute health effects. There is consistent evidence that wildfire smoke exposure leads to high...
- 4.6 At-Risk Populations. Some people are more susceptible to experiencing health effects due to smoke exposure. Anyone with a reactive respiratory condition such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be at risk of sudden airwa...
- 4.7 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Most people in high-income countries spend more than 90% of their time indoors,47 where the built environment mediates their exposure to the outdoor air. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a complex product of multiple factors,...
- 4.8 Indoor Infiltration of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) from Wildland Fire Smoke. Wildland fire smoke can enter the indoor environment through mechanical HVAC systems, natural ventilation systems, doors, windows, and any other openings in the buil...
- 4.9 Indoor Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Should Be as Low as Reasonably Achievable (ALARA). Very few studies have reported PM2.5 infiltration coefficients of less than 20% during wildfire smoke episodes, even when significant efforts were made to l...
- 4.10 Emerging Air-Cleaning and Sensor Technologies. Many existing technologies can reduce the indoor impacts of outdoor wildland fire smoke, and this guideline provides information on their use. At the same time, rapid technological changes are occur...
- 4.11 Need for This Guideline. Every building is different, but the principles of smoke infiltration are the same across all buildings. Smoke can be actively drawn indoors through the outdoor air intake of an HVAC system, and it can move passively ind...
- 5. Design and Commissioning [Go to Page]
- 5.1 Overview. This section is a guide for designers. The measures listed here are intended to protect indoor air quality (IAQ) during periods of wildland fire smoke and may be applied during initial design or as a retrofit.
- 5.2 Definition of the Design Challenge Concepts. IAQ is protected from PM2.5 in smoke by two means:
- 5.3 Selection of Design Outdoor and Indoor Contaminant Levels. To perform design calculations, the design team must select representative concentrations for both outdoor air and indoor air. Without indoor and outdoor concentrations, the design calcul...
- 5.4 Design Calculations and Processes
- 5.5 Design Measures
- 5.6 Commissioning. Any control system with a wildland fire-response design should be commissioned in the smoke-response or smoke-limiting state. This will include any system from Section 5.5 of this guideline, which may include but is not limited to
- 5.7 Special Building Occupancy Types
- 5.8 Communication of the Smoke Readiness Plan to the Design and Operation Team. Communicate the building design elements of the Smoke Readiness Plan to both the building design team and the operations and maintenance staff. In order to achieve the co...
- 6. Operation During a Wildland Fire Event [Go to Page]
- 6.1 Developing a Smoke Readiness Plan. A Smoke Readiness Plan documents the preparatory steps and mitigation strategies that the facility will use before, during, and after a wildland fire smoke event to maintain indoor air quality (IAQ). Sections 6....
- 6.2 Preparing for Smoke Events
- 6.3 Operational Testing. When the Smoke Readiness Plan is prepared, and before the start of wildfire season, test the HVAC system with the additional filtration and adjusted flow settings. There may be several nonfunctioning items that will take more...
- 6.4 Maintenance and Monitoring During a Smoke Event
- 6.5 Returning to Normal Operations. Criteria for returning to normal operation, similar to Table 7, should be defined for each building. Normal HVAC operation will help to remove any smoke lingering indoors and will improve IAQ. The Smoke Readiness P...
- 7. References
- Informative Appendix A: Analysis of Particulate Matter Concentrations During Recent U.S. Western Wildfires [Go to Page]
- A1. Background
- A2. Approach
- A3. Results
- Informative Appendix B: Managing Air-Side Economizer and Demand-Control Ventilation for Smoke [Go to Page]
