International standards for the indoor environment. Where are we and do they apply to Asian countries?

On the international level, ISO (International Organization for Standardization), CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers) are writing and reviewing standards relating to the indoor environment on a regular basis.

This presentation will focus on the development of standards for the indoor thermal environment and indoor air quality (ventilation). In the future, recommendations for acceptable indoor environments will be specified as classes. This allows for national differences in the requirements as well as for designing buildings for different quality levels.

Several of these standards have been developed mainly by experts from Europe, North America and Japan. Are there, however, special considerations relating to South-East Asia (lifestyle, outdoor climate, economy) that are not dealt with in these standards and that will require the revision of existing standards? Critical issues are adaptation, the effect of increased air velocity, humidity, type of indoor pollutant sources, etc.

The paper will present an overview of existing methods and discuss areas where revision of present standards or the development of new standards are needed, relating especially to conditions in Asia.