Thomas Chase
Username
Thomas Chase
Proposer First Name
Thomas
Proposer Email
chase@newecology.org
Proposer Last Name
Chase
Proposer Company/Organization
New Ecology Inc
Proposer Phone
(617) 557-1700
Boston 2022 Areas of Focus
Proposer Job Title
Senior Project Manager
Proposed Session Description
The COVID-19 pandemic increased focus on the role of indoor air quality in health outcomes and spurred renewed efforts by building science practitioners and building owners and operators to measure and understand indoor air quality (IAQ) in occupied buildings. Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc., a multifamily affordable housing developer and owner, and New Ecology, Inc. have explored strategies to measure indoor air quality in multiple developments to date. At the same time, new developments such as Finch Cambridge follow green building certification programs such as PHIUS, Enterprise Green Communities, and Fitwel, all of which have requirements related to ventilation and lower-health impact materials.
We will review the IAQ monitoring program in place at Finch Cambridge, the first certified multifamily affordable passive house project in Massachusetts, and the attempted monitoring program at the existing development, [HRI to insert Worcester project name]. We will include the first public presentation of 18 months of IAQ data for the Finch Cambridge passive house project, monitored for all units and most common spaces within the building. And, we will provide a review of how the green building certifications obtained at Finch helped guide the team to create a building which is healthier for its residents, in design, construction, and ongoing operations.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Our presentation team is gender diverse and includes queer representation. The session topic concerns indoor environmental quality management and improvement for low and moderate income rental unit residents, which is understood to be an emerging environmental justice issue.
Learning Objectives
Attendees will be able to identify the most commonly used indicators for IAQ monitoring.
Attendees will learn to identify potential challenges and opportunities for IAQ monitoring design in their own projects.
Attendees will learn to recognize common strategies for ventilation system design for good IAQ.
Attendees will be able to identify operations staff IAQ monitoring and tracking strategies, after the design and construction teams are no longer part of the project.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Session Format
Other (please describe below)
Session Format Details
Presentation with slides, followed by Q&A
Recommended Length
60-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2022
Reviewer 1
Tilton, Clay
Reviewer 2
Iworsky, Heather
Curator
Roth, Kurt
Proposal #
157
Session #
210
Committee Decision
Accepted
Presenters
Full Description
It is often repeated, but on average, Americans spend 90% of their time indoors. As designers and developers of high performance multifamily buildings, we follow a number of different guidelines and strategies for delivering acceptable levels of ventilation as energy efficiently as possible. The rapidly expanding indoor air quality monitoring tools at our disposal allow us to ground-truth our designs, better manage building operations, and continue to grow the understanding of the relationship between indoor environmental quality and human health and well-being, for occupants, designers, and developers alike.