Handbook of air conditioning and refrigeration / Shan K

24.14 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
HVAC&R Engineer
The list of defendants in SBS or IAQ cases varies with the type of buildings and may include
some or all of the following:
● Building owner/managers
● Real estate developers
● Architects
● HVAC&R consultants, mechanical engineers, control engineers
● IAQ consultants
● General contractors, HVAC&R contractors
● Building and HVAC&R products manufacturers
● Leasing agents
Among them, the target defendants in SBS or IAQ cases are building owners who have the responsibility
to provide safe premises, the building managers who must ensure that the building and HVAC&R
system are maintained properly and the HVAC&R system is operated correctly, and all the entities that
participate in the design, construction, and installation of the ventilation/HVAC&R system.
The theories of liabilities used against defendants depend to some degree on the law in various
states. The following causes of actions have been successful in most states: contracts or breach of
lease; professional malpractice or negligence; strict liability; fraud, mispresentation, and punitive
damages.
If the poor IAQ is determined to be due to defects in the ventilation/HVAC&R system, the mechanical
or HVAC&R engineer who designs the ventilation/air system will be vulnerable to claims of
negligence.
As discussed previously in this chapter, regarding HVAC&R, the primary tasks that must be
done to ensure good IAQ are as follows:
● Provide adequate ventilation to dilute the indoor air contaminants.
● Prevent microbial growth.
● Use medium- and high-efficiency and HEPA filters to remove particulates, bacteria, and viruses.
● Remove specific gaseous contaminants by adsorbers and chemisorbers.
● Adopt pressurization control so that only filtered, noncontaminated air of acceptable air quality is
supplied to the occupied zone, and contaminated air is exhausted directly from the contaminated
area.
● Implement scheduled and proper HVAC&R maintenance for effective air system operation.
It is extremely important that the engineers’ design follow the IAQ-related federal and local
codes and the ASHRAE IAQ-related standards, especially ASHRAE Standard 62-1999, Ventilation
for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. If an engineer fails to design an air system in comformity with
appropriate ASHRAE standards, he or she will be unable to defeat a claim of negligence.
Although an engineer cannot be expected to foresee all the uses of the conditioned spaces during
the life of the building, the changes in the occupancy rates and the alteration in the use of the space
should usually be anticipated by the engineer, who must design a ventilation system to accommodate
an adequate ventilation rate for high contamination load during remodeling of suites.
Recently, the courts have ruled that a ventilation system in a building is a product. Under strict
liability, the designer, manufacturer, and installer of a defective product are considered liable
regardless of whether their conduct was negligent. This theory emphasizes the product, not any
individual, so that it is often easier for a plaintiff to succeed for a strict liability.