BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards

1
How are Emissions Measured?
2
Air Samples are Drawn from the Test Chamber
3
Air Samples are Drawn from the Test Chamber
4
Emissions is Measured in Concentration
5
Common Ground All Need

• Strong, Standardized Measurement Protocols
  (Open, Scientific, Repeatable, Reproducible,
  Developed with Transparent, Consensus-Based
  Processes with Broad Participation industry,
  government, users, labs, non-gov. organizations,
  etc.)
• Market Understanding and Acceptance (Useful,
  Meaningful, Credible Conformance Standards)
• Level Playing Field with Open Competition
  (Qualified Labs, Manufacturers, and Certifiers)
• Cost Effective Tools (Knowledge for Testing
  Dollar Spent)

AWMA/EPA IEQ Green Building Products Forum
19Jul06
6
Harmonization Concerns

• Unique Office Models Need common office
  environment models to predict impact on building
  IAQ, especially when unique testing is required.
  What is justification for introducing another
  unique model?
• Four Day (96 hr) Testing Not Accepted at 14 days
  (336 hr) If compounds peak and decay to below
  336 hr levels during 96 hrs then ok. No decay
  model is proven to reliably predict from 96 hours
  to 336 hours.

7
Workstation Emissions (hypothetical)
Formaldehyde Concentration
Days After Unpacking
BIFMA International, 2006
8
Workstation Emissions (hypothetical)
OSHA Limit
Formaldehyde Concentration
Days After Unpacking
BIFMA International, 2006
9
Workstation Emissions (hypothetical)
OSHA Limit
Formaldehyde Concentration
LEED-CI Limit
Days After Unpacking
BIFMA International, 2006
10
Workstation Emissions (hypothetical)
OSHA Limit
Formaldehyde Concentration
LEED-CI Limit
CA-1350 Limit
Days After Unpacking
BIFMA International, 2006
11
Workstation Emissions Testing Methods
Formaldehyde Concentration (ppm)
OSHA Limit
Greenguard Test
LEED-CI Limit
Greenguard Model
CA-1350 Limit
CA 1350 Test
Days After Unpacking
1. All Concentrations Shown are Hypothetical. 2.
CA 1350 Requires 10 Days Conditioning
12
BIFMA M7.1 Method

• Builds on all prior work / state-of-the-art
• Evolutionary, not revolutionary(provides
  backward compatibility)
• Utilizes existing methods and guides with details
  specific to furniture
• One test can be used to determine compliance at
  day 7 and day 14

13
Emission Concentration Limits are Based on a
Modeled Room Scenario
room air flow (cfm) workstation area (m2)
air flow rate (cfm) sample area (m2)
Modeled Office Space
Test Chamber
In 2004 there were several conflicting models in
use, (Greenguard, CA 1350, etc.) but the
EPA/ETV protocol did not specify any model at all.
14
A Modeled Space Specifies Furniture Area (A0) and
Airflow (Q0). More Furniture Surface Higher
Concentration More Ventilation Airflow Lower
Concentration The goal is to determine the
worst-case conditions for both parameters in
combination
15
How Much Furniture Represents Worst-Case?
16
How Much Furniture Represents Worst-Case?
17
How Much Furniture Represents Worst-Case?
18
Historical Workstation Typical
1989-1991 State of Washington East Campus
Project Test Workstation
19
Historical Workstation Typical
1995 U.S. EPA Purchase Spec Standard
Workstation Greenguard Panel Based Workstation
is Very Similar
20
Historical Workstation Typical
2000 State of California Purchase Spec Standard
Workstation
21
Most Historical Single Workstation Models
Overstate Panel Surface Area
1,200 ft2 Total Panel Surface Area (200 ft2 per
station)
720 ft2 Total Panel Surface Area (120 ft2 per
station)
22
BIFMA Workstation Analysis

• Randomly selected 31 floor plans from office
  buildings throughout North America
• Analyzed over 5,000 workstations
• Seven major office furniture manufacturers
  participated in the analysis
• Investigated over one half million square feet of
  building area
• Invested over 1,500 person-hours
• Results representative of current practice

23
What do these 31 floor plans look
like?Examples...
24
Example Plan 1
25
Example Plan 1
Open Plan 1 13 Stations 6 x 9 53 high, 54 ft2
Open Plan 2 9 Stations 6 x 5.5 53 high, 33
ft2
Open Plan 4 3 Stations 12 x 6 53 high, 72
ft2
Open Plan 3 67 Stations 6 x 6 53 high, 36
ft2
26
Example Plan 1
Open Plan 6 3 Stations 6 x 8 53 high, 48 ft2
Open Plan 7 2 Stations 6 x 6 41 high, 36 ft2
Open Plan 5 2 Stations 6 x 9 53 high, 54 ft2
Open Plan 8 5 Stations 3.5 x 3.5 53 high,
12.25 ft2
27
Example Plan 1
Private Office 1 3 Stations 125 ft2
Private Office 2 3 Stations Avg. 140 ft2
Private Office 3 2 Stations 280 ft2
28
Example Plan 1
Private Office 4 2 Stations 210 ft2
Private Office 5 2 Stations 350 ft2
29
Example Plan 2
30
Example Plan 3
31
BIFMA Analysis Overview

• Identified All Potential Emitting Surface Area
  for Each Workstation(all panels, work surfaces,
  and storage units)
• Examined Open Plan Workstations Separately from
  Private Offices
• Determined Apportioned Common Office Space as
  Shared Between
• Open Plan Workstations
• Private Offices
• Conference Rooms
• Miscellaneous Adjacent Areas

32
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33
What are the worst-case airflow requirements?
Building Codes and the LEED Standards Require
Compliance with ASHRAE 62.1 Ventilation for
Acceptable Indoor Air Quality Standard.
But ASHRAE 62.1 Changed Significantly in 2004.
34
Consider Two Different Office Buildings, Both
with 1,000 ft2 of Office Floor Area
2 People, Low Density, Big Workstations
35 People, High Density, Small Workstations
35
Office Density
Number of People
People per1,000 ft2
Office Floor Area (ft2) per Person
High Density,Small Workstations
Low Density,Big Workstations
36
Outside (Clean) Air Required in Offices
Airflow (CFM/person) or People
ASHRAE2001
People per1,000 ft2
Office Floor Area (ft2) per Person
High Density,Small Workstations
Low Density,Big Workstations
37
Outside (Clean) Air Required in Offices
ASHRAE2004
Airflow (CFM/person) or People
ASHRAE2001
People per1,000 ft2
Office Floor Area (ft2) per Person
High Density,Small Workstations
Low Density,Big Workstations
38
Outside (Clean) Air Required in Offices
Most Common Open Plan
ASHRAE2004
Airflow (CFM/person) or People
ASHRAE2001
People per1,000 ft2
Office Floor Area (ft2) per Person
High Density,Small Workstations
Low Density,Big Workstations
39
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Open Plan Example
1
40
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Open Plan Example
2
41
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Open Plan Example
3
42
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Open Plan Example
4
43
Outside (Clean) Air Required in Offices
Most Common Private Office
Most Common Open Plan
ASHRAE2004
Airflow (CFM/person) or People
ASHRAE2001
People per1,000 ft2
Office Floor Area (ft2) per Person
High Density,Small Workstations
Low Density,Big Workstations
44
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Private Office
Example 1
45
BIFMA M7.1 Standard Workstation Private Office
Example 2
46
BIFMA M7.1 Test Method

• Includes representative 90th percentile
  worst-case workstations and associated common
  space, with contents
• Incorporates the most comprehensive workstation /
  floor plan analysis for furniture emissions
  modeling ever undertaken
• Provides a common basis of comparison for a wide
  range of office furniture types

47
We Can Get There
By working together on areas of common concern,
we can benefit all stakeholders and improve
IEQ. The issues span competitors, industries,
and organizations, therefore we need a
comprehensive, integrated, cross-disciplinary
effort. The ANSI open, consensus process offers
a well defined and proven forum which can be used
to achieve these goals.
AWMA/EPA IEQ Green Building Products Forum
19Jul06
48
How Do the BIFMA Models Compare?
Given a Maximum Allowable Concentration, The
Maximum Allowable Emission Factor is
Proportional to Ratio of Airflow/Surface Area
49
Open Plan Office Model Comparison
BIFMA 2005
CA 2006
GEI
BIFMA 2003
CA 2000
EPA 1996
WA 1989
Parameters
5.95
12.08
13.27
12.08
12.08
--
8.92
Workstation Footprint and Common Area (m2)
16.3
33.0
32.0
33.0
33.0
25.7
25.5
Modeled Space Volume (m3)
8.8
12.0
15.2
19.5
9.8
15.1
15.0
Modeled Air Flow (cfm)
0.9
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
Modeled Air Flow (ACH)
15.02
21.00
25.60
33.00
16.57
25.70
25.49
Q0, Modeled Air Flow (m3/h)
11.08
20.44
23.88
20.13
20.13
25.33
26.26
Panel Area (m2)
1.36
1.03
1.07
1.64
0.82
1.01
0.97
Airflow / Panel Surface Area
6.10
5.27
6.38
5.57
5.57
6.75
9.40
Work Surface Area (m2)
2.46
3.99
4.01
5.92
2.97
3.81
2.71
Airflow / Work Surface Area
4.57
12.54
10.64
8.59
8.59
8.53
7.20
Storage Area (m2)

3.29
1.67
2.41
3.84
1.93
3.01
3.54
Airflow / Storage Surface Area
21.8
38.2
40.9
34.3
34.3
40.6
42.9
Total - Surface Area (m2)
50
Open Plan Office Model Comparison
BIFMA 2005
CA 2006
GEI
BIFMA 2003
CA 2000
EPA 1996
WA 1989
Parameters
5.95
12.08
13.27
12.08
12.08
--
8.92
Workstation Footprint and Common Area (m2)
16.3
33.0
32.0
33.0
33.0
25.7
25.5
Modeled Space Volume (m3)
8.8
12.0
15.2
19.5
9.8
15.1
15.0
Modeled Air Flow (cfm)
0.9
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
Modeled Air Flow (ACH)
15.02
21.00
25.60
33.00
16.57
25.70
25.49
Q0, Modeled Air Flow (m3/h)
11.08
20.44
23.88
20.13
20.13
25.33
26.26
Panel Area (m2)
1.36
1.03
1.07
1.64
0.82
1.01
0.97
Airflow / Panel Surface Area
6.10
5.27
6.38
5.57
5.57
6.75
9.40
Work Surface Area (m2)
2.46
3.99
4.01
5.92
2.97
3.81
2.71
Airflow / Work Surface Area
4.57
12.54
10.64
8.59
8.59
8.53
7.20
Storage Area (m2)

3.29
1.67
2.41
3.84
1.93
3.01
3.54
Airflow / Storage Surface Area
21.8
38.2
40.9
34.3
34.3
40.6
42.9
Total - Surface Area (m2)
51
Open Plan Office Model Comparison
BIFMA 2005
CA 2006
GEI
BIFMA 2003
CA 2000
EPA 1996
WA 1989
Parameters
5.95
12.08
13.27
12.08
12.08
--
8.92
Workstation Footprint and Common Area (m2)
16.3
33.0
32.0
33.0
33.0
25.7
25.5
Modeled Space Volume (m3)
8.8
12.0
15.2
19.5
9.8
15.1
15.0
Modeled Air Flow (cfm)
0.9
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
Modeled Air Flow (ACH)
15.02
21.00
25.60
33.00
16.57
25.70
25.49
Q0, Modeled Air Flow (m3/h)
11.08
20.44
23.88
20.13
20.13
25.33
26.26
Panel Area (m2)
1.36
1.03
1.07
1.64
0.82
1.01
0.97
Airflow / Panel Surface Area
6.10
5.27
6.38
5.57
5.57
6.75
9.40
Work Surface Area (m2)
2.46
3.99
4.01
5.92
2.97
3.81
2.71
Airflow / Work Surface Area
4.57
12.54
10.64
8.59
8.59
8.53
7.20
Storage Area (m2)

3.29
1.67
2.41
3.84
1.93
3.01
3.54
Airflow / Storage Surface Area
21.8
38.2
40.9
34.3
34.3
40.6
42.9
Total - Surface Area (m2)
52
Open Plan Office Model Comparison
BIFMA 2005
CA 2006
GEI
BIFMA 2003
CA 2000
EPA 1996
WA 1989
Parameters
5.95
12.08
13.27
12.08
12.08
--
8.92
Workstation Footprint and Common Area (m2)
16.3
33.0
32.0
33.0
33.0
25.7
25.5
Modeled Space Volume (m3)
8.8
12.0
15.2
19.5
9.8
15.1
15.0
Modeled Air Flow (cfm)
0.9
0.6
0.8
1.0
0.5
1.0
1.0
Modeled Air Flow (ACH)
15.02
21.00
25.60
33.00
16.57
25.70
25.49
Q0, Modeled Air Flow (m3/h)
11.08
20.44
23.88
20.13
20.13
25.33
26.26
Panel Area (m2)
1.36
1.03
1.07
1.64
0.82
1.01
0.97
Airflow / Panel Surface Area
6.10
5.27
6.38
5.57
5.57
6.75
9.40
Work Surface Area (m2)
2.46
3.99
4.01
5.92
2.97
3.81
2.71
Airflow / Work Surface Area
4.57
12.54
10.64
8.59
8.59
8.53
7.20
Storage Area (m2)

3.29
1.67
2.41
3.84
1.93
3.01
3.54
Airflow / Storage Surface Area
21.8
38.2
40.9
34.3
34.3
40.6
42.9
Total - Surface Area (m2)
53
How Do the BIFMA Models Compare?
Consider Two Real Open Plan Workstations
Formaldehyde
54
Open Plan Office Model Comparison