Most relevant aspects of the CTE HS3 ventilation regulations, RITE 2007
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The Technical Building Code (CTE HS3), is the regulatory framework that establishes and develops the basic requirements for the quality of buildings and their installations, ensuring that the basic requirements for construction established in the Building Regulation Law are met. These basic requirements can be complemented with other technical regulations such as the Regulation on Thermal Installations in Buildings (RITE). This arises from the need to transpose the European Directive 2009/91 CE on energy efficiency in buildings at the national level. Its scope of application covers all thermal installations in new buildings and thermal installations that are remodeled in existing buildings, including heating, cooling, and ventilation.
The CTE in its Basic Document HS 3. (Health - Quality of Outdoor Air), defines the types of buildings in which the CTE HS must be applied to meet its specifications regarding indoor air quality, and in which it is considered that the conditions established in the RITE must be met.
Types of buildings where compliance with the specifications of CTE HS3 is mandatory:
- Residences
- Waste storage
- Garages
- Elevated and surface parking lots
Types of buildings where the requirements of RITE 2007 must be met:
- Office buildings
- Administrative buildings
- Industrial buildings
- Educational centers
- Libraries
- Auditoriums
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Commercial use buildings
- Changing rooms, gyms, and sports centers
- Airports, train stations, and other buildings related to transport infrastructures
- Laboratories
- Museums
- Cinemas and theaters
- Restaurants and cafes
- Laundries
- IDA 1
- Quality: optimal
- Applications: hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and nurseries
- IDA 2
- Quality: good
- Applications: offices, residences, reading rooms, museums, classrooms, and swimming pools
- IDA 3
- Quality: average
- Applications: commercial buildings, cinemas, theaters, auditoriums, hotel rooms, restaurants, cafes, gyms, sports venues, and computer rooms
- IDA 4
- Quality: low
- Applications: not applicable for buildings of habitual use
The CTE HS 3, in its Basic Health Document regarding indoor air quality, defines the basic requirements that must be met in residences in terms of air renewal systems and flows: "residences must have a general ventilation system that can be hybrid or mechanical". This ventilation system must adequately eliminate the contaminating elements that are produced regularly during the use of the residence. From this premise, the minimum air renewal flow (l/s) is defined for each of the rooms: bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, toilets, bathrooms, kitchens, storage rooms, as well as for spaces: garages, parking lots, and waste storage. In rooms, this flow is defined per occupant, while in kitchens, storage rooms, and storage rooms, it is calculated per unit area (m2). In parking lots and garages, the flow is related to the number of parking spaces. It is noteworthy that all this data reflects the minimum energy efficiency levels required for the air renewal system applied in each installation, which does not prevent manufacturers from providing increasingly efficient systems that provide ventilation flows above those required.
As can be seen when comparing the two processes used by the CTE and the RITE to define the requirements regarding the renewal of indoor air, it is observed that the latter is more exhaustive since it classifies air based on the use of the space to be ventilated, and from there defines the necessary minimum flows. This does not prevent compliance with the requirements of the CTE in residences and the other types indicated initially, as specified in the introduction to section 3 of the Basic Document HS- "Health".
In parallel to these ventilation systems, alternative systems such as purifiers or ionizers are being developed. These systems emerged in the United States due to issues created in large centralized duct systems, which over time become hotbeds of bacteria, dust particles, mites, and mold. The removal of these suspended particles can be achieved by accumulating electrical charges or through complex air filtration systems. In any case, this issue points to the need to avoid accumulating many meters of ventilation ducts in the design of these installations. This requires the study of each ventilation project to adjust the design to the best possible configuration while respecting the required flows.
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