Requirements of the RITE 2013 in terms of health and air quality

The RITE 2013, like its predecessor (RITE 2007), ensures that the thermal installations of our buildings are designed, calculated, executed, maintained, and used in such a way that they achieve a quality ACS and indoor air that does not jeopardize the health of the occupants. Likewise, compliance helps improve the air in our environment and preserve the ecosystem.

Indoor air quality (IDA)

The regulation establishes that thermal installations must contribute to making the indoor air of occupied spaces healthy, eliminating contaminated air produced as a result of its regular use. To achieve this, a minimum flow rate of outdoor ventilation air capable of renewing indoor air by extracting stale air is required.

The RITE classifies indoor air quality into four categories, according to the use of buildings. Below is the classification as it appears in the document:

• IDA 1 (optimal air quality): hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and kindergartens.

• IDA 2 (good air quality): offices, residences (common areas of hotels and similar, nursing homes and student residences), reading rooms, museums, courtrooms, classrooms, and similar and swimming pools.

• IDA 3 (medium air quality): commercial buildings, cinemas, theaters, auditoriums, hotel rooms and similar, restaurants, cafes, bars, party halls, gyms, sports facilities (except swimming pools) and computer rooms.

• IDA 4 (low air quality)

(The acronym IDA refers to the English name "indoor air").

In order to achieve these categories of indoor air, the RITE 2013 sets minimum outdoor air flow rates (dm3/s per person). For IDA 1: 20 dm3/s per person; for IDA 2: 12.5 dm3/s per person; for IDA 3: 8 dm3/s per person; for IDA 4: 5 dm3/s per person.

Outdoor air quality (ODA)

The document classifies outdoor air quality into three levels (it should be noted that the previous regulation, RITE 2007, classified them into five levels). Below is the classification as it appears in the document:

• ODA 1: pure air that only temporarily gets dirty (for example, pollen).

• ODA 2: air with high concentrations of particles and/or pollutants.

• ODA 3: air with very high concentrations of pollutants (ODA 3G) and/or particles (ODA 3P).

(The acronym ODA refers to the English name "outdoor air").

RITE 2013 and energy efficiency

The regulation determines that these thermal installations must ensure minimal energy consumption to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants that cause climate change. For this, efficient systems must be employed that allow recovering part of the energy used during processes (waste energy). Likewise, conventional energies ("those traditional energies, usually commercialized, that are included in the calculation of the Gross Domestic Product of the nation") must be replaced by renewable energies.

Thus, the following requirements must be met:

• Equipment offering maximum performance will be installed, regardless of their operating state.

• Thermal insulation will be provided for the equipment and conduits to prevent load losses.

• Systems will be available that allow regulation and monitoring to adjust energy consumption and control their operation (start and stop functions of the service).

• The installations must have energy recovery devices that enable energy savings.

• The systems will take advantage of available renewable energy sources.