ASHRAE Standards: Building Better Homes

Name: At Your Service Pros
Telephone: (801) 407-9320
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.9

How the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers sets the standards your home should meet

Video walkthrough coming soon

What is ASHRAE?

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) is the professional organization that sets the standards for HVAC, indoor air quality, and thermal comfort in buildings. For homeowners, ASHRAE standards represent the technical foundation for everything from how much outdoor air your home should have, to what temperature variations are comfortable, to how filters should be rated.

ASHRAE 62.1: Ventilation Standards

ASHRAE Standard 62.1 specifies how much outdoor air (fresh air) buildings need. For a residential home, the standard calls for approximately 15 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of outdoor air per person, plus 0.06 CFM per square foot of floor area. This ensures CO2 levels stay low and indoor air quality stays high. Homes that are too tightly sealed without proper ventilation can develop stale air, odors, and moisture problems. A properly designed HVAC system with ventilation that follows ASHRAE 62.1 maintains healthy indoor air quality.

ASHRAE 55: Thermal Comfort

ASHRAE Standard 55 defines the conditions for thermal comfort — the temperature, humidity, and air movement that make people feel comfortable. It accounts for factors like clothing level, activity level, mean radiant temperature, and air speed. The standard recognizes that comfort is subjective: some people prefer 72°F while others prefer 70°F. A good HVAC system can maintain temperature within 2-3°F throughout the home, which falls within ASHRAE's comfort range for most people.

ASHRAE and air filtration standards

ASHRAE provides the MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) filter rating system that rates how effectively air filters capture particles. ASHRAE Standard 52.2 defines how MERV ratings are calculated. A MERV-13 filter (the recommended minimum for most homes) captures particles in the 0.3-10 micron range with at least 75% efficiency. ASHRAE standards help homeowners choose the right filter for their needs — balancing filtration effectiveness with airflow and energy consumption.

Why ASHRAE standards matter for your home

Building codes across the United States, including Utah's, are based on or reference ASHRAE standards. When a contractor designs your HVAC system following ASHRAE standards, they're ensuring your home will have adequate ventilation, thermal comfort, and air quality. Understanding these standards helps you ask the right questions when hiring a contractor and understand why certain design decisions matter.

At Your Service Pros — Utah's HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Experts