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May be the only legal option
Interior smoking is not allowed in many building types, and for those projects, this prerequisite should be easy and not add costs. It may even be the only legal option. To comply, you may need to establish a nonsmoking policy in and around the building (including entrances and balconies), and install appropriate signage.
If smoking is allowed, stringent measures needed
Multifamily residences and hotels may feel compelled to allow smoking in some or all units, and some projects, like airports, have designated smoking rooms. In these cases, stringent measures will be needed to stop movement of smoke from smoking to nonsmoking areas. These measures include air barriers between units, negative air pressure in smoking areas, separate exhaust systems, and blower-door testing...
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15 Comments
Good day! My project is
Good day!
My project is residential, pre-certified in Core & Shell. In our project will be no smoking in common areas of the building. Being allowed to smoke only in a smoking area open to the outdoors, more than 25 feet from any building entrance.
The apartments of the residents are not certified because the certification is only the common areas and within the apartments do not have the owner to prohibit smoking.
So my question is:
I need to do the blower door testA blower door test gives an overall value for airtightness of a space, and can help identify air leaks. The testing unit consists of a calibrated fan that is sealed onto the unit entrance. The fan creates a continuous flow of pressure into the unit (or out of the unit when using theatrical fog to locate leaks). Devices detect the rate of pressure retention and loss due to possible air leaks in the construction. in apartments, or in any other area of my building? Since we have no closed rooms for smokers.
Thank you!
Non-Smoking Signage
Dear all,
We're going for Option 1 of this prerequisite for a very large retail mall.
No smoking will be allowed indoors, and we will provide "NO SMOKING" signs internally.
Any thoughts on the required number of signs per floor and in the parking?
Or should the Architect decide on the optimum number?
Thanks!
ETS - Testing
Hello,
we are currently working on a project and the owner intends to include several smoking rooms for the project.
Will the team be required to conduct blower-door-testing for each and every smoking room or will it be sufficient to perform one exemplary test?
It would be great if you could give me your opinion on this issue.
Many Thanks!
Oliver, I believe that each room needs to be tested—better quality control in terms of construction practices.
Combine smoking room exhaust with restroom exhaust
Sometimes it seams to be easier to combine the air duct system of the exhaust system of a restroom to that of a smoking room. In my oppinion there is no problem to match the requirement on the ventilation, if the system exhausts directly to outdoors.
I hope I'm right.
Hello,
as my question above is not answered yet, I have an additional Question.
Within a CS-Project the owner is not willing to provide public smoking rooms. Furthermore there is no possibility to provide onsite outdoor smoking areas at a suitable position (25 ft). Some of the tenants decided to build their own smoking rooms some didn’t.
Is there a responsibility for building owners to provide designated smoking areas onsite in CS-Projects?
Thank you for your answers.
Ralf
Ralf, based on the credit requirements it seems that if the exhaust from the smoking room meets the required pressure, it's okay to combined the exhaust with other rooms.
For your other question, building owners must either prohibit smoking, or if smoking will be allowed in designated places, the requirements outlined in the credit language must be followed, even if it's the tenant that builds the room. Make sense?
Thanks Tristan. In my oppinion that makes sense.
Minimum distance between smoking room exhaust and windows
Hello,
Under option 2 of this credit, the LEED Guidance states that: "At a minimum, the smoking room must be directly exhausted to the outdoors, away from air intakes and building entry paths , with no recirculation of ETSEnvironmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or secondhand smoke, consists of airborne particles emitted from the burning end of cigarettes, pipes, and cigars, and is exhaled by smokers. These particles contain about 4,000 compounds, up to 50 of which are known to cause cancer. contaning air to non smoking areas".
However the guidance does not specify the min distance required between the air intakes and the exhaust. Should we assume it's 25 feet (just like min distance between on-property smoking and air intakes/windows). What if the exhausted air is well filtered before exiting the building ?
Many thanks,
I would assume it's at least 25 feet, but if you want it to be closer, perhaps you could make a case for it in some fashion. I think this would be difficult, though.
High Residential Options
I am working on a high rise building with 22 stories. Is that eligible for choosing: Option 1- All Project - No Smoking in Buiding? Thanks.
Yes, definitely. Make sure to provide plenty of signage to prevent smoking in the building and near entrances, including any balconies.
Thanks Mr.Roberts. ...
I am sorry to say the building type, it is a residential project with individuale family unit in each floor. What about that?
You can earn the credit this way, just make sure that smoking is truly prohibited and that occupants will clearly understand that they can't smoke in their individual units.
Thanks Tristan. That makes sense.
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