What is ASHRAE and why should I care?

With more than 50,000 members from over 132 nations, ASHRAE is dedicated to building a healthy and sustainable environment for all. 

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers), founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Simply put, ASHRAE is a diverse organization dedicated to advancing the sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to protect and promote a sustainable world. We at IWC are familiar with them because they are an important part of all regulations on water safety in the United States.

ASHRAE Standard 188: is a “standard” which tells us what to do (i.e., development of a risk management process driven ‘water management plan’ (WMP) to manage Legionella and legionellosis).

 This standard is the first (and still only) North American Legionellosis Standard.

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It is the only ANSI-Accredited Standard.

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It serves as the very minimum risk requirements for managing Legionella in building water systems.

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In order to be in compliance with the standard you must have a Water Management Program (WMP).

Legionnaires’ disease is highly preventable. You need consistent, reliable, data to ensure your water safety plan is effective initially.  Over time, ASHRAE Standard 188 and other guideline standards provide substantial direction and information that can be adopted to manage building water systems and devices to manage and control Legionella, reduce the incidence of disease—and, hopefully, to prevent it.

IWC Innovations is proud to acknowledge our Chief Science Officer, Bill Pearson, has been an instrumental part of developing ASHRAE standards that pertain to overall water health.  Bill is currently and ASHRAE Learning Institute instructor for ASHRAE Standard 188.   

For more guidance on ASHRAE 188 and reducing the risk of Legionella, contact us!