International standards for the indoor environment. Where are we and do they apply to Asian countries?

On the international level, ISO (International Organization for Standardization), CEN (EuropeanCommittee for Standardization) and ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers) are writing and reviewing standards relating to the indoor environment on aregular basis. This presentation will focus on the development of standards for the indoor thermalenvironment and indoor air quality (ventilation).In the future, recommendations for acceptable indoor environments will be specified as classes.This allows for national differences in the requirements as well as for designing buildings fordifferent quality levels. Several of these standards have been developed mainly by experts fromEurope, North America and Japan. Are there, however, special considerations relating to South-EastAsia (lifestyle, outdoor climate, economy) that are not dealt with in these standards and that willrequire the revision of existing standards? Critical issues are adaptation, the effect of increased airvelocity, humidity, type of indoor pollutant sources, etc.The paper will present an overview of existing methods and discuss areas where revision ofpresent standards or the development of new standards are needed, relating especially toconditions in Asia.