There are members of the ASHRAE Philippines Chapter that are

involved in key undertakings, initiated by the Professional Regula-

tory Commission (PRC), thru the Board of Mechanical Engineering

headed by Engr Leandro Conti as Chairman of the Board and Engr

Joli Borja, namely: Design Guidelines for Hospitals and Healthcare

Facility Planning, and; Career Progression and Specialization Pro-

gram for Heating, Ventilating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration

(HVAC&R).

Design Guidelines for Hospitals. Officially started last Septem-

ber 7, 2020, the committee on this undertaking includes a technical

working group (TWG) on HVAC&R involving: Engr Joli Borja

(Chairman); Engr Emmanuel Punsalan (Vice Chairman); Engr Ra-

mon Aguilos; Engr Dennis Alejandro; Engr. Edwin Raganit; Engr

Jaime Jay Cruz; Engr Vic Vosotros; and, Engr. Rudy Gaspillo. This

TWG is addressing the need to introduce guidelines and standards

for Hospital and Healthcare facility planning and design, especially

on the control of the spread of viruses and other contaminants.

Continued on page 5

ASHRAE Members At Work

On Hospital Standards and HVAC & R

Specialization for the Philippines

Emmanuel C. Punsalan, PME

ASHRAE Philippine Chapter 2019-20

Honor Roll Recognition and Special

Citation

Every chapter’s performance is measured by Ashrae society in

terms of Presidential Award of Excellence (PAOE) points, at the

end of every fiscal year (June 30th). Each year, the amount of

PAOE points assigned for each initiative or activity is determined

by the Society President according to his specific goal, or what he

wants to champion during his term. Each essential chapter com-

mittee or category is assigned with PAOE Minimum Points and

PAR Points.

If minimum assigned PAOE points are achieved in at least 6 cate-

gories, the chapter achieves PAOE level and if the chapter does it

in at least 4 consecutive years, the chapter gets the Honor Roll

recognition. Apart from this, a special citation is also given to a

chapter who have achieved a minimum of 5800 points in at least 6

categories

Newsletter Date Sep 30, 2020 Volume 2, Issue 3

Newsletter

Chapter Board of Trustees and

Officers for Fiscal Year

2020-2021

Chapter President & Delegate Rico T Mercado

Chapter Administrator Rico T Mercado

Chapter Vice President Alejo P Manaloto

Chapter President-Elect & Alternate

Rodel G Simbillo Chapter Secretary

Isagani G Brugada Chapter Asst Secretary

Jean Leilani Grace N Clemente Chapter Treasurer

Dr Mark Christian E Manuel Chapter Auditing Committee

Isagani G Brugada

Chapter Publicity Chair Marygold A San Pedro

K-12/STEM Chair Dr Manuel C Belino

Chapter Sustainability Chair Giovanni P Mendoza

Chapter Sustainability Co-Chair Roger Tiguelo

Chapter Newsletter Editor Emelito C Punsalan

Chapter Communication Chair Ma. Lourdes Martinquilla

Chapter Webmaster Chair Bethanie Joy DG Aguilar

Chapter Honors and Awards Dominador DG Castro Jr

Chapter Regional Conference Committee

Benedicto S Buenaventura Chapter Historian

Jim L Bata Chapter Refrigeration Chair

Arnoldo B Cabuay Chapter Refrigeration Chair

(Davao) Jessve D Daypuyart

Chapter YEA Chair Dr Mark Christian E Manuel

Chapter YEA Co-Chair Luis Angelo Sevilla

Student Activities Chair Efren G Dela Cruz

Chapter Research Promotion Chair Mario Aldrin M Salubayba

Chapter Membership Promotion Chair

Jaime Jajay E Cruz Chapter Technology Transfer Chair

Danilo M Kalingasan

Chapter Government Affairs Chair Cesar Luis DL Lim

Chapter Government Affairs Co-Chair

Rodel G Simbillo Immediate Past President

Giovanni P Mendoza

Chapter Board of Governors Giovanni P Mendoza

Dennis L Alejandro Jim L Bata

Emmanuel C Punsalan Dominador DG Castro, Jr

Rosendo C Perez Jaime Jajay E Cruz

Cesar Luis DL Lim Charlie B Borbe

By Giovanni Mendoza

ASHRAE Philippines Chapter Immediate Past President

Engr Leandro A Conti, PME

Chairman of the Board

Mechanical Engineering, PRC

Engr Jerico T Borja, PME

Board Member

Mechanical Engineering, PRC

Honor Roll...from Page 1

Once more, the Philippines

Chapter got the Honor Roll

recognition and special citation

from the society for the imme-

diate past fiscal year of 2019-

20. In our chapter’s 21 years of

existence, this is the third time

we got this recognition. We

got it before in 2007-08 and

2009-20 fiscal year.

In addition, it is also the fifth

time we got a special citation in

our chapter’s history, aside

from the other recognitions

collectively achieved by the

chapter leadership, officers and

volunteers and are eventually

posted in our chapter banner.

The years of good performance

by the chapter are validated by

these citations and recogni-

tions, a testament to the chap-

ter volunteers’ commitment

and hard work to be of better

service to our community and

members. This visual reminder

encourages us to keep up the

good work and reach greater

heights.

Let us congratulate each other

for our Chapter’s continued

success!

Building Energy Quotient Program in the Philippines

buildings.

The Chapter takes pride in

taking part in the audit of the

first BEQ project in the Philip-

pines and in Asia!

The following year, 2015, saw

the opportunity to audit and

label a hotel: New World Ho-

tel. Again, thru Ross Montgom-

ery, members of the Chapter

were able to experience the

process of working with BEQ.

The result: New World Hotel

received a BEQ grade of “B”,

considered “Efficient” in energy

consumption for a building “In

Operation.”

With these two experiences, it is

clear that BEQ has the potential

and future in helping the building

industry, especially existing build-

ings and their facility managers,

identify energy efficiency oppor-

tunities and potential, long-term

building operation savings.

The introduction of the Build-

ing Energy Quotient (BEQ) of

ASHRAE in the Philippines

began sometime in 2014, thru

DL Ross Montgomery, PE, who

was also, the Chair for BEQ.

During his visit in the Philip-

pines with lectures on BEQ and

Energy Audit, the opportunity

was taken to make the KPMG building along Ayala Avenue in

Makati City, the first case for

energy labelling.

With members from ASHRAE

Philippines Chapter and the

Philippine Green Building Initia-

tive (PGBI), Level 1 energy

audit was conducted with an

ocular survey of KPMG build-

ing. The process was smooth

and simple enough with Ross

Montgomery completing the

required templates of BEQ.

And the result was a grade of

“C”, or “Average” for the ex-

isting building “in Operation”,

one of the landmark buildings

of Makati City which has un-

dergone some retrofit in the

early 2000s. Considering, the

grade puts the building “at par”

with the baseline EUI for office

Page 2 Newsletter

DL Ross Montgomery, PE

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 3

Facilities/Maintenance—PPE

Basics

• Refer to CDC Guidance on

PPE use, especially banners

at bottom of webpage

• N95 filtering facepiece res-

pirators −Protects the

wearer from respiratory

droplets AND aerosols.

−Can be an effective tool

for worker protection with

proper use. −Require fit

testing and a medical clear-

ance to wear for work.

−Tested for efficiency

against 0.3 micrometer

airborne particles.

−Certified to filter at least

95% of these particles.

−Generally disposed of after

each use, but pandemic has

resulted in limited supplies.

CDC issued Strategies to

Optimize the Supply of PPE

• Silicone half mask respira-

tors with N95 cartridges

(or better) can be used

instead of filtering facepiece

respirators.

• Eye Protection −Safety

glasses (side shields pre-

ferred) −Goggles −Face

shields

• Disposable Gloves −Can be

vinyl, rubber or nitrile

−Double gloves reduces

likelihood of cuts/punctures

−Can be worn under work

gloves if necessary

• Disposable coveralls, gowns

and/or shoe covers can be worn to enhance overall

protection.

• After maintenance activities,

wash hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-

based hand sanitizer.

Change clothes if soiled

HVAC System Maintenance

and Filter Replacement dur-

ing the COVID-19 Pandemic

• For HVAC systems sus-

pected to be contaminated

with SARS-CoV-2, it is not

necessary to suspend

HVAC system maintenance,

including filter changes, but

additional safety precau-

tions are warranted.

• The risks associated with

handling filters contaminat-

ed with coronaviruses in

ventilation systems under

field-use conditions have

not been evaluated.

• Workers performing

maintenance and/or replac-ing filters on any ventilation

system with the potential

for viral contamination

should wear appropriate

personal protective equip-

ment (PPE): −A properly-

fitted respirator (N95 or

higher) −Eye protection

(safety glasses, goggles or

face shield) −Disposable

gloves

• Consider letting the filter

load up further than usual

to reduce frequency of

filter changes. −Don’t let

pressure drop increase

enough to disrupt room

pressure differentials.

−Confirm filters remain

snug in their frames.

• When feasible, filters can

be disinfected with a 10%

bleach solution or another

appropriate disinfectant,

approved for use against

SARS-CoV-2, before re-

moval. Filters (disinfected

or not) can be bagged and

disposed of in regular trash.

• When maintenance tasks

are completed, mainte-

nance personnel should

immediately wash their

hands with soap and water

or use an alcohol-based

hand sanitizer.

Modes of Transmission

• SARS-CoV-2, the virus that

causes COVID-19, is

thought to spread mainly

from person-to-person

through respiratory drop-

lets.

• Infectious respiratory drop-

lets are produced when an

infected person coughs or

sneezes.

- Droplets can land in the

mouths or noses of nearby

people.

- Droplets can land on

surfaces and be spread

through contact with con-

taminated surfaces.

- When in close contact

with an infected person,

droplets can be inhaled into

the lungs.

• Airborne transmission in

some circumstances seems

probable. See ASHRAE

Statements on Airborne

Transmission

• The SARS-CoV-2 virus may

be aerosolized by flushing

the toilet.

Airborne Transmission

ASHRAE Statement on airborne

Page 4 Newsletter Date Sep 30, 2020

transmission of SARS-CoV-2:

• Transmission of SARS-CoV

-2 through the air is suffi-

ciently likely that airborne

exposure to the virus

should be controlled.

Changes to building opera-

tions, including the opera-

tion of HVAC systems can

reduce airborne exposures.

ASHRAE Statement on opera-

tion of heating, ventilating and

air-conditioning systems to re-

duce SARS-CoV-2 transmission:

• Ventilation and filtration

provided by heating, venti-

lating and air-conditioning

systems can reduce the

airborne concentration of

SARS-CoV-2 and thus the

risk of transmission

through the air. Uncondi-

tioned spaces can cause

thermal stress to people

that may be directly life

threatening and that may

also lower resistance to

infection. In general, disa-

bling of heating, ventilating

and airconditioning systems

is not a recommended

measure to reduce the

transmission of the virus.

Transmission Through Air

in Toilet Rooms

Studies have shown that toilets

can be a risk of generating air-

borne droplets and droplet

residues that could contribute

to transmission of pathogens.

• Keep toilet room doors

closed, even when not in

use. • Put the toilet seat lid

down, if there is one, before

flushing.

• Vent separately where possi-

ble (e.g. turn exhaust fan on

if vented directly outdoors

and run fan continuously).

• Keep bathroom windows

closed if open windows

could lead to reentrainment

of air into other parts of the

building.

Mechanical Air Filters

• Consist of media with po-

rous structures of fibers or

stretched membrane materi-

al to remove particles from

airstreams.

• Some filters have a static

electrical charge applied to

the media to increase parti-

cle removal.

• The fraction of particles

removed from air passing

through a filter is termed

“filter efficiency” and is pro-

vided by the Minimum Effi-

ciency Reporting Value

(MERV) under standard con-

ditions.

- MERV ranges from 1 to 16;

higher MERV = higher effi-

ciency

- MERV ≥13 (or ISO ePM1 ))

are efficient at capturing

Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 3

airborne viruses

- MERV 14 (or ISO equiva-

lent) filters are preferred

- High efficiency particulate

air (HEPA) filters are more

efficient than MERV 16 fil-

ters.

• Increased filter efficiency

generally results in increased

pressure drop through the

filter. Ensure HVAC systems

can handle filter upgrades

without negative impacts to

pressure differentials and/or

air flow rates prior to chang-

ing filters.

• Generally, particles with an

aerodynamic diameter

around 0.3 μm are most

penetrating; efficiency in-

creases above and below this

particle size.

• Overall effectiveness of re-

ducing particle concentra-

tions depends on several

factors:

- Filter efficiency

- Airflow rate through the

filter

- Size of the particles

- Location of the filter in the

HVAC system or room air

cleaner

For more information, see the

ASHRAE Position Document on

Filtration and Air Cleaning.

ASHRAE Members...from Page 1

HVAC&R Specialization. This program concerns with the Creation of

Guidelines for the Specialization of HVAC&R. Started last March of this

year, the program is meant to comply with the requirements of Section 2 of

RA 10968, or the “Philippine Qualification Framework (PQF) Act. The pro-

gram is pursuant to the PRC resolution on Guidelines for the creation of a

Career Progression and Specialization Program for the Mechanical Engi-

neers in the field of HVAC&R.

Chapter members involved in this program are: Engr Emmanuel Punsalan

(Lead Convenor); Engr Cesar Lim; Engr Ramon Aguilos; Engr Dennis

Alejandro; Engr Jay Cruz; Engr Dominador Castro, Jr.; Engr Rico Mercado;

Engr Rosendo Perez, Jr and Engr Rodel Simbillo.

Upcoming Activities...

We’re on the Web! example.com

Newsletter Date Sep 30, 2020