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I-BEAM provided by the EPA

What is I-BEAM?

The Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) is a guidance tool designed for use by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings. I-BEAM updates and expands EPA's Building Air Quality guidance and is designed to be a comprehensive state-of-the-art guidance for managing IAQ in commercial buildings. I-BEAM contains text, animation/visual, and interactive/calculation components that can be used to perform a number of diverse tasks. With I-BEAM you will be able to:

Improve indoor air quality (IAQ) – within budget
Refine your maintenance program for IAQ
Better manage housekeeping services for IAQ
Conduct an indoor air quality building audit
Train management and staff in indoor air quality
Provide documentation that the building is following IAQ building practices
Reduce liability exposure to indoor air quality complaints
Improve the marketability of the building and rental space

I-BEAM consists of many individual modules which explain different aspects of IAQ including how to manage, operate, and maintain your building for IAQ, and how to insure that your energy efficiency projects are compatible with IAQ. I-BEAM also contains modules that are interactive, allowing you to set up maintenance and housekeeping tasks for IAQ, and to calculate budgetary impacts of IAQ. In other words, I-BEAM creates a way for you to learn how to manage for indoor air quality as an integral part of your daily building management activities. You can use I-BEAM to train management and building personnel on IAQ issues and tasks. You can use I-BEAM as a reference tool for specific issues. You can use I-BEAM to assist in solving problems and responding to complaints. You can use I-BEAM to set up an IAQ management program including maintenance, housekeeping, and renovation, and energy efficiency functions to protect IAQ. Or, you can use the resource links in I-BEAM to search the web for more information.

How does I-BEAM Work?

It is a good idea to explore I-BEAM and become familiar with its features in order to decide how you will use I-BEAM. I-BEAM is set up much like a web page. The center of the main screen contains a graphic presentation of fundamental relationships of building factors that affect IAQ. The hot buttons on the graphic will link to information in I-BEAM that provides a brief explanation of each of these factors. To the left of the graphic you will find menu buttons for all the modules in I-BEAM.

There are three types of modules listed on the left in I-BEAM's main screen.

Visual Reference Modules The Visual Reference module contains pictures of IAQ problems and solutions. Learn about the IAQ issues contained in each picture by clicking on a "hot button" contained on the pictures. You may find explanations in text, or in other visual guides which show air movement flows, or pollutant flows as various elements in the building are changed.
Text Modules and Links Text modules contain text material only, along with links to other parts of I-BEAM for more explanation and information. Click on one of the main menu topics, and a submenu of that topic appears, along with the main page for that subject. You can access the information in one of two ways. The text screen contains a detailed table of contents that will link you directly to the detailed subject matter identified. Or, you can scroll down the text screen for all the text material contained in that module. You can reach the same information using the submenu buttons on the left.
Interactive Sub-menus which are italicized are interactive and cannot be accessed directly through the text screen on the right. Click on one of the interactive submenu buttons and you will be able to revise maintenance and housekeeping schedules, or calculate budgetary impacts of you IAQ program. All of the modules in the IAQ Budget and Accounts module are interactive.

Access to Forms, Glossary of IAQ Terms, and Related Web Sites are on the menu bar in the I-BEAM menu. Also on the I-BEAM menu bar are Resources, which allow the user to access parts of I-BEAM as word processing documents or spreadsheets, as well as access other resources, such as other EPA publications

Integrating IAQ and Energy Efficiency

Why Care About IAQ?

Are your building occupants fully satisfied with the building's air quality? Do some occupants complain that the air is stuffy or stale, that there are unpleasant odors, that the building is making them nauseous, giving them headaches, or responsible for a chronic illness, or that it is simply too hot or too cold? More people and organizations are becoming involved and are promoting IAQ. Whether justified or not, dissatisfaction and complaints reflect poorly on building management and staff, make managing the building more difficult and more costly, increase liability and decrease marketability. Occupants and tenants do care about IAQ, because it affects their health and performance though at present, they do not often vigorously negotiate for it.

Fortunately, almost all indoor air quality problems can be avoided by following the simple basic management practices which you will find in I-BEAM. At what cost? Let I-BEAM help you assess the costs and savings you will experience when following good indoor air quality practices in your building.

Why Integrate IAQ and Energy Efficiency?

A typical commercial building in the United States could decrease utility bills through improved operational and maintenance practices, which may also improve indoor air quality, including thermal comfort. Additional savings are possible by replacement of inefficient lighting and equipment. However, some energy efficiency measures can result in IAQ problems while some IAQ measures have energy impacts. I-BEAM will help you insure that your building provides for energy efficiency without degrading indoor air quality. Further, since I-BEAM contains links to EPA's Energy Star program and other energy tools, you have the opportunity to access energy information and software which helps you estimate the value of energy efficiency investments that are identified in I-BEAM as being compatible with IAQ.

I-BEAM and Your Bottom Line

I-BEAM Helps You Calculate Budgetary Impacts of IAQ

From the Budget and Accounts module, start with your current gross operating budget, capital budget, and revenues. Then, using I-BEAM, add or change maintenance or housekeeping tasks, conduct a building audit and develop a plan to fix problems or replace equipment. Each time you make a change, the budget analysis features in I-BEAM will register the impact of that change on your budget. After reading the evidence presented in I-BEAM, do you think an improved building may improve occupancy, reduce tenant turnover, or potentially improve productivity? Let I-BEAM help you run the numbers.

Who's in Charge of Calculating IAQ Budgets?

I-BEAM puts you in control of all calculations by using data provided by you. There are no hidden default values or complex calculations in I-BEAM, and data entries are simple. I-BEAM will provide you with available information on potential budgetary impacts of IAQ, but you choose the values most appropriate for your building. Perhaps you want to quickly calculate what the budgetary impact would be under different scenarios-- I-BEAM will let you save each scenario for future reference or analysis, and develop reports and presentations for upper management, tenants, or other clients. Whether it is a 10-year general budget for the whole building, or a detailed analysis of the annual HVAC maintenance budget, I-BEAM can help.

Where Can I Get I-BEAM?

For your convenience, you can preview (by selecting and clicking on the hyperlinks below and to the right) I-BEAM Text Modules, I-BEAM Forms and the I-BEAM Visual Reference Module without downloading or installing I-BEAM. However, to use all the features in I-BEAM, including the Budgets and Accounts features, you must have a copy installed (see how to obtain a copy of I-BEAM on CD below) or download I-BEAM directly onto your computer. You can download I-BEAM directly from the web. Two download options have been provided to fit your individual computer or network needs. Go to the Download I-BEAM page for specific computer system requirements and to download I-BEAM.

I-BEAM is also available on CD ROM (EPA 402-C-01-001). To obtain your free CD ROM copy contact the IAQ INFO Clearinghouse at 1-800-438-4318 or via e-mail at iaqinfo@aol.com (be sure to ask for EPA 402-C-01-001).