Next IAQ Club Forum: Achieving Healthier Buildings with Lower Energy Use and Cost
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
3:30 – 4:45 p.m. Eastern
(Mark your calendars for the December 15 IAQ Club Session! Session: Theory and Practice for Attics and Cathedral Roof Slopes in Cold Climates Moderator: Henri Fennel, HC Fennel Consulting, North Thetford, VT))
How it works:
When you register for an IAQ Club Session, not only will you get access to a video and/or audio presentation* from a past education event, you’ll also be able to attend an informal discussion forum** with the original presenter. You’ll find the forums fun, informative, and personal. Each session encourages lively discussion of the scheduled topic (and sometimes other related issues!) Participants can ask moderators and each other questions about current projects and challenges. Each session ends with a fun, interactive trivia quiz. You might win a MIAQC hoodie or t-shirt!
*Like a book club, it is recommended, but not required, that you watch the video or listen to the audio prior to the discussion forum, as it is not shown during the forum itself.
**IAQ Club forums are held via Zoom.
Cost:
Participation in the IAQ Club is free for members in good standing (dues current) of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, and just $25 for nonmembers. All participants get advance access to the recorded education session, as well as entry into the live, discussion forum for that topic.
About this month’s featured recording: Achieving Healthier Buildings with Lower Energy Use and Cost
(This month’s featured presentation was created in December of 2025 at the annual IAQ & Energy Conference. The recording is 60 minutes in length.)
Indoor air quality (IAQ) technologies that reduce indoor infection risk have varying feasibility challenges, energy costs, and benefits. This presentation provides an overview of ASHRAE 241, available IAQ technologies, and practical approaches to providing equivalent clean airflow in spaces like classrooms, offices, and healthcare waiting rooms. The technology overview will cover energy use, costs, and implementation considerations, with a focus on germicidal ultraviolet air treatment and portable air cleaners, which can provide high levels of equivalent clean air at low energy cost. The practical approaches include a method to assess the relative difficulty of upgrades and actions to improve IAQ in buildings today.
What You’ll Learn:
- Define equivalent clean airflow.
- Describe characteristics and relative costs of different mitigation strategies over the lifetime of equipment.
- Identify possible solutions to achieve healthier buildings that are practical, affordable, effective, and energy efficient.
- Identify actions to take today to improve IAQ in buildings
- Identify future research and development needs and opportunities to realize healthier commercial buildings
Who Should Attend:
- Mechanical engineers and HVAC designers seeking practical guidance on integrating ASHRAE 241 into real-world systems.
- Building owners, facility managers, and operators looking for cost-effective ways to improve indoor air quality while reducing energy use.
- Architects and sustainability consultants aiming to balance health, comfort, and energy goals in building design and retrofits.
- Public health professionals and environmental health officers interested in infection risk reduction strategies through IAQ improvements.
- Energy managers, commissioning agents, and performance contractors who evaluate building upgrades and operational strategies for efficiency and occupant well-being.
- School, commercial, and institutional building administrators responsible for maintaining safe, healthy indoor environments within budget constraints
About the Presenter and November IAQ Club Moderator:
Meghan McNulty, PE, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Atlanta, GA
Meghan McNulty is a Building Systems Engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She researches HVAC and building upgrades that reduce disease transmission, such as germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) air treatment, and their impact on energy use and cost. Meghan has over a decade of experience as a consulting engineer performing energy audits and ventilation assessments. She is a voting member of ASHRAE 62.1 (ventilation & indoor air quality) and 241 (infectious aerosols). Meghan is a licensed professional engineer in Georgia, with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University and a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.
Continuing Education Credits:
| BPI | 1.0 credits - #25271 |
| AIHA/ABIH | Self Report |
| PE - Professional Engineers | Self Report |
| USGBC | Self Report |
| BOC | Self Report |
| CEO | 1.0 credits |
| Home Inspectors - ASHI | 1.0 credits |
| Inspection Cleaning - IICRC | Self Report |
