The guide addresses residential buildings specified by ASHRAE Standard 62.2 (ASHRARE 2016b) and was written for the following audience:
- Building owners or tenants who have chosen to build from scratch, together with the designers, a building and / or features of a building and who can select construction materials and activities that will lead to the improvement of CAI or at least not reduce CAI .
- Architects, home designers and builders who can apply the practices recommended by the Guide in the design, construction and renovation stages.
- Developers of multifamily buildings (such as duplexes, row buildings, blocks of flats with one or more floors) as well as other decision-makers who lead the activities of these buildings.
- Energy evaluators of buildings and authorities in charge of determining whether the design elements, the observations regarding the construction, the functional tests and the finished building satisfy the objectives and the applicable CAI requirements.
- Organizations that carry out building evaluation programs or support training courses for such programs.
- Professionals in the interior environment of buildings who seek a broader understanding of the issue of construction of residential buildings in order to better serve the requirements and concerns of customers regarding the CAI in their homes.
- Managers and operators of multifunctional buildings who must understand the implications on the CAI of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (components of a building that heat, cool, ventilate or dehumidify) as well as appropriate operation and maintenance practices.
This Guide presents a wealth of information regarding the design and construction of buildings with a good CAI without making large investments or using untested technologies. Although the Guide is full of information on how to approach moisture design and construction, reduce contaminants and achieve good ventilation, perhaps the most important message for owners and developers is to incorporate CAI from the beginning of the development and design process. Doing so will reduce the effort to more easily and efficiently obtain a good CAI at a low cost or even without additional costs.