30 Systems and Equipment

Table 5-A – Air Intake Minimum Separation Distance

This is a reproduction of Table 5.5.1 from ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016
MINIMUM DISTANCE
SOURCE
ft m
Class 2 air exhaust/relief outlet (Note 1) 10 3
Class 3 air exhaust/relief outlet (Note 1) 15 5
Class 4 exhaust/relief outlet (Note 2) 30 10
Plumbing vents terminating less than 3 ft (1 m) above the level of the outdoor intake 10 3
Plumbing vents terminating at least 3 ft (1 m) above the level of the outdoor intake 3 1
Vents, chimneys and flues from combustion appliances and equipment (Note 3) 15 5
Garage entry, automobile loading area, or drive-in queue 15 5
Truck loading area or dock, bus parking/idling area 25 7.5
Driveway, street or parking place 5 1.5
Thoroughfare with high traffic volume 25 7.5
Roof, landscaped grade, or other surface directly below intake (Note 7) 1 0.30
Garbage storage/pick-up area, dumpsters 15 5
Cooling tower intake or basin 15 5
Cooling tower exhaust 25 7.5
Selected notes to the table (see standard for all notes):
Note 1 of the table clarifies that this separation requirement applies only when the outlet is from a different system
than the intake. This is because 5.15, Air Classification and Recirculation, allows Class 2 and 3 air to be recirculated
within the space of origin.
Note 2 exempts laboratory fume hood exhaust air outlets from this clearance requirement provided that they comply
with separation criteria in NFPA 45, Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals and ANSI/AIHA
Z9.5 Standard for Laboratory Ventilation.
Note 3 allows for shorter separation distances are permitted when determined in accordance with other codes related
to combustion equipment. For more information, the designer can generally consult the manufacturer of the
combustion equipment, who should be well versed in the ratings and approvals of their products.
Note 6 discusses the surface of snow accumulated below the air intake constitutes the surface from which the
clearance is measured. The snow surface is the expected average snow depth. Expected average snow depths are
not normally published. Building codes often give ground snow load (Pg) in lb/ft2, but this number is not applicable for
two reasons: it is a maximum design number for structural purposes and not an average; it is given in area density of
snow, again for structural purposes, and not in depth. For sophisticated methods of predicting estimated snow depth,
consult the work done by the U. S. National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of
Reclamation (Super, A.B. and E.W. Holroyd “Snow Accumulation Algorithm for the WSR-88D Radar: Final Report”
Bureau of Reclamation Report R-98-05 (Denver, CO, July 1998) and/or the Hydro-Meteorological Prediction Center.
The National Climatic Data Center lists mean snow depths for a number of U.S. locations by day of the year, with
summary by month. Visit www.5.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20-02/ and access the
NWS_SNOW_MNDPTH_fmt.dat file.

Appendix B requires that the separation distance (L) be determined by one of three methods:
ŀ Table B2-1 of the standard
ŀ Equation B2-1 or B2-2 of the standard (discussed in the following paragraph)
ŀ Any other method approved by the authority having jurisdiction that shows adequate dilution