What is the Correct Ventilation Rate in Buildings?
Proper ventilation in buildings is vital to maintaining good air quality. Click here to find out about the correct ventilation rate in buildings.
With organizations returning to the office again, it is critical we fully understand how the disease is transmitted so that we may protect ourselves and work to slow its spread while returning to a “normal” work environment.
According to guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is important to make multiple improvements to building ventilation to reduce the spread of disease and lower the risk of exposure. In addition to these improvements, physical distancing, wearing face masks, hand hygiene, and vaccination should be considered contributing factors in stopping the spread.
It is important we separate fact from fiction when understanding how the virus spreads related to HVAC systems and the measures we can take to avoid infection.
In most cases, reoccupying a building during the COVID-19 pandemic should not require a new building ventilation system. However, ventilation system upgrades or improvements can increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants. Consult an HVAC professional when considering changes to the ventilation system.
Kitchens and break rooms are high-traffic areas in the workplace so ensuring proper ventilation in these areas can help prevent the spread of the virus.
It is best to operate the system even when the building is not occupied because it will help to increase the overall ventilation when the building is occupied in the future.
Indoor ventilation challenges are often inherently unavoidable. This leads to airborne viral particles becoming particularly concentrated. However, ventilation strategies can help reduce indoor viral particle concentration problems. These include introducing outdoor air by opening windows (if weather permits) and ensuring ventilation systems operate properly and providing acceptable indoor air quality for the current occupancy level for each space.
Investigators examined that the fan coil units were just recirculating air inside of a room, not spreading the droplets.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the CDC state that the virus can survive for different lengths of time based on the surface. Rob Tanner, director of marketing of air handling systems at Johnson Controls states that changing the filters regularly and on schedule, while understanding how these systems operate is important.
There is no definite evidence that the virus has been transmitted through an HVAC system or that the HVAC system is highly contaminated. However, improving a building’s ventilation can help reduce the spread of the disease and lower the risk of exposure.
What we know about how COVID-19 spreads is constantly developing, and as a result, public health guidance will continue to evolve. In the meantime, it is important to follow valid resources that include the World Health Organization and the CDC when researching COVID-19.
Proper ventilation in buildings is vital to maintaining good air quality. Click here to find out about the correct ventilation rate in buildings.
The founder of Harvard University’s Health Buildings Program, Joseph Allen, appeared on 60 minutes with Dr. Jonathan LaPook to discuss the importance of indoor air quality. Also covered are some of the technologies currently available that can be used to help prevent the spread the transmission of airborne disease as well as some of the missteps during the pandemic. An innovative patented compressive heating system, SteriSpace, is currently the only technology capable of achieving air sterilization and setting the new standard of care in indoor air quality is a perfect solution for creating healthy buildings.
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