We are now more than four months into the COVID-19 pandemic and are beginning to gradually reopen almost all businesses and public spaces with necessary safety restrictions in place. Alliance Engineering would like to stress the importance of building air quality and the relevant heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems improvements as they pertain to COVID-19. We believe that now is the ideal time to have this discussion.
Experts have determined that coronavirus is contagious and spreads primarily through respiratory droplets let out when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes. From this knowledge, we know that if the droplets land on someone, or even surfaces with routine contact like doorknobs, there’s the potential of their inhalation and viral transmission. However, there’s also been new information and concerns surrounding the virus becoming airborne through aerosolization — when smaller droplets evaporate leaving virus particles lingering in the air.
These same expert bodies have acknowledged that airborne transmission of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is possible indoors, especially if spending extended time in crowded and poorly ventilated rooms. Since this threat is sufficient enough to warrant control efforts, we’ll be offering meaningful strategies to improve building air quality including HVAC changes and upgrades, air-purifying options, as well as some more basic approaches. We’ll also look at airflow in more depth to understand how to protect individuals through in-room and inter-room airflow management.
Alliance Engineering recognizes the responsibility we have alongside building operators, managers, and safety experts to provide guidance and work together to make the necessary HVAC changes to the settings, systems, and standards. Please contact us today for more information on HVAC systems and building optimization solutions based on sustainability programs like LEED® and BOMA BEST®.
Please click here to read Part 2: https://www.allianceengineering.ca/industry/hvac-systems-and-covid-19-top-3-improvement-strategies/