Preventive Measures for Ensuring you have Covid-19 Resilient Buildings
S
ince the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, commonly known as Corona Virus, we have been striving to keep the virus away from our system. It’s no surprise that the COVID-19 outbreak is not going to go away overnight. While the health officials are trying to develop a vaccine and contain the outbreak, there are strong evidences that controlling indoor air quality will in turn lead to protecting buildings from COVID-19. Here are Top 4 Preventive Measures for ensuring you have COVID-19 Resilient Buildings: Ventilation controls on normal settings Under normal conditions, a process termed as “Smart Ventilation” is used to adjust the ventilation system for the desired IAQ results. This practice can be quite misleading considering emergency situations like COVID-19 outbreak. Most buildings use Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV) strategy which automatically reduces the outdoor air intake below the normal design rates based on occupancy. However, this may result in higher concentration of virus particles due to reduced airflow. While reducing recirculation of indoor air regardless of the occupancy in emergency situations. Airflow under normal settings help dilute and remove the virus particles from the air which reduces the risk of virus infection. 14
DCV should be temporarily disabled and ventilation systems should to configured to normal settings for COVID-19 prevention to supply as much outdoor air as possible. This can also be done easily with a Building Automation System (BAS). Ozone based disinfectant systems When we hear about Ozone it generally strikes us as a good or a needful gas, the protector of earth blocking harmful radiation from space. While Ozone has it’s uses on space level, it has it’s uses on ground level too. Ozone is said to be one of the most powerful disinfectants with effectiveness of about 50 times more of that of most popular disinfectants like chlorine. Ozone is capable of destroying bacteria and viruses (including COVID-19). There are a few things that one should be aware of when using Ozone Based Disinfectant Systems. Ozone, when directly exposed, may cause shortness of breath or lung pain to a people with a healthy respiratory system. The symptoms may be aggravated for people with conditions like asthma and bronchitis. It is highly recommended that you check if a UVGI system meets the UL 2998 Standard – Environmental Claim Validation Procedure (ECVP) for Zero Ozone Emission. Ozone disinfectants can be used in hotels, workplaces, Spa and beauty salons, etc as a preventive measure.
CR | July/August 2020
Use of suitable air filters Air Filters coupled with Ventilation Systems can further increase the effectiveness of capturing the viral particles. The most efficient air filters are those which have a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13 to 16. HEPA filters are capable of trapping even higher percentage of fine particles. However, filters with highest rating should not be purchased without an HVAC assessment. While capturing the tiny particles, they can restrict the airflow. As mentioned earlier, the airflow should not drop to unacceptable values if the ventilation systems don’t have enough capacity. Buildings should not have air filters that may choke the HVAC system as renewed indoor air won’t help in keeping the viruses and bacteria away. Lastly, COVID-19 has been hindering the operation of all business sector since the beginning of the pandemic but companies have come to realize that remote collaborations has improved the efficiency in business. This has not only helped businesses to operate smoothly but also limited the spread of infections. Construction industry has slowly started adopting innovative solutions and testing new concepts and its effectiveness which in turn may help achieving a permanent benefit for the industry. www.constructionreviewonline.com
