MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - ACMV SYSTEMS
LIVING WITH COVID-19 THROUGH
ENGINEERING STRATEGIES by Chong Wai Yen, Managing Director, Commercial HVAC, Carrier Singapore Air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems can play an important role.
Mr Chong Wai Yen
Healthcare professionals and scientists are on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19. During these crucial times, what can other professionals, including engineers, do?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US has made similar findings, and says that employers can decrease the spread of COVID-19 by maintaining a healthy work environment.
Fortunately, building owners, engineers and facility managers can respond effectively to these challenges. By reimagining buildings as barriers to contamination, we can work together to enhance the built environment in ways that will have a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of occupants and visitors.
“Consider improving the engineering controls using the building ventilation system”, the CDC suggests. These improvements may include increased ventilation rates and increased percentage of outdoor air circulating through the system [2].
Optimising HVAC systems to combat COVID-19 Buildings have become a first line of defence in reducing the transmission of an unseen but lethal viral threat. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems play a critical role in this defence. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) says that “ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air” [1].
Building owners and engineers have the opportunity to optimise the HVAC systems through the adoption of specific air filtration solutions to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission.
The concept of Healthy Buildings Well before the outbreak of COVID-19, the Healthy Building Movement had begun, to measure and improve air quality in the built environment, in order to improve productivity and health. Creating a healthy building through HVAC systems and engineering controls is a key component of combatting
Figure 1: Minimising risks in the workplace. From ‘What Makes an Office Building ‘Healthy’’, by Allen J G & Macomber J D (April 2020), Harvard Business Review. THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER September 2021
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