HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC
HVAC HVAC IN THE TIME OF COVID O
ver the past 30-plus years, my family and close friends have sometimes struggled to understand what exactly my company does. More recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic on everyone’s mind, they have looked at me a little quizzically and perhaps even hopefully and said, “You can help with this, right?” Many are wondering whether the realm of high performance mechanical systems and energy efficient, airtight, properly ventilated homes could somehow be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. The short, and responsible answers are “No,” “Not really,” or at least “Not directly.” The definitive and unequivocal advice from health professionals to physical distance, handwash properly, self-isolate and to avoid touching one’s face follows the science of the spread of viruses, which is an intimate and localized process.
Perhaps, not surprisingly, IAQ professionals have been applying a number of strategies to the much wider range of all potential pollutants in both residential and commercial spaces for years. There are four clear strategies for improving and controlling indoor air quality, which can also be effective when considering the impact of viruses, and they should always be applied in proper order.
These are all significantly more important than imagining that when you sneeze, contaminated droplets would be immediately whisked away by the return air of an HVAC system and scrubbed by a HEPA filter or sterilized by a UV light rather than entering the breathing zone of your loved ones.
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REMOVE potential pollutant sources. Requiring people to physically distance or to ensure potentially affected people stay home would be an example of this strategy in commercial and institutional situations.
There are indoor air quality strategies and environmental factors that researchers have found reduce the risk of exposure and can affect both the viability or “infectivity” of airborne viruses and the strength of our own defense systems, however.
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ISOLATE pollutants from susceptible occupants. In a residential setting, this could mean creating a safe room or space for an elderly family member.
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Properly VENTILATE occupied spaces.
Professional HVAC contractors have an important part to play in providing ever safer, healthier, more comfortable environments both for the current compelling pandemic conditions and for the long term; after we wash our hands, clean surfaces and practice physical distancing when out in public, of course.
Gord Cooke
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REMOVE, ISOLATE, VENTILATE AND FILTER
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Provide appropriate FILTRATION.
Gord is a professional engineer who has spent 20 years helping builders and HVAC contractors implement innovative technologies into high-performance homes. He has particular expertise in IAQ and airflow management in houses, and can be contacted at gcooke@airsolutions.ca.
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