Since the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the world, the health industry continues to switch gears and make changes to help lower the spread of the virus. One key area is focusing on improving air quality. And, while air quality in the health industry has always been a top priority, the coronavirus has raised the awareness and importance of cleaner and healthier air. Therefore, hospital improvements for COVID-19 are continuing to be made.
Air Circulation To Improve IAQ
One of the biggest challenges is air circulation in a building. Pushing more cycles of, also known as Air Changes per Hour(ACH), air in a room while introducing outside air into the mix is now seen as the ideal solution for getting cleaner air. In the past, outdoor air was kept outside while indoor air was being filtered. But, because of the coronavirus, outdoor air is being introduced indoors to help dilute the contaminated air inside. This is forcing hospitals and health care facilities to revamp and redesign their HVAC systems to help bring in more outside air. This will help improve the health and air quality of their buildings. And although increased air changes may drive up energy costs, the investment could mean better health for the people inside.
Quality Air Filters To Improve Indoor Air Quality
It has been become more important to install air filters with higher MERV ratings. This is because filters with higher efficiencies can filter out smaller particles and droplets. However, prior to upgrading your air filter, it is important to have full knowledge of your air handler in order to ensure that you are upgrading to an air filter that will not actually decrease efficiency. Other options are upgrading the HVAC systems that use higher efficiency air filters such as HEPA air filters and ULPA Air Filters, or adding air purifiers or negative air machines to contain and filter out contaminants.
UV Lighting For Increasing IAQ
UV lights installed into the airstreams can also help with indoor air quality. The UV-C rays may destroy bacteria as the air passes through. Adding UV lighting for air filtration is designed to eliminate viruses that are in the air stream of the air handler. Advanced Filtration Concepts offers two different tiers of UV lighting solutions:
- Coil Disinfection: Addresses and destroys microbiological biofilm that likes to thrive on the discharge side of the coil.
- Airstream Disinfection: Eliminates airborne infectious agents as they travel through the air stream by using high intensity UV lighting.
Learn more about UV lighting by clicking here.
Touchless Systems For COVID-19
Reducing physical contact decreases cross-contamination of surfaces and helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases. This has led to an increase of touchless systems. These may include motion sensor doors, water faucets, soap dispensers, sanitizer dispensers, and temperature checkers.
More Space For Hospital Improvements
Social distancing can help lower the spread of COVID-19 and has become a common theme in how businesses operate day-to-day. Creating more space and putting up see-thru plastic barriers are slowly becoming the norm. It’s also important for hospitals to have enough space for patient overflow as well as being able to convert rooms into negative air pressure rooms by using high quality HEPA filters.
Hospital Improvements For COVID-19
The affects COVID-19 had on the world thus far goes further than causing people to be sick. It has also had a major impact on the labor force and supply chains, causing a major strain in our economy. But, it has given us the opportunity to look into alternatives and improvements on the current systems we have in place. Improving indoor air quality is something Advanced Filtration Concepts is here to help you with. It’s important for Hospitals and other public buildings to improve their indoor air quality to fight the spread of viruses. Of course, you can contact us for any information you may need. We are experts in the industrial and commercial HVAC industry and provide turnkey solutions for all your air filtration needs.
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