By Martin Badley, Director of MBMS Ltd
Over many months, there’s been a growing realisation of the importance of better ventilation in workplaces and public venues, particularly regarding the spread of Covid-19.
While the science on this has been very clear for almost a whole year, we’re now gradually seeing more guidance and government regulation which underlines the need for good ventilation indoors. Most recently, this includes the announcement that schools across the country will be given CO2 monitors to check air quality throughout the day, following general guidance that encourages the opening of windows.
As part of your efforts to make your workplace as safe as possible for employees, visitors, colleagues and clients, you’re probably aware of the need to ensure there is good airflow and ventilation, but might not know where to start.
Martin Badley
Why ventilation is key to Covid-security
As an airborne pathogen, Covid-19 is primarily spread through microscopic droplets which are carried on the breath of people who are infected. Studies have shown that these microdroplets can linger in the air for hours indoors, waiting to be inhaled by others sharing the space.
To combat this, it’s crucial that environments have good ventilation to ensure a supply of fresh air and prevent the airborne viral load from increasing to a point where people are likely to be infected.
But while this may be important, few of us really know how ventilation works, what is needed and how risks can be avoided.
At MBMS, we maintain and install heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for a wide range of commercial and residential premises. We’ve been working closely with our clients to keep their systems safe, efficient and operational throughout the pandemic and we’ve become well versed in good ventilation practices.
How ventilation works
It sounds obvious, but the simplest way to ventilate a room is just to open a window. While this can work perfectly well most of the time, there are limitations to how effective this can be: On a cool, breezy day, an open window can quickly fill a small room with fresh air while also letting out air and aerosols which have been exhaled within it. But on a warm, still day, it takes much longer for the air in a room to change.
To encourage the flow of air, you can open windows on either side of a room to help create a current through the environment to whisk away infected microdroplets while they’re airborne.
While this works well in small indoor environments, it’s much harder for larger, busier indoor environments or areas where windows and doors to the outside cannot be opened. For these, a mechanical ventilation system is needed to help the air flow in and out of the space.
Many commercial buildings have heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC), and these can play an important role in keeping environments as safe as possible, but they must be used correctly.
Firstly, there are important limitations to the capability of systems which recirculate, rather than ventilate the air within an indoor environment. While these systems may help disperse microdroplets, they can also spread them around a room, and they do little to prevent the airborne viral load from building, unless they are used in combination with open windows and doors.
Systems which use air purification such as HEPA filters can mitigate this by catching airborne particles, including exhaled droplets, but these too have limitations because the filters aren’t fine enough to filter out the smallest microdroplets which can carry Covid-19.
Instead, systems which connect to an outside air source are far superior, although there is also scientific evidence that systems can be improved with the addition of UV-C ultraviolet light emitters which can destroy the virus while it is airborne.
The importance of good maintenance
With the whole world focused on Covid-19, it’s easy to forget that there are plenty of other nasty germs and illnesses, including other airborne hazards in the environments we use.
With a large number of business premises having been largely unoccupied and empty for much of the last year, it is therefore crucial that any heating, ventilation or air conditioning system is well maintained and cleaned.
Having been designed for environments which are occupied almost every day, HVAC systems are not meant to be switched off for long periods. When they’re dormant, the ducting, pipework, filters and fans quickly become havens for moulds and they also create breeding environments for germs.
It sounds horrible, but when a system that’s been inactive for weeks or months is switched on, it can effectively scatter spores and germs throughout the environment, making people ill – potentially with symptoms very similar to Covid-19.
Even when they’re in regular use, systems should be frequently serviced and cleaned, and if they’re switched off, this should occur even more often.
As the weather turns colder and we all spend more time indoors, we all want to do what we can to prevent another spike in cases or another dreaded lockdown. We also want to protect ourselves and others from becoming unwell.
If your team has returned to the workplace, I would strongly recommend servicing your HVAC systems so you can keep your workforce safe from both Covid-19 and other illnesses.
Scientists and health authorities around the world, including our own, now recognise the importance of ventilation – so let’s make sure we use it to keep Covid at bay.
You can find out more about MBMS and its range of plumbing, heating and electrical services for commercial and residential properties, by visiting: www.mbmsltd.co.uk.
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