When it comes to the air quality we breathe indoors, few of us know how to truly appreciate the optimal parameters in which it should fall. In fact, few of us ask ourselves questions such as:
- How often should I open the window and air out an indoor space?
- At what point does the level of CO2 become too high to know if we are safe in a space or not? It seems that, at this moment, we pay the least attention to what clean, purified, disinfected, unadulterated air means or whatever else we might call it when referring to the absence of fungi, viruses, and other airborne pathogens.
- If we also take into account the common Romanian belief “that we get sick if there’s a draft” or “people can catch a cold if they spend time in a draughty place” – then it’s not very clear who or what the “draft” is – the wind, cooler air, or sea breeze … Is it a myth or reality? Ventilating indoor spaces is already becoming a distant goal, so do we really understand the situation regarding this issue?
Here are the realities of the moment. “The moment” clearly refers to the pandemic, COVID-19, and its waves.
- Scientific evidence confirms that aerosols are a major route of SARS-CoV-2 virus contamination that causes COVID-19.
- Avoiding direct contact and maintaining distance remain important but are not enough to avoid contamination.
- Ventilation (or equivalent) for all indoor spaces is important. UV-C is a major tool to increase ventilation rates (equivalent).
- WHO confirms that increasing ventilation rates is a solution to creating safe and healthy indoor environments.
- Air quality is usually managed by ventilation rates, expressed in Air Changes per Hour (ACH).
- Each air change reduces the virus concentration in the air by 63%.
- An equivalent air change occurred when an alternative technology inactivated 63% of the infectious agents in a room: equivalent air changes per hour (eqACH).
- Natural ventilation can reach 1-2 eqACH. Mechanical ventilation usually results in 2-5 eqACH. Equivalent ventilation by UV-C can reach >> 10 eqACH.
- ECDC recommends eqACH 15-20 for use in healthcare environments to disinfect the air and protect vulnerable patients.
- Hong Kong already requires eqACH>6 for restaurants to reopen.
- Ventilation rate requirements are already part of building guidelines; increasing eqACH will reduce the number of airborne pathogens.
- It is well documented that UV-C disinfection reduces the risks of contamination by inactivating viruses and other pathogens.
- We can translate UV-C dose into Equivalent Air Changes per Hour (eqACH) without discomfort and with reduced infrastructure costs.
- For virus air disinfection, eqACH>10 is recommended. Most mechanical ventilation systems cannot achieve this; with UV-C, it is possible!
- This means the ability to increase occupancy, stay time, and reduce common area downtime between users.
- Work towards simple requirements that incorporate space volume, existing ventilation, and localized UV-C solutions.
- Increase energy savings through compliance. Studies show that UV-C could reduce HVAC building energy demand by up to 50% and enable localized solutions.
- In Romania, there are courses that focus on presenting methods of air ventilation in indoor spaces, aimed at engineers and architects.
- For example, WOLF-e ROBOTICS recently presented a module that referred to supplementing ventilation with the help of UV-C light, implementation methods, automation, and practical aspects for proper sizing. By teaching and presenting information from the specially prepared course, our company remains dedicated to the mission of innovating for the improvement of our natural habitat’s health – the built environment!
The conclusions are here, within everyone’s reach! It is important to accept the reality we live in and to accept that life standards are being redefined according to new criteria in the post-COVID-19 era.
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We are Wolf-e Robotics, and every day we work to support our mission of disinfecting the air and surfaces in the places where we work, learn, and spend our time. Through disinfection with intelligent UVC light equipment and mobile robots, we provide the most efficient and environmentally friendly method of inactivating microorganisms on surfaces and in the air. With applicability in the medical, commercial, transportation, education, and corporate sectors.
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