Most business environments can expose workers to indoor air quality risks. Building materials, cleaning products, carpet, scents and fragrances, manufacturing materials, and electronics like copiers and faxes all negatively impact the quality of air that we breathe while working. These indoor pollutants can significantly impact employees with respiratory conditions like asthma, allergies, hay fever, sinusitis, and COPD. Poor indoor air quality also leads to increased absenteeism, potential safety hazards, and decreased productivity. Although OSHA doesn’t currently have indoor air quality standards, it does have standards related to fresh air ventilation and on exposure to specific air contaminants like ozone.
To protect employee’s respiratory health, it is imperative that better air filters are installed in HVAC systems. In the past, air filters were only designed to stop big particulates like dirt, dust, and debris from entering the HVAC system, which cause premature failure. However, in the past couple decades, we’ve become more aware of the dangers of breathing dirty, stale, sick air throughout the day. Air filter manufacturers responded to this by making filters that not only protect the HVAC system from damage due to dust, dirt, and debris, but that will also protect our respiratory systems from airborne contaminants that we’re exposed to all day long. Some of the particulates that can now be removed by higher rated air filters are things like dust mites, dust mite feces, skin flakes, airborne bacteria, fungi, viruses, and chemical pollutants like formaldehyde.
The CDC recommends that air filters rated MERV 13 and above are used, where possible, to provide superior equipment and respiratory health protection. MERV 13 filters can be added to most types of HVAC systems including roof top units, split systems, and even wall mounted units. With the improved rate of filtration, it is necessary that the air filters are also changed more frequently to ensure HVAC system efficiency, performance, and comfort.
Recently, many HVAC organizations like ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) have made recommendations specifically related to the SARS-COV-2 virus. One of the recommendations that is consistent with most of the organizations is that ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) be used to help combat the virus in both airborne and surface applications. There are UVGI systems that can be easily added to commercial HVAC systems typically found on businesses like roof top units, split systems, chillers, wall mount units, and even ductless units. HVAC systems create the perfect breeding ground for organic growth. In the units, it is usually cold, dark, and damp. The UVGI systems use high output ultraviolet light to prevent organic growth in the HVAC system. So, in addition to protecting employees from airborne viruses, UVGI is excellent at destroying many other microbes like bacteria, mold, and fungi that are commonly found in the air inside businesses inside HVAC systems.
When we have high density of occupants in a small indoor space carbon dioxide can build up when there isn’t adequate fresh air ventilation. When we are in areas with poor ventilation, we can be exposed to more carbon dioxide than our bodies can handle causing symptoms of dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, and headaches.
Introducing fresh air into a business is great for cleaning the air by diluting the indoor polluted air with fresh outdoor air. A fresh air ventilation system helps protect occupants against airborne contaminants. It is also a code requirement in most jurisdictions across the United States. Code requirements can be achieved by using mechanical ventilation systems like energy recovery ventilators, heat recovery ventilators, and positive pressure system. These ventilation systems can be added to or work in conjunction roof top units, split systems, wall mounted units and even ductless units. A fresh air ventilation system will also help businesses meet OSHA standards by removing harmful contaminants that employees can be exposed to throughout the day. OSHA conducted over 500 indoor air quality investigations in the last decade and found that 52% of the time, inadequate ventilation was the primary source for indoor air quality problems. 1
In most businesses, adding humidity to the air isn’t always necessary due to all the sources in a business that add moisture to the air like people breathing, perspiration, plants, etc. It is sometimes necessary to remove excess moisture from the air using a dehumidifier. Having an indoor space with too high a level of humidity creates an environment where bacteria and viruses can reproduce rapidly, where dust mites thrive, and where asthma and allergy sufferers really struggle.
A commercial dehumidifier is used in conjunction with roof top HVAC units, split systems, and wall mount units to significantly decrease the amount of moisture found in the air. Some of these commercial dehumidifiers can also be used in a stand-alone option. Another common method of removing moisture found in a business environment is to dilute humid indoor air with drier outside air.
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