Indoor air quality in post-covid buildings

For many years SEQUIL Systems has been an advocate for premium airspace inside buildings. Using guidelines from the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) along with LEED rating systems, SEQUIL has been working with project teams in three ways:

Advise owners in defining proper air quality guidelines
Assist design engineers on implementing these requirements
Guide contractors on installing and testing systems to deliver optimal air quality for building occupants

With the emergence of airborne contaminants from infectious diseases, particularly the COVID-19 virus, our building industry is now working together to establish new guidelines which will help owners define best practices based on science. Recent industry guidance focuses on these elements:

Increase air cleanliness to building occupants
Contain and route contaminated air
Clean contaminated air with filtration and other means
Exhaust contaminated air to the outdoors

From SEQUIL Systems’ years of experience in promoting IAQ, we recommend the following proactive steps.

OUTSIDE AIR VOLUME

No filtration or lighting system can improve indoor air quality beyond that of the air outside. The ultimate goal for our industry will be to develop HVAC systems which can heat or cool 100% outside air in an energy efficient manner. But in the meantime, modifying your sequence of operations to open the Outside Air dampers as much as possible within the limits of your HVAC system is an imperative first-step.

ULTRAVIOLET LIGHTING

Implement your UV lighting system, or install one to provide germicidal irradiation to assist in cleansing the return air coming from inside the building.

FILTRATION

Increase your filter media to a higher MERV (Minimum Efficiency Rating Value) rating, within the limits of your HVAC system.

GUIDANCE

As we consider reopening buildings, the latest governmental, university and commercial research must be consulted for latest findings. Particularly the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control. Proven best-practices such as wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining 6-foot separation must be enforced throughout the building, inside and outside.

RESOURCES

Contact us for more information