About this Event
Buildings can inhibit or incubate SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the Covid-19 disease. Buildings with poor ventilation and poor filtration concentrate contagions within built environments. Improved fresh air (double of ASHRAE 62.1/62.2), increased filtration (MERV 11 or greater), and UVGI (Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation). Outdoor temperatures below 50F and above 70F, when people are sealed in buildings for heating and cooling, are linked to increased spread of SARS-CoV-2 indicating inadequate fresh air ventilation.
We discuss practical guidelines for operating buildings to improve the indoor environment in order to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and other airborne diseases. The importance of monitoring carbon dioxide in all building spaces (classrooms, offices, restaurants, etc) is stressed as it is a simple, direct method to determine fresh air flow rates. Current Covid-19 status throughout the US, and the impact of school and business re-openings on disease spread will be also be presented. Two parameters, social distance index and disease transmission efficiency, are shown to explain how "distancing", face masks, ventilation and other factors impact disease spread, and why the US has been unable to control Covid-19 unlike other countries around the world.
Topic Outline:
Continuing Education Units (CEUS) 1 hour in
