Businesses reopening their plants as the UK emerges from lockdown have been urged to take account of the role of ventilation in the health and safety of returning employees.
Ventilation specialist Elta Group has drawn attention to the importance of good indoor air quality in workspaces following the Coronavirus pandemic.
“For several years, there has been a focus on increasing the energy efficiency of commercial spaces,” said the firm’s technical director Alan Macklin, who chairs the Fan Manufacturers’ Association. “While this is understandable and important in its own right, it has often been at the expense of the health of occupants, with increasingly airtight structures leading to a reduction in indoor air quality.
“Following the devastating impact of the Covid-19 crisis, there must now be a focus on health and good indoor air quality in workspaces.”
The firm points to new guidance issued by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) on how to optimise ventilation as buildings reopen.
Recommendations include to purge ventilate for two hours before and after occupancy, and to maintain trickle ventilation even when the building is not occupied. As many systems have been inactive for several months, a thorough and strategic approach must be adopted to assure the health and safety of employees, the guidance adds.
Research into the transmission of Coronavirus has also highlighted that dry indoor air can result in higher rates of infection, making relative humidity levels in workspaces an important issue for firms to consider.
Mr Macklin said that finding the optimum relative humidity level could be difficult.. “If it goes too far the other way and air is too humid, it can cause health problems of its own. Research into this area has been accelerated as a result of the Coronavirus, and there is currently a general consensus that between 40-60% humidity is optimum for occupant health.”
https://www.ashrae.org/about/news/2020/ashrae-offers-covid-19-building-readiness-reopening-guidance