Ventilation, IAQ and occupancy strategies to manage COVID safety

Optimising the circulation of fresh, clean air and managing occupancy movement throughout the indoor environment are two of the largest challenges facing facility managers in managing COVID safety in the workplace.

As a leading provider of air conditioning, building optimisation and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) remediation, Precise Air Group has designed a three step solution to help you manage your facility during these difficult times.*

Step 1 Increased ventilation

There are a number of quick wins that will increase the circulation of clean air throughout your building:

• review air conditioning settings and monitor Co2 levels via your BMS
• review air flow and fresh air
• check exhaust fans in restrooms and facilities are operating continuously when occupied
• check portable air purifiers and that personal fans are not directly blowing air from one person to another.

Step 2 – Improve Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality is impacted by microbial growth including bacteria, mould, fungi and viruses. Cleaning and filtration at the source of your circulating air is key to reducing transmission the air conditioning systems. IAQ can be improved at the source by:

• chemical coil cleaning
• improving filtration by using filters with a high MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values) rating. We recommend MERV13 filters for this application
• installing UVC lighting for continuous cleaning. UVC lighting installed on AHUs provide continuous chemical free, ozone free and VOC free cleaning.

Step 3 – Controlling occupancy, air flow and Co2 monitoring through IoT

Precise Air provides a low cost monitoring, control and reporting solution for clients who want to take control of occupancy rates and movement. We provide a sophisticated, low-cost, scalable solution that extracts data from existing legacy systems or low cost hardware/sensors to monitor and control Co2 levels and air flow.

Regardless of whether you choose just one or all of these steps, you will be on your way to reducing the risk of airborne viruses.

Contact Wissam Salama from Precise Air’s Building Performance Optimisation team on 1300 728 250 to find out how we can help you reduce the risk to your facility.

*Our solution has been designed with reference to ASHRAE and AIRAH guidelines.