Effective Ventilation in Buildings to Reduce the Risk of Virus Transmission

In most public buildings, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is centralized with a closed-loop ventilation. Ventilation system should be well-maintained in order to prevent the spread of viruses. If not well-maintained, there are two potential risks for virus transmission: contaminated air is recirculated in the building by the ventilation system, and/or an indoor condition (temperature and humidity) is created that increases the chance of virus survival.

Buildings with a central ventilation system should get inspected periodically, highly efficient filters should be used (MERV 13 to 16, EPA 2019), and the duct systems should get cleaned regularly (Quian and Zheng, 2018).

An interesting Q&A about the risk of ventilation systems to increase the risk of virus transmission is published by Global Heat Health Information Network. Read more at: http://www.ghhin.org/heat-and-covid-19/ac-and-ventilation

Reference: Qian H, Zheng X. Ventilation control for airborne transmission of human exhaled bio-aerosols in buildings. J Thorac Dis. 2018