9th November 2020, world news goes into overdrive.
It was announced that Pfizer and BioNTech have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that is over 90 percent effective, ready to roll out via the NHS from the 1st December.
This is very welcome news giving us all hope that the, ‘old normal’ is right around the corner.
Does this mean we can forget about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)?
Absolutely not! Did you know that on average the air inside a building is worse than the air outside? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the levels of indoor air pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor levels. In some cases these levels can exceed 100 times that of outdoor levels of the same pollutants.
Our reactions to issues are massively different if we can touch, see, or feel things. We take things more seriously if our senses are engaged.
If we can’t smell fell or see anything then we are all completely happy that there is no problem. No senses engaged, no problem.
Imagine how quickly you would be on the phone to an expert if all viruses were coloured red, germs were yellow and aerosols were blue. The view inside your building would be like you have just stepped inside a rainbow .
What is the point if COVID-19 has disappeared?
For one I do not think Covid-19 will disappear anytime soon. There are a lot of other viruses out there such as flu, c-diff and Noro. They spread around offices and schools causing illness and time off work.
This costs the company money in downtime, project delays and other costs.
What about the other benefits of providing good quality air?
Health and wellbeing: If we stop the spread of these viruses around the office and reduce employee absenteeism by 5-20% what a benefit that would be! Improving health and wellbeing of the people within the office allows them to feel better throughout their day which in turn improves concentration and productivity.
Environmental impact: In June 2019, the UK government became the first major economy to pass a net zero emissions law. The target will bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Building HVAC systems contribute roughly 25-35 percent of the energy bill. There is also the ability to obtain BREEAM® and LEED® credits in multiple categories as well as tax credits and incentives.
Energy and maintenance savings: The original and main reason for the UV-C technology has been to provide savings on energy and maintenance costs, which provided a return on investment within 12-24 months. This is achieved by keeping the coils free from mould and biofilm. The more efficient your systems run the less energy is consumed to achieve the same output.
Sustainability: The more efficient the HVAC system runs, the units and parts within them last longer. Maintenance visits once again become maintenance visits and NOT fault, find, repair and replace visits.
Our UV-C partner, E-Co are a Carbon Trust, accredited supplier, meaning they have undergone an independent accreditation process to demonstrate their skills and experience in delivering low energy, high performing solutions. We can make a difference, we can get through this and come out the other side better, forgetting the term ‘The New Normal’ and the year 2020.
If you have a project you’d like to discuss, please contact us.