As winter and the flu season approaches, we are asked how to keep commercial
office and retail locations safe? Currently, we know through the CDC (Center for
Disease Control) that the most effective way to limit the spread of Covid-19 is to
keep all operations outside and if you have any activity inside any space the
recommendation is to install MERV-13 filters and bring in as much outside air as
possible. MERV-13 filters have been found to catch virus droplets that regular
filters cannot catch in your HVAC system. However, the HVAC industry with the
help of groups such as ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and
Air Conditioning Engineers) is introducing new products that will help the fight
against Covid-19 in commercial buildings.
First and foremost, any building that has outside sources for fresh air should have
the maximum percentage of manual OSA dampers and/or HVAC economizers opened if the
equipment is so equipped. Most units 5.0 tons or bigger usually
have economizers installed on them. If the existing system does not have
economizers simply leaving the doors open with the system fan running will help
the situation. Although this method is not the most energy efficient since you will
be conditioning the space with doors open but it will provide the necessary air turn
over that is recommended.
Second item as we mentioned before was installing MERV-13 filters in your
HVAC system. MERV-13 filters will catch any droplets released in the air. Many
manufacturers make even higher efficiency filters but they will restrict the airflow
in the system and may even damage your HVAC system because it will starve the
system of air. HVAC systems that take a higher MERV rating are specifically
designed for the higher static pressure that these high efficiency filters place on the system.
If you plan on installing MERV-13 filters be ready to spend twice as much money on these
filters and wait 4-5 weeks for delivery since there is a backlog globally for these filters.
In addition with outside air and MERV-13 filters, air purifiers and “air scrubbers”
are making their way to the market. The air purifier that is most common are stand
alone devices that can be plugged into an outlet and operate independently.
However, there are air purifiers such as the iWave that is wired into your HVAC
system. The iWave creates positive and negative ions in the air as it passes through
your HVAC system. These ions then break down harmful pollutants, gases and
will remove the hydrogen from viruses causing them to die. The drawback on these
systems is the price to install per unit will run around $1,000 and you must have
the indoor fan running at all times to make it the most effective.
“Air scrubbers” are a group of air pollution devices that can be installed in your
HVAC system that usually come with a ultraviolet light that will disinfect the air
as it passes over the light inside your duct system. Fresh-Aire UV Inc. has created
an air scrubber APCO-X that claims it will kill 99.99% of SARS-COV-2 within 2
seconds and is ozone free. This style of air scrubber has been used in hospitals for
decades. The negative aspect of “air scrubbers” is the price of installation and the
maintenance issues. The average cost of installation is $1,000 to $1300 per system.
In addition, the bulbs typically need to be changed yearly at a cost of $200 per bulb
and, like the purifier, the indoor fan must run for the system to work effectively.