Ventilation is crucial in any building design but it isn't the whole story
Good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) 🟰 VENTILATION ➕ FILTRATION
Ventilation brings in fresh air and dilutes the air already inside
- Fresh air dilutes the air. Air mixing potentially reduces particles (assuming good outdoor air quality)
- Filtration removes particles from the air
Combined ventilation and filtration can reduce long-range transmission rates
- Research in a gym found Portable Air Cleaners (PACs) 63% more effective at clearing aerosol particles than ventilation due to ‘localised’ filtration
- Filtration removes particles from the air, including pathogens. Although carbon filters can remove gases, it is less effective than ventilation
- In room UV helps with short-range transmission rates - not to be confused with UV in air purifiers which add no value in terms of cleaning but can add ozone to the air
A study by Stantec looked at 22 variations of ventilation and filtration:
- 18 adaptations of just the HVAC system (ventilation) - best particle reduction was 17%
- 4 adaptations of HVAC with portable air cleaners (filtration) - best particle reduction was 45%
Combining PACs with mechanical ventilation offers a versatile solution that adapts to changing IAQ needs
- A portable air cleaner (PAC) is a low-cost way to test the efficacy of filtration
- PACs use substantially less energy than increasing mechanical ventilation
- A PAC can be moved to the source of the pollution offering localised filtration at breathing level
- Optional fresh air duct offers increased fresh air volume with high-efficiency filtration
- Low wattage of PACs offers a low carbon footprint solution and more environmentally friendly than adaptations to current HVAC systems
- Not all PACs are equal. The proliferation of budget or noisy models that won't provide enough filtration for the room size (at the speed it is run) can result in dissatisfaction of portable filtration as a viable solution
Bottom Line
Bottom line: Ventilation and filtration combined will improve your building indoor air quality
The cost of upgrading HVAC to include high efficiency filtration is considerable making portable air cleaners a quick and affordable solution
Smart Air
