Ventilation and IAQ

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With a continuous pressure to decrease turnover time while also providing the medical staff with utmost flexibility, the design of the HVAC systems for today’s operating rooms requires not just special attention but also complex analyses.

Within a hospital facility, there is the environment health and safety (EH&S) department, medical equipment management department, custodial department, and O&M department, to mention just a few — each with their own infection control (IC) responsibilities.

As we wrap up the recent peek into ongoing “thermostat wars” of indoor workplace comfort, I wanted to pass along a quick anecdote.

After reading my September column about using the heart as a guide for energy efficient HVAC design, a forward-thinking ES reader asked about using the respiratory system to think about air handling strategies.

Chillers have always been a popular choice to air condition large commercial buildings that are, by their nature, energy intensive.

Dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) have been available for over 20 years, with the primary benefit being the ability to decouple outdoor air tempering from conditioned space thermal loads that can be handled by separate, secondary systems.

Retrofit projects are opportunities to renew the life of a building and the utilities within that building.

It will surprise no one that the smartphone app sector has taken a few shots at this problem.

What can we learn from one of our most vital organs when it comes to proper airflow and ventilation?

Up to 80% of building engineers forget to regularly replace their facility’s UV-C lamps, leading to reduced HVAC/R system performance and losses in energy and indoor environmental quality.