Keys to Comprehensive Health Awareness in Your Building
Five key factors prevent spread of infectious disease.
- By Jonathan Antar
- 10/01/21
COVID-19 and many other viruses are thought to spread
mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets and
aerosols in the air. Studies suggest that emissions from people
can span a room and be pulled into air circulation systems
in just a few seconds. A strong
air-monitoring and air-management
strategy can make the
difference between a healthy
environment and one in which
disease easily spreads.
PHOTO CREDIT WAN WEI
The HALO Smart Sensor is
a key component in the solution
to providing a low-risk environment. HALO monitors Carbon
Dioxide (CO2), Particulate, Humidity, Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in the air. These
five key factors make up the HALO Health Index, which
can be used to identify the risk level of spreading infectious
diseases:
- Key Factor #1
Don’t breathe someone else's air. Elevated
carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are a direct indicator of inadequate
ventilation. Rising carbon dioxide levels increase the probability
of spreading infections diseases like COVID-19 and
influenza. HALO is able to determine the percentage of air
that has been exhaled by one or more people and then inhaled
by another person by identifying corresponding CO2 levels.
- Key Factor #2
Remove the vehicles that viruses use to
travel from person to person. Particulates in the air can contain
payloads of a virus. The further they penetrate the respiratory system, the more effectively the virus is delivered. Vaping,
dust, smoke, pollen, sneezing and coughing are just some of
the ways that particulates can be introduced into the air.
- Key Factor #3
Protect your lungs from irritation.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are emitted as vapors
from certain solids or liquids
and include a variety of chemicals.
VOCs are seen often in
cleaning supplies, adhesives,
paints and air fresheners. These
are irritants to your respiratory
system and can make a person
more susceptible to infection.
With increased cleaning frequency and alternate cleaning
processes, it can be easy to overlook the effects of having
these chemicals in the air we breathe.
- Key Factor #4
Maintain ideal relative humidity: Relative
humidity (RH) influences how long particulates remain
suspended and how long a virus can survive in the air. An RH
below 40% allows for particulates carrying a virus payload to
remain suspended for longer periods of time. Similarly, an RH
above 60% allows a virus to live longer in the air. Keep the RH
within the 40%-60% range in indoor spaces to reduce infection.
- Key Factor #5
Protect your lungs and circulatory system:
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an ambient trace-gas caused
by urban combustion. According to the EPA, breathing air
with a high concentration of NO2 can irritate airways in the
human respiratory system. Such exposures over short periods
can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing
or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to
emergency rooms. Long-term exposure to NO2 may cause a
wide spectrum of severe health problems such as hypertension,
diabetes, heart and cardiovascular diseases and even death.
The HALO Smart Sensor can measure for all of these factors
and present results to occupants of a building in an easy-to-read
and easy-to-classify Health Index dashboard. HALO Smart
Sensors can be connected to a Building Automation System (BAS)
over its BACnet interface to instruct the HVAC system to open
its dampers and allow more fresh air into the room when levels
begin to rise. In the event that the building's systems were to fail,
HALO will notify the facilities team to take corrective action.
The HALO Health Index empowers you to capture
complete health awareness and take a proactive approach to
remediation. Know the risk for the spread of infectious disease.
Sources: https://www.epa.gov/no2-pollution/basic-information-about-no2
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of Spaces4Learning.
About the Author
Jonathan Antar brings a unique proficiency to the IPVideo team, as he is well-versed in security technology, building structures and industry best practices. Jonathan has been the Director of Engineering for a security integrator with 10+ years’ experience specifically in system design and engineering. This longstanding experience and training of security technology systems provides Jonathan with the expertise to dissect the composition of systems that are relied upon for life safety.