Ventilation is a current issue these days. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has awakened us about this topic. Now, everyone agrees on how vital is to have good ventilation and air quality in closed spaces.
Thanks to the scientific investigation, we have evidence that the transmission of the virus is basically through air.

If the air is not sufficiently renewed and there is one infected person in an enclosed space, the concentration of the virus will increase and thus, the risk of infection. In order to reduce this risk, it is necessary to ventilate indoor places as much as possible. The more ventilation, the lower the likelihood of infection. It is crucial to consider ventilation as an effective disease prevention measure.

Ventilation of an enclosed area means the renewal of air with air from outside. The Health Department of the Catalan Government recommends maintaining the maximum supply of outside air, by means of natural ventilation and/or air conditioning and mechanical ventilation systems that allow the supply of outside air.

The number of air renewals/hour necessary according to the volume and number of occupants of a room, which is equivalent to the air renewal criterion of 12.5 litres per second per person, can be calculated by applying the following formula:

ACH= 12.5 l/person/second x Number of persons x 3600 per hour x 0.001 m³/litre / Volume (m³)

This regulation applies to fixed air-conditioning installations in new buildings and when these installations are refurbished.

How to determine the required ventilation of a room?
A carbon dioxide (CO₂) sensor can be used to assess the ventilation of a room. The increase in CO₂ measurement in indoor environments relative to outdoor air is used as an indicator parameter for air quality, since when a building is occupied, indoor CO₂ concentrations increase due to the exhalation of the occupants.

Indoor air quality improvement systems
The incorporation of air purifiers with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters improves indoor air quality and retains particles that can contain viruses. HEPA filters retain between 85% and 99.99% of particles from 0.3 microns, depending on the type of filter. To guarantee that they retain 99.99%, they must comply with the UNE-EN 1822-1:2010 Standard Absolute filters (EPA, HEPA and ULPA).

At Morgui Clima we have 20 years of expertise working in the ventilation industry. Our qualified engineers will kindly advise you whenever it is needed to successfully achieve the best ventilation of your facilities.

Sources:
Canal Salut (Gencat). (2020). Ventilació dels espais tancats per prevenir la COVID-19. Retrieved from https://canalsalut.gencat.cat/ca/salut-a-z/c/coronavirus-2019-ncov/ciutadania/prevencio/ventilacio/

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: ventilació i sistemes de climatització en establiments i locals de concurrència humana [fullet]. Barcelona: Departament de Salut; 2021. Retrieved from https://canalsalut.gencat.cat/web/.content/_A-Z/C/coronavirus-2019-ncov/material-divulgatiu/ventilacio-sistemes-climatitzacio.pdf