We spend a lot of time indoors, especially now with people trying to quarantine. Many companies are even allowing employees to work from home, which is a great way to keep your business running while continuing to social distance. However, the illness is transmitted via airborne droplets that can stay viable for many hours. This means for those who live in an apartment complex, attention needs to turn towards how to keep the air as clean as possible. With many apartments in one complex, indoor air quality should be top of your mind. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns.” As a Landlord or Property Manager, you might be racing to figure out the best ways you can help insure the air you breathe is healthy and safety during this time.
Commercial HVAC Systems Cleaning
Cleaning your facility’s ductwork is the first step in removing airborne contaminants and allergens out of the air they breathe. Duct cleaning is an important part of keeping an environment safe and healthy for everyone that enters through your doors. Since, the ductwork is out of sight, it is often out of mind and may not regularly be cleaned. But a dirty ductwork is the perfect breeding ground for mites, mold, bacteria, viruses, and other poisons that are toxic to the environment.
On top of that, according to the EPA, a buildup of just 0.42″ of dirt on a heating or cooling coil can result in a decrease of efficiency of 21%. Dirty ductwork can load filters quickly and lead to more stress on the air handler and potentially higher energy costs. Blockages in reheat coils, mixing boxes, VAV boxes and other terminal boxes found in commercial HVAC systems can also restrict airflow. So, if facility’s ducts have not been cleaned and the system is running less efficiently it can lead to poor indoor air quality, which can cause employees to become sick.
Installation of UVC Light Disinfection
UVC Lighting is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions. UVC refers to ultraviolet light with wavelengths between 200 – 280 nanometers (nm). Light in the UVC wavelength can be used for disinfecting hospitals, sterilizing surfaces, destroying harmful micro-organisms in food products and in air. UVC Light disinfection in an apartment setting provides benefits in limited space applications such as PTACs, Fan Coil Units, and Water Treatment.
In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 30% of all commercial buildings have significant IAQ problems, and ventilation systems are implicated in the spread of infection and pollutants.” Therefore, using UVC light in a facility’s HVAC system close to the coil can restore coil capacity, return the HVAC close to the original system, and kill bacterial growth by shrinking biofilm on the coil.
It’s hard trying to quarantine and social distance from everyone. And knowing you could catch the virus through the ventilation system in the building you live just makes the situation worse. Fortunately, regular HVAC cleaning and the installation of UVC can significantly help reduce the levels of bacteria and the spread of viruses, while also increasing your buildings indoor air quality.
Looking for ways to improve the air quality of your apartment complex? Contact Us Here or call us at 888-845-3952 to find out how Hughes Environmental can help guarantee the air your tenants breathe is healthy and safe.