Far-UVC produces ozone. That’s inherent to the technology. That can be managed with ventilation, so places with already high ventilation rates where you don’t want the added static pressure in the air supply from greater filtration are a good fit for UVC. In other places, in-room air cleaners tend to be cheaper to operate and maintain. The “best” technology depends on space constraints, ventilation rates, first cost, maintenance, etc. If far-UVC gets cheaper, I expect it will become more widely used. But I don’t think it will fully dominate the space.
My position is the same as last year—I think there is enough technology at great enough maturity where it makes more sense to push for ASHRAE 241 adoption. Why doesn’t your local grocery store have airborne infection control technology? Is it because lack of sufficient technology development or cost, or more likely, because they don’t even know that’s a thing they should do?
Thanks! I may be thinking about it too much from the consumer perspective of owning a condo in a 100-year-old building, where the noise of filtration is a major drawback and the costs of a broader modernization of HVAC systems would be considerable.
I haven’t polled grocery store owners, but an owner would bear all the costs of improving air quality yet may capture few of the economic benefits. Although customers would care a lot in a pandemic, they probably wouldn’t otherwise care in a way that increases profits—and managers are incentivized toward short-term results. Cynically, most of their employees may not have paid sick time, so the owner may not even realize most of the benefit from reduced employee illness. (Of course, regulators could require compliance—but that’s not an awareness problem. So maybe the candidate intervention is lobbying?)
Just get a room air filter for your condo. There are different models and they are usually quite quiet unless on the highest setting. I can’t hear mine on the two lowest settings (up to 100 CFM). UVC doesn’t remove small particulates, which is the most serious air pollutant of concern from a health perspective for most homes.
Commercial buildings have to comply with locally required codes and standards. Code authorities could adopt some or all of ASHRAE Standard 241 in their jurisdiction just like they do with ASHRAE Standard 62.1 (ventilation) and 90.1 (energy).
Far-UVC produces ozone. That’s inherent to the technology. That can be managed with ventilation, so places with already high ventilation rates where you don’t want the added static pressure in the air supply from greater filtration are a good fit for UVC. In other places, in-room air cleaners tend to be cheaper to operate and maintain. The “best” technology depends on space constraints, ventilation rates, first cost, maintenance, etc. If far-UVC gets cheaper, I expect it will become more widely used. But I don’t think it will fully dominate the space.
My position is the same as last year—I think there is enough technology at great enough maturity where it makes more sense to push for ASHRAE 241 adoption. Why doesn’t your local grocery store have airborne infection control technology? Is it because lack of sufficient technology development or cost, or more likely, because they don’t even know that’s a thing they should do?
Thanks! I may be thinking about it too much from the consumer perspective of owning a condo in a 100-year-old building, where the noise of filtration is a major drawback and the costs of a broader modernization of HVAC systems would be considerable.
I haven’t polled grocery store owners, but an owner would bear all the costs of improving air quality yet may capture few of the economic benefits. Although customers would care a lot in a pandemic, they probably wouldn’t otherwise care in a way that increases profits—and managers are incentivized toward short-term results. Cynically, most of their employees may not have paid sick time, so the owner may not even realize most of the benefit from reduced employee illness. (Of course, regulators could require compliance—but that’s not an awareness problem. So maybe the candidate intervention is lobbying?)
Just get a room air filter for your condo. There are different models and they are usually quite quiet unless on the highest setting. I can’t hear mine on the two lowest settings (up to 100 CFM). UVC doesn’t remove small particulates, which is the most serious air pollutant of concern from a health perspective for most homes.
Commercial buildings have to comply with locally required codes and standards. Code authorities could adopt some or all of ASHRAE Standard 241 in their jurisdiction just like they do with ASHRAE Standard 62.1 (ventilation) and 90.1 (energy).