As businesses and offices across the nation begin to re-open after the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety & health of employees, customers, and visitors alike has become a top concern. Preparing workspaces for COVID-19 requires conscientious system design and innovative retrofit techniques. California Energy Designs has become a leading HVAC & Air-Quality Control System (AQCS) engineering firm for designs compliant to both CDC and OSHA guidelines for Safe Workplace in the COVID pandemic.
Indoor Air Quality Calculations Clean Airflow Replenishment & CDC Ventilation Guidelines “Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air.” Combatting COVID transmission with innovative airflow design The Center for Disease Control (CDC) & industry leaders recognize the effectiveness of conscientious design for airflow systems in combatting airborne transmission of COVID and other viral contagions. These guidelines, such as clean-to-less-clean air movement, help inform our system design for multi-occupant facilities. “Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air.” – ASHAE Our consulting engineers have designed both standard airflow systems and stringent, aseptic clean-room environments for aerospace facilities. From Spray Booth Exhaust systems for Boeing’s production line to Dust-Collection systems in Composite Horizons’ aerospace components manufacturing plant, we have expertise in ventilation design for hazardous particulate removal. Our team also has extensive experience designing Air-Quality Control Systems (AQCS) for aerospace cleanrooms, including custom filter banks and aseptic airflow systems for space-bound vessels. Ensuring air quality and safety are a top priority. Our work includes performing conceptual studies, engineering, and design of equipment for reduction of hazardous air pollutants. To minimize the circulation of recycled air, we will rebalance, adjust, or upgrade your HVAC systems to ensure they provide operate at the necessary capacity to dilute potential contaminants and follow CDC guidelines for clean-to-less-clean air movement. We offer a number of filtration systems recommended by the CDC to reduce the number of infectious particles in the air, from the cost-effective MERV 13 or MERV 16 filters to the most efficient air cleaning HEPA filters on the market. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are capable of removing 99.97% of particles that are .3 microns or larger in diameter. Pairing efficient ventilation filters with an effective airflow design, contagions like the Coronavirus & other harmful particulate matter are directed away from the circulated air supply and removed from the facility. Reopening demolition sites and resuming these projects requires worksites adhere to strict COVID-safe working practices. To avoid the spread of airborne contaminants, proper ventilation and filtration systems are critical. Establishing a system of directional airflow from clean-to-less-clean environments reduces the potential flow of air from contaminated to non-contaminated spaces. HVAC systems create a level of environmental control that mitigates the spread of infectious particles within the air. Airflow Systems for COVID Safety
Reopening facilities designed for CDC guidelines on COVID-Safety & Airflow Systems
Services
HVAC, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) & COVID Safety
Ensuring air quality and safety are a top priority. Our work includes performing conceptual studies, engineering, and design of equipment for reduction of hazardous air pollutants.
Air Purification & HEPA Filters
Filter Banks & Filtration Design
Contaminant Collection Systems
Particulate Removal & Air-Locks
FDA-Facility Clean-Air Requirements
Workplace Airflow Scheduling & Smart Building Automation
COVID BUILDING RETROFIT & RENOVATIONS
Displacement Ventilation Strategies & COVID-19 System Design
Balancing Calculations for Filtration & Airflow Design
Supply/Exhaust Air Diffuser & Damper Positioning Indoor Airflow & COVID System Design
AIRFLOW DESIGN
INDOOR VENTILATION
FILTRATION & HEPA Air Cleansing
Purification & Contaminant Removal
COVID Demolition & Structure Removal
COVID Renovation & Retrofit Solutions
Multi-Layered Approach
Keeping with CDC guidelines for COVID safety & indoor airflow, we employ a multi-layered approach to HVAC system design, using multiple tools to reduce risk.
Ventilation
We use the latest equipment technology has to offer in order to successfully engineer and design any commercial or residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. We couple the latest equipment with standard air distribution and energy management systems, making our designs suitable for any building application.
Filtration
High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are capable of removing 99.97% of particles that are .3 microns or larger in diameter. Pairing efficient ventilation filters with an effective airflow design, contagions like the Coronavirus & other harmful particulate matter are directed away from the circulated air supply and removed from the facility.
Humidity Control
Redesigning airflow to incorporate additional ventilation from external doors, windows, and points of ingress or egress brings a unique challenge of managing humidity with legacy systems. For COVID retrofit and renovation projects, our team re-evaluates previous load balancing and airflow zones from the ground-up to ensure independent control & humidity regulation for each designated zone, within the 40-60% range as shown to potentially reduce the survival of the Coronavirus.
Equipment Layout & Physical Placement
Proper placement of supply and exhaust grilles, locations of ductwork, and positioning of fans all inform the direction of airflow and can establish a ventilation system that does not recycle air, but refreshes it.
Solutions for Any Facility FacilityOfficeBuilding
Increasing Occupant Productivity & Reducing Waste
The Impact of Indoor Air Quality
Airflow Design
A comprehensive Harvard Study found that the productivity benefits a doubling of ventilation rates in a commercial facility generates an additional $6,500 per person per year.
Ventilation
An increase in building ventilation reduced occupant sick-leave by 35% in a comprehensive study of commercial facilities.
Filtration
The EPA estimates that typical commercial facility wastes 30% of its energy, totaling $60 billion in excess annual costs.
Indoor Office Airflow & COVID Safety
COVID-Safety & Indoor Airflow
Study after study continues to show the significant impact of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in commercial facilities. From increased occupant performance and psychological well-being to decreased sick-leave and energy cost-savings, it has become evident that energy-efficient facilities simply perform better.
When it comes to commercial wellness initiatives, everything begins with the engineering process to design high-performing energy systems. Our team has extensive experience in Air Quality Control Systems (AQCS), including a global partnership with wellness-organization, Delos Living.
- All work
- Aerospace & Specialty Facilities
- Air-Quality Control
- Auditoriums, Studios, & Sound Stages
- Civic Centers & Cultural Institutions
- Commercial Facilities
- Condominium
- Dust Collection & Removal
- Educational Facilities
- Healthcare & Medical Facilities
- Industrial Facilities
- Luxury Residential
- Mixed-Use
- Multi-Family Residential
- Portfolio Single
- Residential
- Solar Energy
- Wellness Design
COVID-19 Resources & Case Studies
Learn more about airflow and COVID Safety for facilities with these CDC and industry-expert resources.
CDC Ventilation Guidelines
CDC recommends a layered strategy to reduce exposures to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 … Consider ventilation system upgrades or improvements and other steps to increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants. Obtain consultation from experienced Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) professionals when considering changes to HVAC systems and equipment.
CDC Guidelines on COVID-19 Employer Information for Office Buildings
Consider taking steps to improve ventilation in the building, in consultation with an HVAC professional, based on local environmental conditions (temperature / humidity) and ongoing community transmission in the area … Increase the percentage of outdoor air … Increase total airflow supply to occupied spaces, if possible. … Improve central air filtration … Generate clean-to-less-clean air movements… Consider using portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems to help enhance air cleaning.
ASHRAE Guidelines & Reports: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Resources
“Key elements of a strategy to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus are to perform needed heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system maintenance, including filter changes, and to run HVAC equipment, prior to re-occupancy,” said ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force chair, ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee voting member and 2013-14 ASHRAE Presidential Member Bill Bahnfleth.
Study: "Review of ventilation strategies to reduce the risk of disease transmission in high occupancy buildings"
Conclusion: Building Services of high occupancy buildings must be better adapted as a matter of urgency to facilitate the reduction of disease transmission resulting from inappropriate or inadequate ventilation … Although many cases of disease transmission can be reduced by social distancing or wearing the recommended PPE, the air surrounding us indoors requires much better management to safely remove airborne pathogens.
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300 E. Magnolia Blvd. Suite 502, Burbank, CA 91502