Filters and HVAC Selection to Fight COVID will be Analyzed in a September 10 Webinar

Otis Elevator Commissions a Study by Purdue into COVID Protection on Elevators

Armbrust American Secured a $4.5 Million Contract to Supply Surgical Masks for the State of Illinois

LG Moving Forward with Portable Air Purifier

U.S. High End HVAC Sales are Booming

Rural Schools have Inadequate Ventilation to Combat COVID

Japan has Focused on Reducing Airborne Transmission

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Filters and HVAC Selection to Fight COVID will be Analyzed in a September 20 Webinar

Join us on September 10 at 10:AM Central Time to discuss and debate the best filter and room air purifier choices to conquer COVID.

New facts and theories are appearing every day. There is increasing evidence that most of the transmission is airborne. McIlvaine has formed a working group  to determine how much additional virus is emitted from filters and masks which initially capture larger droplets and convert them to aerosols. The bottom line is that the more efficient the HVAC filter the better.

Here are specific issues we plan on discussing .

Due to the evidence of substantial transmission through small aerosols much of the discussion will be about more efficient media options. We start with the fact in the U.S. (and elsewhere) the present sales of MERV 15 and 16 filters are negligible.

                                                                                 Source Brent Stephens IIT

More efficient filters can be installed  at the same pressure drop by increasing filter depth.

                                           Source Brent Stephens IIT

Michael Bruce of Filtration Group  provided this comparison of an upgrade from MERV 11 rigid filter to a M 15 V bank design with little increase in pressure drop.

AAF shows that an M16 filter will emit 9 x less particles than an M 14 in the 0.3 micron range where much of the virus may reside.

The KCC line of high efficiency, electret-charged, bicomponent spunbond air media offers filtration efficiencies from MERV 7 to MERV 15 for pleat, pocket, and mini-pleat filters.

As depicted in this line graph from AAF, filters that achieve the same efficiency rating, in this case ULPA filters rated at 99.999%, are not necessarily equal in their MPPS performance.

Room air purifiers and Fan/Filter Units will be needed in many locations due the widespread clouds of virus particles. Partitions by themselves may cause turbulence and more spread. This fan/filter unit at a checkout counter in Austria is an example of what can be done.

Source: Ortner Cleanroom

For more information on the webinar and to register click here   http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/2-uncategorised/1574-coronavirus-webinars#Filters

Otis Elevator Commissions a Study by Purdue into COVID Protection on Elevators

 Otis Worldwide Corporation has commissioned a study into elevator airflow, how it affects the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus among passengers, and how to mitigate those risks through science-based safety protocols. Otis is the world's leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service.

The study will be led by Dr. Qingyan (Yan) Chen, the James G. Dwyer Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue, who is widely recognized for his research into the spread of infectious disease through indoor air systems – and how to prevent it.

"Since the start of this pandemic, we have been providing essential services for our customers and developing innovative solutions to address their challenges, including passenger safety concerns," said Robin Fiala, Vice President, Otis Marketing & Sales. "This study will build on our efforts to advance industry safety protocols and enable us to help our customers make more informed, science-based decisions about how to keep their tenants safe."

Dr. Chen, who is also Editor in Chief of the scientific journal Building and Environment, uses sophisticated 3D modeling in his research, which currently focuses on indoor environments, aircraft cabins, and energy-efficient, healthy, and sustainable building design and analysis. He has published three books and over 470 journal and conference papers and has been invited to deliver more than 170 lectures internationally. He previously served as Principal Director of the Federal Aviation Administration's Center of Excellence (COE) for Airliner Cabin Environment Research.

"My team and I are looking forward to conducting this study to help the industry and riding public better understand the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission in an elevator environment as compared to other everyday activities, like shopping at a grocery store or eating at a restaurant," said Dr. Chen. "Using state-of-the-art research techniques, we will also be able to scientifically validate preferred methods of mitigating passenger risks associated with the virus."   

Armbrust American Secured a $4.5 Million Contract to Supply Surgical Masks for the State of Illinois

Armbrust American secured  a $4.5 million contract to supply the State of Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) with high-quality, disposable surgical masks.

Areas of state government such as IDHS are crucial in maintaining the health and safety of its citizens during this pandemic," said Armbrust American founder and CEO Lloyd Armbrust.  "Being an American manufacturer means ensuring, with complete certainty, that masks distributed and worn by essential government workers offer protection against COVID-19 infections."

To be FDA-registered, surgical masks must meet strict guidelines, including 98% filtration of particulate matter. Rigorous third-party testing has shown Armbrust American surpasses those incredibly high standards, achieving over 99% filtration. This commitment to quality earned the company's masks ASTM Level 2 certification, having passed extensive testing for fluid penetration, bacterial filtration, particle filtration, flammability, and sensitivity. To ensure all of its products continue to exceed this already high bar, the company has invested in equipment to enable regular quality testing from each of its growing number of automated production lines.

LG Moving Forward with Portable Air Purifier

LG has officially announced a portable air purifier that you wear on your face like a mask. The PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier uses a pair of replaceable filters similar to what you’d find in LG’s range of air purifiers for the home, pairing them with battery-powered fans to help you breathe. LG says the device has sensors to detect when you’re breathing in or out and adjusts the fans’ speeds accordingly.

The company says the wearable air purifier is designed to replace the “inconsistent” homemade masks worn by some people, as well as the disposable masks that it says have been in short supply.

Back in July, when LG first announced the mask and said it would be donating 2,000 of the devices to a university hospital in Seoul, one executive from the company said they hoped it would help medical staff “amid the protracting COVID-19 pandemic,” The Korea Herald reported. They hoped it would make it easier for medical staff to wear a mask for hours at a time.

Since LG’s new mask uses motorized fans, it needs to be powered in order to work. LG says the PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier has a 820mAh battery that provides up to eight hours of use in its low-power mode, dropping to just two hours in high-power mode.

LG’s announcement doesn’t say exactly when the mask will release or how much it will cost but notes that it will be available in the fourth quarter of this year in “select markets.”

U.S. High End HVAC Sales are Booming

Despite the most significant quarterly plunge in U.S. economic history, HVAC sales are booming — and not just any sales, but high-end, top-dollar residential HVAC systems in particular. It’s part of a national trend. After months of lockdown, some consumers are rushing to make the types of big-ticket items that would — in a typical downturn — be the first to get cut. In June, U.S. new-home sales reached a nearly 13-year high; sales of existing homes had their largest month-over-month gain ever. Home improvements have spiked, too. After all, if you’re going to be stuck at home, the reasoning goes, you might as well be comfortable while you’re there. HVAC, as the key to indoor comfort, has become a spending hotspot. No one wants to stay at home 24/7 with a broken air conditioner. Add the fact that proper ventilation and air filtration are critical in combatting the coronavirus, and the scene is set for contractors to sell, sell, sell all season.

With more consumers wanting to improve their comfort while working from home and little else to spend their money on, Robert Sharp, executive president of Emerson Commercial & Residential Solutions, predicted that high-end sales will be solid for the near future.

“You’ve got a lot of people sitting at home and sitting on a pretty significant pile of cash,” he said during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “I don’t see any reason why this won’t continue through the season.”

Rural Schools have Inadequate Ventilation to Combat COVID

As the White House faces criticism for a push to return to in-person instruction and a reopening debate splits the nation, some rural schools remain poised to welcome students back to brick-and-mortar settings this month. 

“Some places have not many cases at all and they’re questioning, ‘Why should we hold off if we’re OK?’” said Allen Pratt, executive director of the National Rural Education Association, adding there are “large parts of the population that want to reopen.” 

But rural schools face persistent challenges that the coronavirus has only exacerbated. Many school buildings are old and in need of replacement or repair and don’t have adequate air filtration systems. Plus, many rural districts have scant resources to successfully implement hybrid or fully remote learning if their schools need to close again. 

For these reasons, sticking to reopening guidelines for some rural schools is going to be “really difficult,” Pratt said.

Because the coronavirus is airborne, some health experts have cautioned that well-functioning air ventilation systems are a must as schools reopen. Pratt points out this will be especially challenging for many rural schools, considering their infrastructure “is not designed to do what they’re going to be asked to do.” 

In Bristol Virginia Public Schools, for example — which had only four cases of coronavirus until that number increased to 10 in the past two weeks — almost 70% of parents, students and staff have asked for a normal return to school. The district’s newest school was built in 1974, and its oldest dates back to 1916.

“Those buildings weren’t built to today’s standards,” said Superintendent Keith Perrigan, who is also president of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia. “Because of school safety concerns, you can’t just leave the doors and windows open like they were intended to be.” 

Due to poor air quality and airflow in some buildings, Perrigan said he has had to invest in air scrubbers as well as filters and HVAC systems in addition to other coronavirus-related costs like personal protective equipment (PPE).

For many schools nationwide, these challenges were widespread prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a June report from the Government Accountability Office, 41% of districts have problems with HVAC systems, which amounts to about 36,000 school buildings nationwide. 

Trane Technologies is an industrial manufacturer that has supplied heating and air conditioning systems to schools for over 100 years. Mike Hines, Trane's energy services leader for education, said rural districts especially tend to have older buildings and exhibit these problems. 

“We’re just starting now, within the last couple weeks, to see a surge in concern or thought about the air conditioning and the ventilation [in schools],” Hines said. 

Whitney Coe, director of national programs for the Center for Rural Strategies, said part of the problem is a lack of reliable data on the state of school infrastructure in rural areas across the nation. Current information, she said, is often state-, region- and county-specific.

Japan has Focused on Reducing Airborne Transmission

Japan is a densely populated country and has operated for months on the assumption that tiny, "aerosolized" particles in crowded settings are turbo-charging the spread of the new coronavirus.

"If the WHO recognizes what we did in Japan, then maybe in other parts of the world, they will change (their antiviral procedures)," said Shin-Ichi Tanabe, a professor in the architecture department of Japan's prestigious Waseda University. He was one of the 239 international scientists who co-wrote an open letter to the WHO urging the United Nations agency to revise its guidelines on how to stop the virus spreading. 

Large droplets expelled through the nose and mouth tend to fall to the ground quickly, explained Makoto Tsubokura, who runs the Computational Fluid Dynamics lab at Kobe University. For these larger respiratory particles, social distancing and face masks are considered adequate safeguards. But in rooms with dry, stale air, Tsubokura said his research showed that people coughing, sneezing, and even talking and singing, emit tiny particles that defy gravity — able to hang in the air for many hours or even days, and travel the length of a room. 

The key defense against aerosols, Tsubokura said, is diluting the amount of virus in the air by opening windows and doors and ensuring HVAC systems circulate fresh air. In open-plan offices, he said partitions must be high enough to prevent direct contact with large droplets, but low enough to avoid creating a cloud of virus-heavy air (55 inches, or head height.) Small desk fans, he said, can also help diffuse airborne viral density.

To the Japanese, the latest WHO admission did at least vindicate a strategy that the country adopted in February, when residents were told to avoid "the three Cs" — cramped spaces, crowded areas and close conversation.

After a lull, new infections — primarily among younger residents in Tokyo — have resurged recently, topping 200 for four straight days, before falling back down to 119 in late July.

Alarmingly, new cases are cropping up not just in notoriously cramped and crowded nightlife spots, but also within homes and workplaces, prompting the national government to consider asking businesses to shut down again in the greater metro region. Authorities are anxious to prevent a corresponding surge in serious cases and deaths, which, thus far, have remained low.