Building Owners Advised to Upgrade to MERV 13 Filters

HEPA Filters and UV Lights in the Miami Dolphins Locker Room

Daikin Forecasted 2020 Results Down from Previous Year

Extending the Life of Surgical and N95 Masks

Anti-microbials can Eliminate Cleaning and Damage to Masks

Nexera Guardian FFP 2 Mask Lasts Fourteen Days and Costs $10 Dollars

The Pandemic Could be Over in Weeks with High Efficiency Masks

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Building Owners Advised to Upgrade to MERV 13 Filters

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now put out its ventilation recommendations to combat Covid-19, based on standards set by ASHRAE, or the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

David Sasse at the San Francisco-based building inspection firm Healthy Building Science says they’ve seen a bump in HVAC inspection requests related to Covid over the last few months. But not every building manager can afford the upgrades or wants to cover the expense — upfront costs can be in the thousands of dollars and increased energy use can add to the price tag. 

Experts like Newell say the investment is worth it. It will be the key to a safe and healthy return to offices and schools, even with the rollout of Covid vaccines, he says. New disease outbreaks are expected to crop up in the future, and “apart from the pandemic, having an improved filter also gets other particulates out of the air that impact your health — these very fine particulates that easily go way down into your lung,” he says. “Only good things happen when you bring in more fresh air,” including a potential increase in productivity and academic performance. 

So what makes for good ventilation? And how do you know if you have it? 

Improving ventilation typically involves some combination of letting in more fresh air, upgrading air filtration systems, and installing technologies like UV light to kill those pathogens. 

The human nose may be able to smell the stagnant air of a very poorly ventilated room, but patrons or employees may not always know if a building is well-ventilated enough to affect tiny particles like the coronavirus. 

For a typical office building, current ASHRAE standards recommend 20 cubic feet of outdoor air per minute (cfm) per person, and experts like Sasse recommend that a room’s air should be replaced three to five times per hour. But the proper ventilation and air change rates vary depending on building size, occupancy, and use. 

Newell says that the CDC’s guidelines largely track with recommendations from his own firm, Building Equinox. But he says they’re not specific enough about the right levels of air flow for these variable building types and uses. “How can a patron, employee, teacher, or worshipper know if proper ventilation is occurring?” Newell says. 

One of the best ways to know is to measure the concentration of CO2 in each room or part of a building, he says, because it shows the amount of exhaled air that has built up in the room without enough fresh air to flush it out. CO2 levels should register no more than 800 parts per million. “If you see [a place with] levels much above 800 ppm, don't spend much time in there,” Newell advises. But that measurement requires specific technology. Ideally, Newell would like everyone to carry a CO2 meter in their pockets, but those instruments can cost upwards of $100. 

Another option is to ask the manager of a building you enter regularly if they’re meeting standards set by ASHRAE, what kinds of filters are in use, or if they’ve made any HVAC upgrades recently. If you have to be in a small, airtight space, look for and stay near open windows. But it’s important to acknowledge that while ventilation helps mitigate your chances of contracting Covid-19, the risk is rarely zero.

For building managers implementing these upgrades, Sasse also advises clients to switch to higher-rated filters. Many HVAC systems in commercial and residential buildings use filters with MERV 8 ratings (for minimum efficiency reporting value), but the CDC recommends using MERV 13 filters, which can remove up to 90% of air particles, or a  HEPA filter (for high efficiency particulate air) — what’s typically used by medical facilities. “A true HEPA filter is MERV 16, but not all systems can handle bigger filters because of the pressure they require,” Sasse says.

More energy will be needed to heat and cool the additional amount of incoming air and to push existing air through denser filters. In some cases, HVAC systems may be too old to accommodate CDC-recommended changes, which would then require them to be replaced completely.

“We're sacrificing energy efficiency for health,” Sasse says. But Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, isn’t too concerned about new ventilation systems undoing progress on building efficiency — as long as building managers follow CDC guidelines and don’t pull in more fresh air than what’s really necessary.

One thing that would make it easier to ensure the quality of building safety is to improve building standards across the board. Newell has been calling for ventilation standards to be updated to prepare for potential future pandemics, starting with doubling the minimum requirement of 20 cfm per person to 40 cfm per person — which corresponds with a safer CO2 reading.

The payoff would be immediate, he says, pointing to a 2000 study from Harvard University looking at how air quality affected the use of sick leave among more than 3,000 employees across 40 buildings. The researchers found that office workers in moderately ventilated sections were 53% percent more likely than those in highly ventilated areas to take time off due to illness. Preventing those absences could save companies $480 per worker each year, according to the study, and as much as $22.8 billion nationally.

Studies have shown better air also boosts students’ performance. In fact, the $900 million Covid-19 stimulus bill signed into law last month included a $54.3 billion fund to help upgrade HVAC systems in K-12 schools, many of which harbor unhealthy learning environments.

Plus, “when you think about the expenses that might be required to improve ventilation everywhere, we're talking about jobs,” Newell adds. “All of that money goes to paying someone to drill holes, to put in sheet metal and to add filter systems, so it's very productive spending.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/how-to-know-if-a-building-has-good-ventilation

HEPA Filters and UV Lights in the Miami Dolphins Locker Room

The National Football League's Miami Dolphins are battling COVID in  the locker room, where about 40 Healthe ceiling troffers, such as the one in the middle foreground of the ceiling in this photo, are equipped with a filtration system and Crystal IS UV-C LEDs to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Healthe has installed about forty 2×2-ft fixtures into dropped ceilings inside the locker room and other facilities for the Miami Dolphins football team in Miami Gardens, FL.

Each “Healthe Air” troffer has a long, narrow visible light strip of LEDs running down its middle, pointing down for illumination. To either side are rectangular meshes that form an air system. The intake side houses a HEPA cleaning system, with fans designed to draw in air for purification by the UV-C LEDs. It also has a charcoal filter to eliminate odors. Clean air exits via the outlet side.

A dozen Crystal IS UV-C LEDs drawing 60 mW of power each and emitting at 265 nm sit enclosed inside the HEPA system, Crystal IS CEO Larry Felton told LEDs Magazine. UV-C is invisible radiation associated with the light spectrum. It is part of the ultraviolet bandwidth. At between 100 and 280 nm, it is shorter than “A” and “B” band UV. UV-C has been proven to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 in different light-source forms — of recent note, mainly as mercury-vapor lamps.

The enclosed design serves at least two purposes. It points the UV-C LEDs directly at the circulating air. It also acts as a shield preventing the UV-C from contacting people in the room. UV-C is hazardous to skin and eyes.

Crystal IS, based in Green Island, NY near Albany and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Kasei, has a stable of germicidal UV-C LEDs branded Klaran and targeting pathogens including viruses, bacteria, and endospores for use in treating water, air, and surfaces. The company has been expanding into coronavirus deactivation amid the pandemic, building devices not just for fans and luminaires but also for UV-C chambers such as one made by Nashville, TN-based Cleanbox.

It develops UV-C LEDs that emit radiation between 260 to 270 nm, which Felton pointed out is more effective against SARS-CoV-2 than the 275–280-nm spectrum that some other UV-C LED manufacturers use. (Osram Opto Semiconductors this week introduced a UV-C packaged LED at 275 nm).

Crystal IS uses an aluminum nitride (AIN) substrate rather than a sapphire substrate. It is the AIN approach that enables Crystal to tap the 260–270-nm range, Felton said.

The Miami Dolphins installation marks another case of a major league sports team deploying UV-C to combat the coronavirus in its facilities. In Europe, Signify has outfitted soccer clubs PSV Eindhoven in Holland and RB Leipzig in Germany. Signify also recently outfitted an Edeka supermarket outlet in Hamburg, Germany, with UV-C disinfection capability.

Signify's push into UV-C does not use LED technology. Rather, it is based on conventional mercury-vapor technology. Signify CEO Eric Rondolat has been dismissing UV-C LED for the time being, explaining to LEDs more than once this year that in their current state UV-C systems would require many more LED light sources than would be practical on both a cost and energy consumption basis.

Daikin Forecasted 2020 Results Down from Previous Year

Daikin benefits from sales of air filters by its AAF Flanders subsidiary. However its air conditioning products are the bulk of the sales and earnings totals.

 

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Businesses that have a global presence and hold market leader positions in their segments present a good investment avenue, as their sheer size and reach offset some of the market-linked risks being faced by firms globally. Daikin Industries Ltd. easily fits in that description; as one of the world's leading manufacturer of air conditioning and cooling solutions, with a presence in over 150 countries and 100 global production bases and a revenue base of over JPY 2.3 trillion, DKILY is a globally diversified behemoth. The company's stock would have been an easy 'Buy' had it not galloped the way it did in 2020, seemingly oblivious to the economic slowdown and its impact on DKILY's financial performance. The stock has forged a path of its own, reaching new highs in December 2020, leaving very little scope for investors looking for an upside.

DKILY's business has not been immune to the headwinds of COVID-19, and the company's revenue has declined 9% and operating profit slid down by 22% in the six months ended September 2020, as demand, particularly on the industrial side, remains stunted, following the pandemic driven hit on economic growth. It is not unanticipated; the fixed cost heavy nature of manufacturing businesses is expected to lead to pressure on operating margin in times of revenue stress, as was seen in the year ended March 2020. Despite the company's cost rationalization plans, margin will likely remain under the pump in the near future.

But DKILY's margin pressure started even before the pandemic came into play. While COVID-19 is a certain dampener on the business, DKILY's financial performance was already seeing negative headwinds on demand, with revenue growth moderating to 3% in FYE Mar20, following two years of sharp revenue increase. Operating margin declined across business segments in the last FY, indicating the pressures on profitability.

Over a long-term horizon, the fundamental drivers for DKILY's main business segment seem well in place - global warming alone should drive up the demand for residential air conditioning, along with increasing concerns for maintaining air quality indoors, which also will likely drive consumers' preference to rely on controlled environments. On the commercial side, tighter regulatory demands, like the European Commissions' EU-wide rules regarding energy efficiency and carbon emissions, are expected to emerge across the globe, which in turn will spur business investments in HVAC, and thereby increase the market size for DKILY. As the leading manufacturer of both residential and commercial cooling products, the company is not likely to miss the surge in demand when it comes.

But while the long term seems secure for DKILY, its near term will likely remain impacted by the economic slowdown and the resultant slump in demand on its non-residential business. The current FY has seen factory shutdowns, which has also led to loss of revenue and market share for the company. The loss of revenue has led to margin erosion of about 170bps in the current YTD period, as compared to the same period of the last FY. Despite the cost-saving efforts being undertaken, the current year margin is expected to remain at 10-11% levels, and the management guidance leads to expectations that it will remain around similar levels, as profitability is expected to return to pre-COVID levels only in 2022.

There is no doubt that DKILY will be able to ride this tide out. The company's balance sheet is strong, there is limited debt on it currently, indicated by the D/E of ~0.4 (including leases, as of March 2020). The company's ability to expand capacity to push out products that see demand surges is high, supported both by the financial flexibility accorded by the low leverage and its business flexibility supported by its global presence - like its plan to augment the supply capacity of air purifiers, which the management expects will have a demand of a million units in the next FY. This ability to expand or modify production scale to suit demand trends is a sustainable strength that will ensure DKILY remains the leading player in the categories it operates in.

There is also the inorganic route that could offset some of the revenue-side challenges that DKILY is facing. In November 2020, the company acquired Stevens Equipment Supply, a Minnesota based distributor of electric equipment and accessories, operating in twelve states in the US. Acquisitions like this will enhance the distribution depth of DKILY, which could ease some of the pressure on maintaining demand and achieving revenue growth.

Extending the Life of Surgical and N95 Masks

The masks used by the public as compared to medical workers differ in a number of ways. The risk in medical settings is greater because of

·         higher viral loads (number of individuals  with COVID)

·         vulnerable populations ( e.g. cancer patients)

For the medical worker dealing with COVID cases the chance of being in the vicinity of a COVID emitter is nearly 100%. In the worst case public scenario one out of every hundred individuals is a transmitter and typically it is only 1 in 1000.

Protection is all about reducing the odds. If  a person because of occupation is 1000 times more likely to need the protection than another he should not consider compromising mask efficiency by extended wear.

A person in a poor country whose alternative is a cloth mask which  has an FFE of 10% would be better off with a mask which is initially very efficient but over time deteriorates. It is still a better choice until it reaches an FEE of 10%.

Deterioration can involve fit and filter media efficiency. Another factor is transmission of virus from the mask surface. Masks with anti-microbial media do not have to be cleaned as frequently.  This may greatly extend the life.

Nexera recommends its FFP 2 mask for use of up to 14 days.  It costs approximately $10. So the cost per day of use is 71 cents.

The mask is rated FFP 2 with 6% penetration and less than 8% inward leakage. So the FFE rating would be 86%. $30 CATER masks have been tested at an FFE of 90%. The recommended life of these masks is up to 90 days. A  $2 upgraded surgical mask with a brace might have an FFE above 85%. The brace has potentially 1 year of life. The surgical mask might have a life of weeks. 

Various mask types are likely to deteriorate at different rates.  For rough comparison purposes we used a high deterioration rate (A) and a slower one (B).

A brace could cost $15 or could be a DIY version.  With 4 per year x $2 plus 15 for the brace the total is $22 per year. For a country such as India this would be a $22 billion/yr expense.

The wealthiest citizens will want CATER masks and purchase at least four per year at $30 each.  A middle class group could spend $50/yr each while 3.2 billion people would average only $25 each.

 

This results in 2021 market of $296 billion. This investment would insure the end of the pandemic and would be a small price to pay considering the lives saved and economic benefits.

Anti-microbials can Eliminate Cleaning and Damage to Masks

Anti-microbials in high risk settings can be justified just on the risk reduction associated with viruses transmitted from the mask surface. In low risk settings these anti microbials can be justified based on reduced mask cleaning and resultant deterioration.

Asten Johnson provides Foss media. Sciessent provides antimicrobials to be used with the media.  Nexera and  Haynes are supplying masks using the media

Thorough testing has shown the silver-copper antimicrobial compounds to be nontoxic and effective, making the agents perfectly suited for antimicrobial respirator masks. These same antimicrobial agents are National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) listed and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered. They are also listed with the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association as a cosmetic preservative and have the standard approval in Europe under the Biocidal Products Directive.

The cornerstone of the technology is silver (Ag), a naturally occurring, safe, and effective antimicrobial agent in its ionic form. The delivery system is a zeolite carrier that allows a controlled and effective release of the silver ions, on demand, thus killing and inhibiting the growth of bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungus over long periods of time. This stable ion exchange process is non-reactive and allows the compound to be used in virtually every imaginable manufacturing process.

Silver and copper active elements are released at a steady rate as they interact with humidity in the environment, producing an antibacterial/antifungal/antiviral surface. The moisture in the environment causes a controlled release of the copper and silver through a proprietary ionic exchange.

The silver-copper zeolite antimicrobial agent is embedded throughout the fabric of the mask. As humidity in the environment naturally interacts with the silver-copper zeolites, an ion is omitted which interacts with the cells of the microorganism and interrupts its ability to function or reproduce. This safe and nontoxic release of the ions are continuous and remain active over long periods of time.

In many applications, the antimicrobial compound has been shown to provide antimicrobial efficacy in just a few minutes while maintaining optimal killing and inhibitory performance for months.

Sciessent says that unlike the premeditated work with Nexera to develop a mask following the SARS outbreak nearly two decades ago,  work with Hanesbrands required that the team leverage existing knowledge and experience to quickly fill-in various information gaps. Instead of developing a product from the ground up, Hanesbrands was repurposing its knitted cotton fabrics treated with Agion Antimicrobial to develop its masks.

Sciessent supported Hanesbrands in their interactions with FDA. Given the urgent need to address the PPE shortage, it appeared communication was far more open and frequent with the agency under the EUA directive. The correspondence and exchange of information between Hanesbrands and FDA moved quickly. In this circumstance, the FDA did not clear specific efficacy claims; in fact, the agency said no efficacy claims could be made.


Nexera Guardian FFP 2 Mask Lasts Fourteen Days and Costs $10 Dollars

With the next generation microbe-fighting technology, the SpectraShield™ GUARDIAN is the first ever REUSABLE antimicrobial protected FFP2 respirator mask. It is creatively engineered to be reused for up to 14 days. Its patented, safe, natural, and effective Fosshield® antimicrobial technology penetrates the microbe’s cell wall, attacks its metabolism and disrupts reproduction. Approved under E.U. classification EN149:2001 + A1:2009 Features and Benefits:

• Regulatory: EU FFP2 and Reusability certified • Superior Performance: – Proven highly effective against the following viruses: - Influenza A (Swine Flu or H1N1) - Avian Flu (H5N1) - Rhinovirus - Adenovirus - Coronavirus – Begins microbe prevention immediately and eliminates 99.99% of the following tested bacteria after one hour of contact with the surface of the respirator: - Methycillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) - Streptococcus Pyogenese - Haemophilus Influenzae - Legionella Pnuemophila

• Protection: – Shields from blood, other bodily fluids, and a wide spectrum of airborne respiratory threats – Meets CDC and WHO guidelines for tuberculosis and other infectious disease exposure control – Filters out viruses, fungi, bacteria, pollen and other airborne irritants; including non-oil containing fumes, mists and dust – Hypoallergenic

 • Design: – Reusable wear for up to 14 days – Unique construction naturally contours to facial features for a guaranteed proper fit – PVC and latex-free – Uses same safe and effective Fosshield® antimicrobial technology incorporated in Nexera’s FDA 510(k) cleared surgical respirator mask

The Pandemic Could be Over in Weeks with High Efficiency Masks

Devabhaktuni Srikrishna will be a presenter in the webinar on the 2lst where we will be       discussing the impact of more efficient masks. He has used the Wells-Riley model on infection risk to show the impact of higher efficiency masks.  His findings are consistent with what has been reported in the Alert. Here is a summary of his new paper.

Abstract

Background Recently the US CDC acknowledged that the COVID-19 crisis is facilitated at least in part by aerosolized virus exhaled by symptomatic, asymptomatic, or pre-symptomatic infected individuals. Disposable N95 masks remain in short supply due to their use in healthcare settings during the Coronavirus pandemic, whereas NIOSH-approved elastomeric N95 (eN95) masks remain immediately available for use by essential workers and the general public. New reusable N95 mask options with symmetric filtration efficiency can be anticipated to be NIOSH approved in the coming months, today’s eN95 masks have asymmetric filtration efficiency upon inhalation (95%) and exhalation (well under 95%) but are available now during the Fall and Winter when Coronavirus cases are expected to peak.

 

Methods Based on the Wells-Riley model of infection risk, we examine how the rate of transmission of the virus from one infected person in a closed, congested room with poor ventilation to several other susceptible individuals is impacted by the filtration efficiency of the masks they are wearing. Three scenarios are modeled – a room (6 people, 12’ × 20’ × 10’), a bar (18 people, 20’ × 40’ × 10’), and a classroom (26 people, 20’ × 30’ × 10’) with one infectious individual and remaining susceptibles.

 

By dynamically estimating the accumulation of virus in aerosols exhaled by the infected person in these congested spaces for four hours using a “box model,” we compare the transmission risk (probability) when susceptible people based on a realistic hypothesis of face mask protection during inhaling and exhaling e.g. using cloth masks or N95 respirators.

Results Across all three scenarios, cloth masks modeled with 30% symmetric filtration efficiency alone were insufficient to stop the spread (18% to 40% infection risk), whereas eN95 masks (modeled as 95% filtration efficiency on inhalation, 30% on exhalation) reduced the infection risk to 1.5% to 3.6%. Symmetric filtration of 80% reduces the risk to 1.7% to 4.1% and symmetric filtration of 95% would further reduce the risk to 0.11% to 0.26%.

 

Conclusion This modeling of mask filtration efficiency suggests that the pandemic could be readily controlled within several weeks if (in conjunction with sensible hygiene) a sufficiently large majority of people wear asymmetric but higher-filtration masks (e.g. eN95) that also block aerosols whenever exposed to anyone else outside their household in order to completely stop inter-household spread.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.11.10.20227710v1