Healthier Indoor Air Through Operations & Maintenance

Industry sources discuss operations and maintenance practices that can support your journey toward healthier indoor air in your facility.

By Anne Cosgrove
From the April 2022 Issue

Though it’s actually invisible, since March 2020 indoor air quality (IAQ) has undoubtedly become a visible issue to anyone who works, lives, or plays in a facility. With the emergence of Covid-19 across the globe, facilities professionals and fellow building industry stakeholders have ramped up actions and awareness related to the state of the IAQ inside their facilities. Facility Executive spoke with three industry sources about operations and maintenance (O&M) practices that aid in understanding your facility’s current IAQ conditions, as part of the journey toward healthier indoor spaces.

(Image: Adobe Stock / Dizain)

Baseline IAQ First

Alan Wozniak, President of Pure Air Controls, Inc., a nationally recognized indoor air quality firm, shared this insight: “It’s always best to understand the baseline conditions within a building and the systems in operation. What would you do if you went to your primary care physician and without an examination or single question sent you directly to have your spleen removed? Of course, no doctor would do that! It’s the same for buildings and HVAC. Make the investment in data and science through quantitative IAQ/HVAC baseline assessments which will efficiently steer budgets, planning, and lead to successful outcomes. Ultimately saving money, improving IAQ conditions and leading to greater ROI.”

Continues Wozniak, “Get the data, make a plan, and then commit to it. There are quite a few non-governmental organizations like ASHRAE, IAQA, NADCA, and others that provide clear guidance for HVAC, indoor air quality and operations. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1 addresses ventilation specifically for acceptable IAQ. In fact, Section 8 is entirely dedicated toward implementing an Operations and Maintenance Manual, or O&M.”

“It is important to understand the existing conditions and correcting issues before introducing new equipment,” adds Wozniak. “You may be placing a bandage on a hemorrhaging condition or a tourniquet for a bandage need. For example, outfitting dirty air handlers with UV or needlepoint bipolar ionization would be very little help, if any, and do nothing to improve airflow, building dehumidification, and building pressurization if the coils are fouled.”

Use Building Automation Tech

Greg Turner, Senior Director of Engineering at Honeywell, seconds the importance of first understanding how building systems are performing related to IAQ. “This starts with an air quality audit,” he says. “The audit includes a combination of measurements made with handheld tools and inspection of AHUs and outdoor air intakes. We evaluate ventilation needs for improving IAQ that could require both bringing in more fresh air and cleaning recirculated indoor air to improve energy efficiency.”

Turner then highlights the role of building technology to take next steps in the journey. “In some cases, facility managers can purge building contaminants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by extending the operating times of HVAC systems to run on basis of the current occupancy of a facility and effective scheduling (e.g., before the earliest occupants arrive for the day and after the last occupants have left for the night). Additionally, facility teams can increase the number of air exchanges per hour to provide fresh air to closed spaces—this can be achieved through natural or mechanical ventilation.”

“Additionally, air filter media can have a significant impact on a building’s air quality, ventilation rates and even energy consumption,” continues Turner. “In terms of sustained operations, using an air filter with proper MERV rating for the contaminants of concern and the mechanical system design can help to significantly reduce indoor pollution at the lowest filter, labor, and energy cost. In certain settings, such as healthcare facilities, HEPA filtration may be warranted for increased filtration efficiency.”

Bring All The Tools Together

It’s not news to facility managers that IAQ is a complex issue, and that each building will have its own challenges, opportunities, and ultimately, solutions. Johnson Controls recently introduced an industry-first offering for buildings professionals with its OpenBlue IAQ as a Service (IAQaaS). Tyler Smith, Executive Director, Healthy Buildings Services and Solutions with the company, explains, “[This new offering] allows facilities to pay for outcomes instead of equipment. Our long-term life cycle funding models allow facilities to modernize and refresh clean air environments while mitigating risk—putting clean air-focused upgrades within reach for facilities of all types.”

In discussing what facilities might do when evaluating current IAQ conditions and the role of their HVAC O&M, Smith says, “The EPA’s recent ‘Clean Air in Buildings Challenge’ [announced March 22, 2022] addresses this issue and marks an essential step in the journey toward healthier, cleaner infrastructure throughout the country. This challenge provides a set of guidelines and resources building owners and operators can use to prioritize IAQ within their facilities.”

The EPA Challenge focuses on:

1. Create a clean indoor air action plan that assesses indoor air quality and includes HVAC inspections and maintenance.
2. Optimize fresh air ventilation by bringing in and circulating fresh outdoor air.
3. Enhance air filtration and cleaning using the central HVAC system and in-room air-cleaning devices. “For most buildings, we recommend using filters with a MERV rating of at least 13, or as high as 16 for certain applications. HEPA filters are also available and are becoming more common in commercial buildings, especially when installed as part of a portable filtration unit,” states Smith. And,
4. Engage the building community by communicating with building occupants to increase awareness, commitment, and participation.

Focusing on how facilities might make improvements with the equipment they have in place today, Smith advises: “Building owners can look to optimize their HVAC controls sequences and enhanced filtration (including portable filtration) so that they work together to accommodate building load flexes. Many buildings are not operating at a consistent occupant capacity. Control systems can auto-monitor building load and respond appropriately by dictating the optimal blend of return and outdoor air mix. Having that control system in place ensures buildings are maintaining appropriate IAQ levels, even with fluctuating building loads.”

Wherever your facility is on the IAQ improvement journey, examining existing equipment and procedures is a step that will take you in the right direction.

Cosgrove is Editorial Director of Facility Executive.

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, or send an e-mail to the Editor at [email protected].

Check out all the latest facility management news related to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and indoor air quality.

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More than 100 new air purification devices have been installed at Walsall Manor Hospital

GAMA healthcare delivered and installed the devices, with support and help from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Estates and Facilities and Electrical and Biomedical Engineering (EBME) services.

The devices will benefit patients receiving treatment as well as staff working there as they capture airborne pathogens like bacteria, fungi and viral aerosols alongside particles and odours.

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is one of the first in the country to purchase these to a large scale.

Rediair is an instant air purification device, providing clean air where and when needed while capturing particulates, odours and more than 99 per cent of airborne pathogens.

Along with other infection prevention interventions, improving indoor air quality is part of the trust’s holistic approach to reduce the risk of transmission of respiratory pathogens.

Amy Wallett, head of infection prevention and control, said: “I am really pleased that we are one of the first trust’s in the country to purchase these to a large scale to help protect our patients and staff.

“We have learnt a lot in the last two years during the pandemic and have increased our understanding of the importance of indoor air quality.

“This is fantastic progress and I feel really proud that we have implemented these devices here at Walsall.

“Delivery, assembling and installation of 134 devices in one day was no easy task.

“The teamwork displayed from our colleagues in Infection Prevention, Estates and Facilities, EBME and from the company was exceptional.”

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Growing up, I lived in a strict no-shoes-inside household. My dad is Korean, and it’s a common cultural thing in many Asian homes. On top of that, my parents were also both microbiologists — and they had a pretty good idea that tracking in a bunch of junk from outside wasn’t the best idea generally. Shoes didn’t cross the welcome mat, and inside slippers and flip-flops ruled in our home.

Now science has entered the shoes inside debate, and they’ve solidly chosen a side: leave your disgusting shoes at the door, for your health.

Specifically, a group of environmental chemists have been studying household filth for a decade, and all of their research points to kicking off your kicks at the door. Their program, DustSafe, analyses vacuum dust from households around the world and looks for contaminants — and they’ve figured out that a lot of harmful stuff can come tromping through the door on your sneaks.

What do your shoes bring into your home?

It seems obvious that shoes bring with them dirt and crud. But it’s more complicated than that. About one-third of the filth in your home comes in on your shoes, and that can include harmful bacteria and microorganisms, toxins from asphalt, heavy metals, and chemicals from lawn and garden sprays, the group explained to CNN.

While you can’t stop all of that crap from getting into your house, taking off your shoes helps.

How household dust can harm you and your family

Humans spend about 90% of their time inside. So when you hang out in your house, you’re breathing in the dust that floats around in that air, the researchers say. This consists of all sorts of stuff that naturally builds up in a house — like skin cells and pet dander — as well as stuff that’s brought inside, like residue from your shoes.

A list of not-so-great stuff that you might be breathing in inside include microplastics, antibiotoic-resistent genes, PFAs, and toxic metals. Many of these things can blow in the window, but a lot of it gets tromped in.

Get some house shoes

The DustSafe team concluded by saying that while there are upsides to taking off your shoes, there aren’t many big downsides. Socks and slippers are great — and if you need arch or ankle support, just have a pair of indoor shoes that you slip on when you take your outdoor shoes off.

And yes, while there are studies that confirm that a little dirt actually makes your immune system stronger, you can easily get that dirt exposure outside, not on your floors and carpets. It can be bad to have a completely sterile house, or to use too many strong cleaning products to keep out germs, but let’s be honest: that’s not the issue for 99% of parents.

Long story short: taking off your shoes at the door helps you control household dust, toxins, and germs. It’s also an easy way to keep your floors cleaner for longer. And in many cultures and households, it’s the polite thing to do.

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Many people who use wood-burning stoves are unaware of the associated health hazards from indoor air pollution, especially for children and older adults. Cleaner, safer forms of domestic heating are now available that provide the added bonus of lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Share on PinterestWood burning contributes significantly to pollution and climate change. Koki Jovanovic/Stocksy

The cheerful glow of a wood-burning stove creates a cozy atmosphere on a cold winter’s night, but the aesthetic appeal of wood burners comes at a high price for human health.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that wood smoke is largely responsible for poor air quality during winter months in many residential areas across the United States.

Burning wood, in addition to producing toxic gases such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, also generates tiny, solid particles called particulates.

“The particle pollution is especially dangerous because these particles are so tiny that they can travel deep into the lungs, causing irritation and inflammation,” said Dr. John M. James, medical specialist and spokesperson at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

“Immediate exposure can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and asthma attacks,” he told Medical News Today.

“Chronic exposure can lead to an overall decline in lung function and chronic bronchitis,” he added.

According to the EPA, particulate matter (PM) can also cause heart attacks, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, and heart failure, especially in people who are already at high risk for these conditions.

“Wood smoke can irritate your lungs, cause inflammation, affect your immune system, and make you more prone to lung infections, likely including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.”

– Environmental Protection Agency

The smaller the particulates, the more easily they pass from the lungs into the bloodstream and throughout the body.

The most harmful particles are therefore less than 2.5 micrometers (thousandths of a millimeter) across and are known as PM2.5.

In addition to domestic wood-burning, other sources of PM2.5 include power stations, the engines of motor vehicles, and rubber tires as they wear down.

The particles lodge in the lungs, heart, brain, and other organs, where they can have serious impacts on health, especially for vulnerable individuals such as children, older adults, and people with pre-existing conditions.

According to the British Lung Foundation, PM2.5 can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. There may also be links between PM2.5 exposure and diabetes, as well as brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Low birth weight has also been found in babies of mothers who have been exposed to PM2.5 during pregnancy.

A recent study found that increased exposure to PM2.5 may also be associated with poorer reasoning and problem-solving abilities, and a higher risk of anxiety and depression.

The EPA reports that indoor PM levels can exceed those outdoors. Sources include any kind of combustion, from cigarette smoking, cooking, and candles, to open fireplaces, wood stoves, and unvented gas or kerosene heaters.

Wood is a relatively cheap fuel, which makes it an especially appealing way to heat homes when oil and gas prices are soaring.

Wood stoves have also become popular in recent years for their aesthetic appeal. However, they are a major source of particulates, both indoors and outdoors.

A recent review found that open fires generate the most particulates for each unit of heating, followed in descending order by multi-fuel stoves, and then stoves that burn wood pellets.

A study in 2020 found that indoor levels of PM2.5 were three times as high in households that used wood stoves compared with those that did not. The research suggested that opening the stove door to add more fuel caused spikes in indoor particulate levels.

Oil and gas boilers also produce particulates, but the total contribution of wood-burning in stoves and open fires to overall particulate pollution may come as a surprise.

In the United Kingdom, for example, a government report estimates that the use of wood as a fuel accounted for 70% of PM2.5 emissions from domestic combustion in 2020.

Emissions of PM2.5 from this source increased by 35% between 2010 and 2020 to reach 17% of total PM2.5 emissions.

This suggests that in 2020, wood-burning in U.K. homes produced more particulate pollution than all road traffic, which accounted for 13% of PM2.5 pollution.

Wood stoves are a popular way to heat homes in rural areas, where they can cause high levels of indoor and outdoor particulate pollution. Low-income communities may be especially vulnerable.

An investigation into indoor air pollution in rural areas of the U.S. found higher concentrations of PM2.5 in Alaskan and Navajo Nation homes, for example, compared with homes in Montana.

Households that had not cleaned their chimney recently, and those that were not using high quality stoves, had considerably higher indoor PM2.5 levels.

To minimize indoor air pollution, the EPA recommends that people:

• Avoid the use of unvented stoves, fireplaces, or fuel-burning space heaters indoors.
• Choose a wood stove that has been certified as compliant with EPA emission standards, and ensure that the door fits tightly.
• Use an appropriate fuel in stoves and fireplaces, such as well-seasoned, dry wood.

However, there is no such thing as a pollution-free wood burner.

“Even the best designed and best-operated wood-burning (or composite wood pellet-burning) stove nevertheless produces some air pollution,” said Kevin M. Stewart, director of environmental health advocacy and public policy at the American Lung Association.

“Even if venting of exhaust is ideal and all products of combustion are released into the outdoor air, those emissions frequently remain in close proximity to the residence that emits them, and it is common for some of those emissions to become re-entrained into the air that is brought into the home,” he told MNT.

He pointed out that the pollutants vented from a stove can also enter neighboring homes.

Even stoves that meet the highest environmental standards can cause more outdoor air pollution than a truck.

For example, researchers found that — for the same energy output — wood burners that met the European Union’s 2022 EcoDesign standard produced 750 times as much PM2.5 as a heavy goods vehicle.

The scientists also warn of a spike in indoor particulate pollution whenever someone opens the stove door to add more fuel.

Wood pellet boilers avoid this problem because they use a closed, automatic system to feed the pellets into a furnace.

They are also highly efficient and have low particulate emissions. In addition, their fuel is sustainable because it is made from waste wood.

On the downside, wood pellet boilers are expensive, they require frequent maintenance and a large storage space for the pellets.

In addition to the EPA recommendations for minimizing emissions from wood stoves (see above), Dr. James of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has some further advice:

“[M]ake sure the area where the wood-burning stove is used is properly equipped […] This includes a quality air filtration device, maintaining smoke alarms, installing a carbon monoxide detector, keeping a fire extinguisher handy and in proper working condition, and keeping anything flammable away from the stove.”

The good news is that a hi-tech alternative to burning fuel of any kind is now available. Known as a heat pump, it produces no direct pollution or greenhouse gas emissions.

A heat pump captures and concentrates the heat outside a house — either from the open air or underground — and brings it indoors.

Like a refrigerator or air-conditioning unit, it uses electricity to alternately vaporize and condense a refrigerant.

The refrigerant absorbs heat from the atmosphere or ground as it vaporizes, then releases the heat indoors as it condenses into a liquid.

The pump uses less electricity than an ordinary electric heater, such as a fan heater, for the same amount of heat output.

Installation costs are a drawback for most heat pumps, though. However, newer, “high-temperature” designs have the potential to reduce these costs.

Conventional, “low-temperature” heat pumps operate most efficiently at around 35–45°C, compared with temperatures of 60–80°C in a gas or oil-fired central heating system.

Installing one of these pumps, therefore, entails extra home insulation and an overhaul of the central heating system to increase the surface area of radiators, or install underfloor heating.

Newer, high-temperature pumps, however, can deliver temperatures of 60–80°C. So, in theory, they can be incorporated into an existing central heating system.

These pumps, such as the ones made by the Swedish company Vattenfall, raise temperatures by using carbon dioxide or propane rather than a conventional refrigerant. They also use a large indoor water tank to store or “buffer” the heat.

“Basically the heat pump uses CO2 rather than a synthetic product like a lot of traditional heat pumps,” explained Emily Faull, a spokesperson for Vattenfall.

“There is also a buffer (a giant water tank) which supplies hot water to the house as well as heating,” she added.

However, it is worth noting that high-temperature heat pumps use more electricity than the conventional type, which increases their running costs.

Another clean alternative to biomass and fossil fuels is hydrogen, which produces no greenhouse gases or particulates when it burns.

Research and early trials are underway to investigate the safety of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source for heating homes.

In the meantime, one of the fastest-growing technologies is “district heating,” which involves piping heat from factories, waste incinerators, or underground (“geothermal” heat) into homes.

This works well in areas of high population density, such as cities, but less well in rural areas.

Much research and investment lie ahead, but technologies like these offer a win-win for tackling climate change and improving public health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that indoor air pollution currently causes 3.8 million premature deaths every year.

So while it may not have the aesthetic appeal of a wood stove or an open fire, low-carbon heating has the potential to save millions of lives worldwide in the coming decades.

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