HVAC INDUSTRY RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives to the point that some businesses are forced to close their doors, people are sheltering in place at home attempting to reduce the spread of the virus, and hospitals are preparing for the worst as they increase capacity by building temporary hospitals, testing areas and containment rooms.

As a whole, our industry is stepping up to the plate to help front-line workers combat the spread of the current virus as well as thinking forward to make buildings safer for occupants in the future.   

Let’s take a look at what some industry leaders are working on during the pandemic:

ASHRAE:  Always an innovative key player in the HVAC industry, ASHRAE has created a task force to utilize technical resources to both address the current COVID-19 pandemic and to provide guidance to HVAC design engineers, architects and facilities teams to prepare buildings for future epidemics.  Members of the task force include Professional Engineers, medical doctors, and Ph.D.’s who have combined extensive experience in design, construction, operations, and research.   The task force experts will review technical questions submitted to ASHRAE as well as prepare concise summaries of the most relevant information available.  Questions and requests for technical guidance can be submitted to COVID-19@ashrae.org.  

Price Industries:  The company is working full tilt to manufacturer fan filter units that can be used to draw air out of rooms and expelling it through a filter.  An article about the units quotes David Surminski, the manager of critical environments for Price Industries:  “You can basically wheel them into these patient rooms and, within under 10 minutes, you can convert that to a negative pressure isolation room.” 

Ruskin: We’ve blogged about five COVID-19 responses from the Ruskin team that include shipments in under 24 hours to support hospital expansions, laboratories, temporary hospitals, and COVID-19 treatment centers.   

Daikin Applied:  Daikin is offering uninterrupted performance for commercial buildings and critical care facilities with their rental chiller program for critical building needs.  They are helping reps support hospitals with temporary cooling equipment and are working hard to help us all flatten the curve.

Greenheck:  Greenheck has been engaged by hospitals to provide lab exhaust equipment for patient isolation rooms, louvers for airflow in converted patient spaces, dampers for a retrofit hand sanitizer production project, and ongoing HVAC equipment supply for data centers who provide essential infrastructure for healthcare and businesses.

These are not the only manufacturers who are working overtime to provide extraordinary customer service during a time when all the world seems to be running a little bit wild.  We have heard so many stories of individuals and companies going above and beyond during this pandemic.  Additionally, manufacturer’s reps like us are working from home and with distance protocols in mind in the office to ensure that critical building projects stay on target. 

The entire HVAC industry is here working hard to support building occupants, facilities teams, engineers, and manufacturing facilities so that we can keep buildings comfortable and maintain safety protocols for everyone.

Stay safe out there.  We’re all in this together.  #BuildingStrong