May 27, 2020
Each year the “State of the Air" provides a report card on the two most widespread outdoor air pollutants: ozone pollution, also known as smog, and particle pollution, also called soot. Both types of pollution are dangerous and can affect your health. They increase the risk of premature death, cause asthma attacks, cardiovascular damage, cause lung cancer, and developmental and reproductive harm. As HVAC professionals, we can’t do much to impact outdoor air pollutants and the way they affect our health. However, we can educate design engineers, facilities teams, and building owners about how we can make positive changes to our indoor environments.
According to the American Lung Association, poor indoor air quality can have the same impacts on our overall health as outdoor air pollution. There are government safety measures and regulations in place to protect occupants from indoor air pollution, but it’s a great idea to go through the steps below to ensure that your building has clean air.
1. Minimize sources of indoor air pollution. Make sure your workplace is 100 percent tobacco free, dispose garbage regularly, and clean up spills immediately. Get rid of water leaks so that mold doesn’t have a chance to grow. Take care with products or chemicals that have strong odors.
2. Make sure your air is circulating freely. When air isn’t circulating properly, pollution can build up indoors. Do not cover your vents with paper, furniture, or equipment. It is also important to have a well-designed heating, air conditioning and ventilation system. If a building is older, it could be an opportunity to enlist a local manufacturer’s rep or service team to review your existing system to see if improvements can be made. Some of our manufacturing partners, like Camfil, offer air cleaners and air purifiers that could improve your indoor air quality. Additionally, we have other partners who provide high ventilation low speed fans to improve air circulation, especially in high-ceiling lobbies, warehouses, or in industrial facilities.
3. Reduce potential exposure. Eliminate hazardous materials, run exhaust ventilation systems so they can function effectively, and wear appropriate protective equipment when needed.
// about the author
Hoffman & Hoffman Marketing
The marketing department at Hoffman & Hoffman is focused on communicating different commercial HVAC solutions to the industry. We often share manufacturer information to help engineers, contractors, and building owners make informed decisions.
