Optimizing Hospital HVAC to Combat the Spread Infectious Disease

In the era of COVID-19, our awareness of infectious disease and its impact on hospital HVAC system needs, employees, and customers has completely changed. Now more than ever, the appropriate measures to ensure clean, breathable air are essential to maintaining a safe commercial building space for all organizations.

Healthcare facilities and hospitals are at particular risk to the spread of harmful airborne pathogens, and in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease, hospital HVAC systems must be optimized to keep patients and medical staff safe while operating under energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.

How Proper Hospital HVAC System Measures Can Limit the Spread of Infectious Disease

There are a number of key components of commercial HVAC system optimization and maintenance that healthcare facilities and hospitals should consider in their efforts to contain the spread of airborne bacteria and viruses.

Using a MERV 13 Filter or Higher

The performance of your filtration system has the ability to impact the indoor air quality of your commercial space in many ways, all contributing to the comfort and safety of the building. When building managers fail to properly maintain their commercial air filters, harmful airborne pathogens and other contaminants are allowed to circulate throughout the building via the HVAC system. In environments where sterilization is critical, applying the appropriate filter type is essential.

Because serious infection and disease can occur due to exposure to such contaminants, healthcare facilities and hospitals must apply a minimum of MERV 13 filters to their commercial HVAC system—any less can dramatically impact the system’s ability to combat the spread of everyday dust and debris buildup, causing the HVAC system to work harder to reduce airflow resistance and air supply rates.

In order to ensure that a hospital’s air filters are powerful enough to control the accelerated accumulation of bacteria in a medical environment, buildings must meet state and federal health and safety specifications for air filter grades. Failure to do so puts both building occupants and HVAC performance at severe risk.

Ensure Proper Control of Temperature and Humidity for Your Hospital HVAC System

Temperature and humidity have a direct impact on both the introduction and reduction of infectious disease into building spaces, with some research indicating that increases and decreases in temperature and humidity levels may accelerate the removal of certain infectious diseases by up to 50 percent. Discussing equipment options with a commercial HVAC partner can help hospitals determine the automation equipment that is right for their particular healthcare or medical facility.

Establish Reliable Energy Sources and Back-Up Generators

Being able to rely on consistent, dependable, and powerful energy will not only ensure the safety and comfort of patients and medical staff, but also prevent overall downtime. As part of regular hospital HVAC system maintenance, arrangements for professional inspections of power sources are crucial. Additionally, when power failures happen, it’s necessary to have alternate sources of energy in the form of back-up generators to power hospital HVAC systems.

Count on Donnelly Mechanical for Your Hospital HVAC System Needs

Donnelly Mechanical has been working with healthcare and medical facilities for over 30 years to support them with all their hospital HVAC system needs. Across the New York City area, hospitals depend on the Donnelly team to provide them with the tools and expertise necessary to install and maintain powerful and effective hospital HVAC system equipment, regardless of the application. Contact us today for more information on how we can optimize your hospital’s HVAC system.