As the world emerges from a pandemic which has severely impacted the global population, a return to the workplace will require some adjustment to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) practices, as staff require assurances that it is safe to return.
Many studies have been conducted into how the virus spreads, what measures needs to be taken to prevent it from spreading, and how to eliminate it from the indoor environment.
Key strategies recommended by industry bodies such as ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers) and the UK’s CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) include redesigning layouts, zonal HVAC controls, dilution ventilation, VRF with DOAS (100% fresh air), cleaning of air ducts, filtration, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), smart sensors and smart controls.
Although the benefits of IAQ to building occupants have been known for some time, in practice its application has been neglected and not necessarily integrated with wider building services. Therefore, the market is in its infancy with many new solutions and products being marketed as IAQ solutions.
BSRIA’s new study on IAQ in North America has put numbers on the main products and solutions in key commercial segments and includes a forecast by product segment for the next five years. The focus is on filtration, DOAS, UV-C, MERV-13+, BPI and IAQ controls for education, healthcare, hospitality & Leisure, offices, and other applications.