Measure & Monitor Air Velocity for Infection Prevention & Control
Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures to protect patients, personnel and visitors are well-established by hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, health care centers and multitudes of other public and private entities. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and supplemental guidance from the CDC, many are upgrading engineering controls for their facilities and implementing strategies to remove hazards through air ventilation.
One hospital is currently retrofitting patient rooms with airflow monitors, in support of their sanitation process:
- The air change rate for a space is known, and monitored,
- the number of air changes per hour needed to clear a room of potentially infectious particles has been considered by facilities, and
- the time required for airborne contaminant removal by efficiency has been determined.
Once a patient vacates a room, a countdown timer is initiated. Healthcare personnel and patients are then prohibited from entering the room until the countdown timer finishes, signifying that the predetermined time period for enough air changes to remove potentially infectious airborne contaminants has elapsed.
Know the Air Change Rate for Your Space
Knowing and monitoring air change rates for your spaces helps maintain safe and healthy environments and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Air changes per hour (ACH) is essentially the volume of air the HVAC system can provide in an hour, divided by the volume of the room. Typically, CFM is converted to CFH and then divided by room volume to determine ACH.
To determine air changes per hour for a space, measure air velocity using a DegreeC probe style air velocity and temperature sensor mounted in duct, and then use the air changes formula.
Alternatively, use DegreeC’s Rooster™ Monitor200 with duct mounted air velocity sensor to measure and display the air volume added to, or removed from, a space. The Monitor200 is BACNet® MS/TP capable which allows for easy integration into building management systems as well as remote monitoring of ACH and other critical airflow parameters.
As you work to review and revise your systems, please don’t hesitate to contact Degree Controls with questions about our airflow sensing and control products. Take good care, and thank you for all that you do.
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