Airflow for Infection Prevention & Control

airflow for infection prevention
August 4, 2020 | Posted By: John Callanan

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.

airflow infection prevention air change

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.

airborne infection prevention products on blackboard

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.

Consult with an Airflow Sensor Specialist

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Degree Controls, Inc.:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

About the Author

John Callanan

As a Technical Sales Engineer John works with clients to provide airflow monitoring solutions tailored to their needs. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Technical Management.

How may we help?