Rethinking Use of Individual Room Air-conditioners in View of COVID 19

Singh, Raja; Dewan, Anil

doi:10.15415/cs.2020.81002

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In other words, plant-based ionizers can be used to create an ACH-equivalent environment when there is no possible means of natural ventilation. These are useful in situations where there is a split-type air conditioning system or the opening of windows is not possible [ 42 ]. It is worth noting that while adding extra plant-based ionizer results in diminishing additional benefit ( Figure 3(b) ), the decay profile from numerical simulations corresponding to different ACH numbers has a similar nonlinear nature, which is shown in Figure 4(c) and (d).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficacy of Plant-Based Ionizers in Removing Aerosol for COVID-19 Mitigation

et al. 2021

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Small-sized droplets/aerosol transmission is one of the factors responsible for the spread of COVID-19, in addition to large droplets and surface contamination (fomites). While large droplets and surface contamination can be relatively easier to deal with (i.e., using mask and proper hygiene measures), aerosol presents a different challenge due to their ability to remain airborne for a long time. This calls for mitigation solutions that can rapidly eliminate the airborne aerosol. Pre-COVID-19, air ionizers have been touted as effective tools to eliminate small particulates. In this work, we sought to evaluate the efficacy of a novel plant-based ionizer in eliminating aerosol. It was found that factors such as the ion concentration, humidity, and ventilation can drastically affect the efficacy of aerosol removal. The aerosol removal rate was quantified in terms of ACH (air changes per hour) and CADR- (clean air delivery rate-) equivalent unit, with ACH as high as 12 and CADR as high as 141 ft3/minute being achieved by a plant-based ionizer in a small isolated room. This work provides an important and timely guidance on the effective deployment of ionizers in minimizing the risk of COVID-19 spread via airborne aerosol, especially in a poorly-ventilated environment.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Efficacy of Plant-Based Ionizers in Removing Aerosol for COVID-19 Mitigation

et al. 2021

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“…Using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation has been suggested, but there may be concerns regarding its use [ 35 ]. Out of the remaining, 12 were depending on split air conditioning systems, which have no provisions for fresh air intake and constantly recirculate the air inside the space [ 9 ]. These spaces cannot provide a predetermined and measurable quantity of fresh air into the space and have to depend upon measures like opening the windows and gates in some cases [ 12 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studying the Double Paradox in Air Conditioning at Indian Airports for Airborne Infection Prevention and Filtration of Harmful Suspended Particulate Matter

Singh¹

2022

Cureus

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Background Airports are hubs of diverse human interactions. During pandemics, they may serve as centers for the spread of airborne infection. Appropriate methods for the prevention of the spread of airborne infections must be integrated into the air conditioning systems of airports. Along with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and other sanitization methods, dilution ventilation can be the easiest and most available method for the prevention of airborne infection, which means the intake of outside air into the indoors, which flushes out the aerosolized droplets containing pathogens. Though this process has been adopted by multiple buildings in reaction to the pandemic, it may present the challenge of intake of high concentration of suspended particulate matter in the intake air, a major air pollutant in developing countries, which may enter through the air conditioning systems. Appropriate filtration is necessary so that along with dilution ventilation for airborne disease prevention, the risk of suspended particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micron or PM 2.5 induced lung issues is also reduced. Methodology The Right to Information Act, 2005, was used to file applications for information on the details of the air conditioning systems in Indian airports. The 58 airports in the study were also listed according to the list of cities that fall under the criteria for non-attainment of good air quality standards. Results Out of 58 airports considered, 27 fell in the ‘non-attainment’ of good air quality list. On appraisal of filter systems, it was found that 23 had an intake of fresh air but only five had filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 10 and above in their air conditioning systems, as is recommended for filtration of suspended particulate matter. Conclusion It can be concluded that most airports did not have the appropriate filter required for filtering PM 2.5 , which is a major pollutant in Indian cities. In light of coronavirus disease 2019, where dilution ventilation through the intake of outdoor air is suggested, it may also lead to the entry of air with high particulate matter into the indoors.

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“…This leads to high a chance of an unaware suspect getting infected by an equally unaware infected person who may be present in the health facility for the first time and may be non-diagnosed [ 3 ]. This is all the more dangerous if the infected individual is an asymptomatic carrier of a disease that is highly transmissible, especially through the airborne route of transmission [ 22 ]. The general belief that hospital waiting areas are not very critical may be true in developed countries or high-resource settings that are less crowded [ 8 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Risk Status of Waiting Areas for Airborne Infection Control in Delhi Hospitals

Singh¹

2022

Cureus

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Background Hospital waiting areas are overlooked from the airborne infection control viewpoint as they are not classified as critical for infection control. This is the area where undiagnosed and potentially infected patients gather with susceptible and vulnerable patients, and there is no mechanism to segregate the two, especially when the potentially infected visitors/patients themselves are unaware of the infection or may be asymptomatic. It is important to know whether hospitals in Delhi, a populated, low-resource setting having community transmission/occurrence of airborne diseases such as tuberculosis, consider waiting areas as critical. Hence, this study aims to determine whether hospitals in Delhi consider waiting areas as critical areas from the airborne infection control viewpoint. Methodology The Right to Information Act, 2005, was used to request information from 11 hospitals included in this study. Results After compiling the results, it was found that five out of the 11 hospitals did not consider waiting areas as critical from the infection spread point of view. Two of the 11 hospitals acknowledged the criticality of waiting areas but did not include the same in the list of critical areas. Only three out of the 11 considered waiting areas as critical and included these in the list of critical areas in a hospital. Conclusions This study provided evidence that most hospitals in Delhi do not include waiting areas in the list of critical areas in a hospital.

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Rethinking Use of Individual Room Air-conditioners in View of COVID 19

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

The Efficacy of Plant-Based Ionizers in Removing Aerosol for COVID-19 Mitigation

The Efficacy of Plant-Based Ionizers in Removing Aerosol for COVID-19 Mitigation

Studying the Double Paradox in Air Conditioning at Indian Airports for Airborne Infection Prevention and Filtration of Harmful Suspended Particulate Matter

The Risk Status of Waiting Areas for Airborne Infection Control in Delhi Hospitals

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