HVAC SYSTEMS
Sanitising fan coil units makes hospitals safer
Clifford Saunders, a senior Applications engineer at Aermec UK, explains how sanitising fan coils can help estate managers make their hospital environments safer.
The health sector and clinical environments have always taken a proactive approach to hygiene. The pandemic has called into question other parts of hospitals’ infrastructures, including air-conditioning systems, and the impact on patients and frontline caregivers, as well as other employees and any visitors. UV technology is increasingly being used to combat bacterial growth and transmission, and has an important role to play. HVAC systems are a key part of a hospital’s infrastructure. They not only maintain comfortable environments (temperature and humidity) for patients and employees, but of course medical equipment is sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, so air control needs to be well managed and to function properly. There is the additional complexity of various rooms having different uses in hospitals – for example patients requiring isolation, neonatal units, or intensive care facilities.
Hospitals are places where a much higher concentration of pathogens can accumulate than in the average building or workplace. Given that these pathogens can travel in air which can be affected by many factors – temperature, humidity, frequency of doors opening and closing, and room occupancy – this has focused attention on HVAC systems and what steps can be taken to improve their design and protect patients and hospital workers from exposure to any pathogens.
Dangers from viral infections Various types of microorganisms are breathed in by us all the time; many can be tolerated with no specific health issues. Some viral infections though, such as MERS, SARS, and coronaviruses, can easily spread and cause serious harm. Now that the Government is encouraging workers back into offices, hospital administrators are having to re-plan how employees can work safely, and not just those on the frontline delivering care. Plexiglass screens and face masks/sneeze guards are becoming a common sight, along with hand-sanitising stations that are easily accessible.
The filter on the left, and germicidal UV lamp on the right, on Aermec’s FCZ-H fan coil unit.
One way of managing the spread of viruses is to inactivate them and break them down biologically, and one of the most effective methods is the use of biocide systems such as UV (ultraviolet) lamps. UV has been used for decades to disinfect industrial surfaces, and sanitise drinking water, while banks use it to disinfect money, and in China buses are lit up at night as the blue light gets to work decontaminating them as well as sterilising hospitals.
UV is also used for cleaning hospital floors, and there are robotised approaches for disinfecting operating rooms, patient treatment areas, and wards, as well as the cleaning of laboratories. There are many hospitals, like The Walton Centre in Liverpool, taking advantage of robotised UV light systems to ensure that environments are decontaminated using a robust deep clean technology.
Study highlighted UV technology’s benefits The American Journal of Infection Control published a study from New York-based Purple Sun that highlighted the benefits of UV technology and how it can destroy up to 97.7 per cent of pathogens in an operating room. The study went on to explain how UV could be used to control the spread of pathogens and help defeat ‘superbugs’. A Canadian study published in December 2019 also suggested that UV sanitising devices could be used across hospital environments to help prevent the spread of bacteria from workers’ smartphones and tablets for example, particularly as alcohol wipes are not recommended by many smartphone manufacturers. There have been many studies that have shown how UV light can reduce airborne pathogens, and now HVAC equipment manufacturers are
October 2020 Health Estate Journal 97
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