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to March. This indoor dry season corresponds perfectly to the rise and fall of seasonal winter respiratory illnesses in the UK.
Although the science demonstrating the benefits of maintaining 40-60%RH is comprehensive, as we have no sensory perception of air humidity, public awareness of what humidity is and its impact on us has been very limited. We can’t feel whether our rooms are dry or humid, unless it’s at the extreme. We therefore do not commonly associate experiencing consistently dry environments with any subsequent ill health.
Even with public awareness now growing of the benefits of a midrange humidity, many people are unaware that humidity control in buildings even exists. In many recent mainstream media articles, even though 40-60%RH is accepted as an ideal level, when humidification is suggested as a protective measure, it’s frequently dismissed as being somehow unachievable or an impractical solution. This definitely is not the case and demonstrates a lack of awareness about the role commercial humidification currently plays in our built environment. We routinely humidify factories, data centres, museums, storage facilities and a whole host of other buildings, big and small, when a manufacturing or process application requires it. Humidification of offices for health is reasonably commonplace among informed building operators. Humidification of hospital environments is also routine, but is limited to areas where humidity control is deemed necessary for the particular application, such as in MRI suites. The return on investment in performing more accurate scans is evident but the return on investment in humidifying wards and waiting rooms, to protect staff and patients from aerosol cross infection is, unfortunately, not so immediately perceivable. Given that the health benefits of humidification are scientifically clear, but not immediately obvious to the occupants’ senses, I feel it will take government regulatory change to ensure optimum indoor humidity levels are maintained in public buildings. Otherwise, in the drive to minimise operating costs, humidification will frequently be omitted, along with other beneficial but concealed services. In the battle to make our buildings healthier, there are many weapons in the building services’ arsenal. Humidity control is an important but individual factor, alongside other activities such as correct ventilation, air filtration, lighting and occupant density. Many of these protective strategies complement each other and when combined will significantly improve occupant health. By upgrading our built environment in this way we will be protecting society, not just from the threat of potential future pandemics, but also by significantly reducing the many deaths, sick days, lost productivity and healthcare costs associated with winter seasonal illness. Condair has recently produced a whitepaper (below) entitled “Making Buildings Healthier”. It contains information on how building managers can protect occupant health with a holistic approach to controlling their indoor environments.
www.heatingandventilating.net
January 2021
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