www.heatingandventilating.net
Humidification
“Without proactive humidification of heated indoor environments, increasing ventilation will create significantly drier buildings that might be protecting us in one way but harming us in another. Breathing dry air below 40%RH will dry our nose and throat, leading to a greater susceptibility to respiratory infection.”
and removing viruses before they cause infection. A very recent study from the University of Oregon
illustrated the first benefit specifically in relation to COVID. They monitored the air and surfaces in controlled chambers where COVID positive individuals were undertaking different activities. They found that an increase of around 12%RH resulted in approximately 50% reduction in airborne viral load and an increase in viral load on surfaces. As the main transmission route has been shown to be airborne, these results reinforce the benefit of managing indoor humidity. However, if ventilation is removing pollutants
from the air, why does it matter if humidity is making them settle more rapidly? I think there are two responses to this. Firstly, creating safer indoor environments requires a holistic approach. Having environments with fewer airborne viruses and also reducing the potential “float time” of any remaining viruses, has got to be better than implementing
a single strategy of increased removal. Removal through ventilation is never going to be 100% effective by itself. Secondly, and more importantly, is the negative effect a dry atmosphere has on our immune system. Creating safer environments through ventilation may inadvertently make us more susceptible to infections when we leave that ventilated area. For example, an office worker who enjoys a well ventilated, but dry office, may not pick up an infection at work, but could be more at risk when they visit an unventilated bar on their way home. The dried mucous membranes in their nose and throat will not be efficiently capturing airborne viruses after sitting in a desert-like environment for 8 hours. The body’s natural process of mucociliary clearance is our first line of defence against airborne pollutants. Numerous studies have clearly shown this process is impaired in humidity of less than 40%RH. It is therefore important to manage
indoor humidity to not only remove airborne pollutants more quickly, but also to ensure our body’s defences are given the best chance of fighting off infections, whenever they might attack. Ventilation has always played an essential role
in combatting respiratory disease and it’s a shame that it is only now, following a pandemic, that its positive contribution to public health is being more fully recognised. However, the creation of desert- like indoor environments during the winter must be avoided. Proactive humidification of public buildings plays a key role, alongside ventilation, in creating the safest possible built environment. Condair is a manufacturer of commercial and industrial humidity control equipment and evaporative cooling systems. The Condair Group consists of sales and service organisations in 22 countries, production sites in Europe, North America and China, and international sales partners in more than 50 locations.
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