CREJ

22 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / September 2020 ELEMENTS Air Quality Air Quality is Key to Safely Returning to the Workplace A s companies and organi- zations consider how to best adjust workplace operations in spaces that were de- signed in a precoronavirus world, building owners and occupants should take a close look at a key factor that appears to have a signifi- cant impact on infection rates: indoor air quality. Enabling physical social distancing and eliminating common surface touch points are highly visible tactics that provide transparency to an organization’s efforts to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission. But what about the “invisible” risks of transmis- sion that are worrying virologists and researchers – the effects of gathering and working within enclosed spaces for long periods of time? We have the same concerns as our cli- ents for determining best practices for ensuring a safe return to the workplace. Using the latest recommendations pro- vided by the American Society of Heat- ing and Refrigeration Engineers and the Centers for Disease Control, we institut- ed a program to research the impacts of changes to our heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems on our own indoor air quality. Since our headquarters is only 20,000 square feet within a 256,000-sf building, we approached our landlord, The Chancery Sentinel LLC, a subsidiary of Zaser & Longston Inc., to see if we could make modifica- tions to the building’s ventilation systems to im- prove indoor air quality. Our landlord embraced the opportunity, noting it was appreciative of the resource and level of concern coming from one of its tenants. During the past decade, many building HVAC control systems have been adjusted to maximize energy conservation. Under certain conditions, the control systems minimize the amount of out- side ventilation air to reduce energy usage. Mu- nicipal code requires all buildings to have a mini- mum level of ventilation that is adequate during normal times but these minimal ventilation lev- els can be woefully inadequate during a pandem- ic. Ventilation rates for occupied spaces should be maximized to the limits of the existing heating and cooling systems’ ability to support the tem- perature requirements of the space. The ability to maximize and/or increase the amount of ven- tilation air in a building can range from simple control changes to more difficult system modifi- cations. For buildings already equipped with full economizer capabilities, modifications of the con- trol systems can be performed that will maximize the amount of outside air that that is delivered to the occupied spaces and will in turn maximize the amount of exhaust from the building. There are additional modifications that should be made to ensure that the increased ventilation is main- tained. This may include increasing the discharge air temperature during cooling mode so that the variable air volume and fan powered boxes con- tinue to deliver a higher flow rate. Working with The Chancery Sentinel, we looked at changes that could be implemented with min- imal upfront costs, but that would have a signifi- cant positive impact on office environment. The engineers on our team identified four primary steps the building’s owner could take to improve the indoor air quality. These included: Gary Orazio, PE President, Swanson Rink Swanson Rink presented its landlord with suggested HVAC modifications, which The Chancery Sentinel will imple- ment.