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Photo: The Canadian Press
Claudio Mastronardi, director of the Toronto branch at Carmichael Engineering, is photographed in the company’s offices in Mississauga, Ontario on Thursday, November 19, 2020. As indoor air quality becomes a major concern in the workplace, HVAC companies are struggling to keep up with the demand for high quality filtration systems. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chris Young
Air filters have become big business in the COVID-19 era, for HVAC companies that can get their hands on them.
As indoor air quality becomes a major concern in the workplace, HVAC companies are struggling to keep up with the demand for high quality filtration systems.
Air filters, it seems, are made from similar materials used in face masks and other personal protective equipment, which is in short supply, says Gregg Little, president of Springbank Mechanical Systems in southern Ontario.
“We work with dozens of different developers and all are evaluating this,” says Little.
Claudio Mastronardi, director of the Toronto branch at Carmichael Engineering Ltd., says his HVAC company is looking to purchase high-quality filter inventory to prevent customers from facing four to six-week lead times.
“The demand right now is very high. People are putting their health and safety before costs,” says Mastronardi.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has defined “indoor air quality” as one of the major real estate trends to emerge from the pandemic, noting that the pandemic “has created greater demand for air purifiers, ranging from standalone models to sophisticated intelligent systems “. Portable air purifiers are also becoming harder to find, notes Jeffrey Siegel, a professor in the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering who studies indoor air quality.
That doesn’t mean business has been easy for HVAC companies, notes Little, who says many customers have cut their maintenance budgets because they can’t afford to stay open. The demand has been on a rollercoaster, as some customers who initially switched to more elaborate filters have failed to bear the costs, while purchases from dental and medical practices who “went crazy” buying air filters this spring and have since stabilized.
That said, HVAC operators have noticed a new recognition for their experience in light of COVID-19, Little says, and engineers have their pick of customers who previously may not have paid much attention to the person turning their heat on. , says Mastronardi.
The demand for HVAC companies has increased as local jurisdictions push tenants to look at their buildings’ HVAC systems. On November 14, the Toronto Health Officer told companies to review their HVAC systems to make sure they are working and have increased air exchange settings, are using filters with maximum efficiency, and are not blocking vents or by placing furniture directly under them.
But city public health officials also advise that “there is no evidence to show that air purifiers alone are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19,” noting that they may be useful for “supplementing HVAC ventilation or if there is no external air exchange. “
Little says he recommends constant HVAC maintenance plans, but this year he has spent a lot of time personally reviewing some of the newest air filtration products on the market. Little says he’s still skeptical of some of them, like dry hydrogen peroxide.
Another technology that’s taking off, bipolar ionization, doesn’t have much independent data to support it, says Siegel. The process has been around for decades, but many of the studies on it are of “questionable independence,” says Siegel.
“I know they get very heavily promoted…. but technology is an unproven technology, you have to be very, very careful if a manufacturer comes up with some reports and shows you that it works, “says Siegel.” It might play a role. It just hasn’t been proven to be effective in this context. “
This hasn’t stopped some owners from betting on air purification.
Brookfield says it is piloting advanced ventilation and air filtration systems in its New York, Toronto and Calgary offices, with plans to expand the system to all office properties. Brookfield’s system, which uses bipolar ionization, was being studied before the pandemic as a way to reduce energy consumption and emissions. But the company is now betting that tenants will regard buildings with older ventilation systems as “outdated,” said Brian Kingston, managing director of Brookfield Property Partners, at an investor event this fall.
Air filters can be used to slow the spread of COVID-19 and it’s very important that buildings meet the minimum ventilation standards rated by professionals, but Siegel warns that adding better air filters isn’t a bullet silver.
“If you have an infected person and an uninfected person close by, even if there’s a great filtering system somewhere else, it won’t catch the virus,” says Siegel.
“I consider it a secondary measure. The main measures are wearing masks, people physically distant, washing hands and cleaning surfaces … and making sure spaces are not poorly ventilated. “
A portable HEPA filter can work in nearly any space, Siegel says, as long as it’s the right size and not positioned to throw unfiltered air onto a person or high-contact surface. But updating the filters of a centralized system can be more cost-effective, Siegel says, if the system can handle it.
Siegel says the correct installation is final, especially with thicker filters and more high-tech air-purification technology like ultraviolet lamps. Little cautions that building owners should look for HVAC companies that can provide customer references in air filtration.
“There are a lot of people who take advantage of bad situations,” says Little.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 22, 2020.
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