The hotel industry has always known about indoor air quality, but this is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, where concerns about the spread of the virus plague every hotelier, from large hotel operators to family members. Popular, single-attribute hotelier.

Indoor air quality has also become the main concern of guests. Earlier this year, a study conducted by Carbon Lighthouse of 1,000 US consumers found that 91% of respondents understand that indoor air quality is essential to the continued fight against COVID-19, and 525 people said they would pay more to stay Hotels with better indoor air quality. air quality.

Delos is a health real estate and technology company whose mission is to improve people's health and well-being by improving the indoor environment in which they live, work, sleep and play. The company has conducted research on this topic for approximately five years. .

“We spend [more than] 90% of our time indoors—our home, our school, our office, etc.,” said Peter Scialla, Delos President and COO. "The indoor environment has a profound impact on our health and well-being. We can take some measures to influence the results. Fortunately, with the help of technology, we have made great progress in the past ten years and created the WELL building. Movement, and then specialized in-depth research on classification expertise."

The executive pointed out that air quality has an impact on many different health outcomes, including susceptibility to long-term diseases and acquired infections.

"Recently, the area where the pandemic has caused real public concern began with surface hygiene, but it was quickly recognized that this is an airborne problem. The spread of pathogens occurs through particles in the air," Scialla said. "Therefore, we have increased our resources, research and focused on air as a category, providing a strong support base in the pandemic, and of course, due to the world’s concern about indoor air quality, it is now accelerating the pandemic. We continue to translate this into a call for action on actions that can be taken to improve the indoor environment, which is very specific to the actual action mechanisms and methods that we believe are suitable for adoption and can promote meaningful changes."

Well Living Lab research scientist Dr. Zachary Pope said that in order to provide the best solution to indoor air quality problems, we must distinguish fact from fiction.

"The ability to use science to do this is very important to what we are trying to do in the Delos organization, and of course in the Well Living Lab as part of Delos," he said. "Peter mentioned to provide people with actionable things they can do. I think this is finally when we start to think about indoor air quality, especially now that we consider the pandemic and how this puts air quality in everyone’s mind. In. Being able to do this and having enough resources to do it, I think we really put a lot of attention and energy into it.”

Due to the pandemic, some schools have been closed for more than a year, so students take virtual lessons with computers. The school reopened when it was deemed safe to return, but people still worried that the virus would spread through the air, especially in classrooms with large numbers of students.

Well Living Lab conducted a study in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota to determine whether the addition of a portable air purifier can help keep the air clean and free from viruses and other harmful airborne particles. In the research space of the Well Living Lab, there is a space of 1,300 square feet. The office module was converted into a 900 square foot. Classrooms are equipped with strategically positioned equipment such as desks, whiteboards and iPads, as well as air purification devices.

“First, we focus on the substances in the air,” said Pope, who led the project with Barbara Spurrier, executive director of Well Living Lab. "We used an optical particle sizer that can tell you how many particles per cubic centimeter are floating around. It does this through its own internal mechanism, and we actually use two of these devices in each experiment. In addition, In order to assess the quality of aerosols in the air, we used impactors-small glass devices that you hang on the vacuum pump. They will inhale any aerosols that are about 3 to 6 feet in radius."

In order to stimulate the breathing behavior of teachers and students, the breathing simulator is connected to an anatomically correct breathing mannequin to simulate inhalation and exhalation, and exhale air particles of 1 to 3 microns in size-particle size disease transmission related to airborne infections. These particles are labeled with fluorescent dyes so that they can be measured, and use the Intellipure compact air purification system device.

Regarding why a particular unit was chosen, Scialla said: “The goal is to be a source of truth, eliminating variables and any prejudice against one product or another. We investigated more than 100 different air purification equipment. There are many variables that can change the filtration. The result between the efficiency of the device and its rating and the actual result of the air filtration efficiency when the device is placed in the room and turned on. Therefore, the total device efficiency is an indicator that we use as a source of truth, because it is the best in this regard The suggestion is relevant. In all our tests and inspections of specifications and third-party laboratory results, this Intellipure device ranks among the best in terms of total equipment efficiency."

Using particle size analyzers and impactors, scientists can study the number of particles in the air at different points in the room. "When we move these devices, this allows us to draw those contour maps that really show the effectiveness of portable air filters nearby. When you run the device or these devices in the space, it will The impact complements the HVAC system in that space," Pope said.

The study also focused on how particles accumulate on different surfaces, because other viruses and pathogens can spread on the surface.

"We used plastic wrap and scotch tape in different places," Pope said. "You can get the material in the air through the optical particle size analyzer and the impactor, and then there are plastic packaging and scotch tape, which can really allow you to observe the surface accumulation. Using these plastic packaging and scotch tape, we can return and measure the atomized particles The quality of fluorescent dyes in the medium."

He added, "Then we can make a statement,'Well, this is what we see in the air, and this is what we see on a different surface.'" So, really attacking Qi on two different levels. The spread of sol, because although aerosol transmission may be not only SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) but also the main transmission route of other viruses, it is still important to see when you add something to the space. What happened when the air was purified. "

The study found that after installing three air purification devices in the room, the number of particles in the air was reduced by more than five times.

"It's very shocking, and it's nice to see its globality," Pope said. "Not only will you see it in an area in the room, but it's located in a very small space around the device itself; you were

It can be seen throughout the room. "

The study also found that through the work of Inellipures, the accumulation of particles on the surface of the entire room was reduced by 33%.

"This is very important when you start to consider high-contact surfaces and any possible spread of contaminants," Pope points out. "If you think of classrooms, it's really hard to get—no matter how old they are—children and teenagers stop touching their faces, noses, and all these really any viruses can enter the mucous membranes of the body."

Although this research was conducted in a classroom setting, similar conclusions can be drawn for hotel rooms or public spaces.

"In many ways, the classroom and hotel environment are different, but in many ways they are the same," Scialla said. "[They are all] indoor environments surrounded by four walls and a roof, and perhaps have the ability to increase ventilation through windows. However, science tells us that the airborne transmission of virus particles or particles attached to larger particles in the air It is not possible to distinguish whether they are in the classroom or in the hotel. Facts are facts, and science is science. Therefore, when you have any space, whether it is a classroom or 350 square feet. Hotel rooms are 1,000 square feet. Meeting spaces or hotel lobbies, Applicable. Any indoor environment is affected by the same conditions and therefore faces the same risk of particle or virus transmission."

Pope firmly believes that the results can be transferred to the hotel, and added that for hoteliers, to find a suitable air purification system that suits their needs, they need to look for something very simple.

"Look at [units of] square footage coverage. Almost every manufacturer publishes it on its website or user manual," he said. "In addition, find the clean air delivery rate. These work together. The higher the clean air delivery rate, the larger the area covered. For example, in our classroom study, we have to use three purification devices because we need It comes to fully cover the space. They are equally spaced throughout the room, so the room is covered."

Some companies provide multiple options according to the size of the space. "If you are considering Intellipure, there are three different options that may be more or less suitable for different environments," Pope said. "Intellipure Compact may be very suitable for hotel rooms, but for the lobby, there is a commercial unit suitable for that space."

Scialla pointed out that multiple units in a space may be the answer. "If there is a large meeting space that requires three or four units instead of one, it will actually bring benefits. You have more and more filtering points, and this kind of activity is important, especially when you can [ The unit] is as close as possible to the place where people gather."

Pressure drop is another issue that hoteliers should pay attention to. "The unique thing about the compact unit is the technology used inside it to minimize pressure drop," Pope said. "Pressure drop will eventually increase energy consumption. If you have more pressure drop, the fan has to work harder, you will spend more energy. This may not be a good thing, especially in some older spaces, They may not have a grid breaker box that can really handle this situation."

Other ways to provide clean air

Of course, in addition to filtering, hoteliers can also take other measures to provide clean indoor air. Scialla pointed out that ventilation is also a method if feasible, as well as the type of furniture and mattress used.

"Some mattresses contain exhaust chemicals and volatile organic compounds-volatile organic compounds-which are very unhealthy for the human body, especially when you sleep on them for a few hours," he said. "So, I think the choice of furniture, the choice of materials, the choice of wood, the choice of paint, the choice of mattresses [will affect the air quality]. These materials do cause indoor air quality to deteriorate, and explain to a large extent This explains why indoor air quality is much worse than outdoor quality in almost all cases, except for heavily polluted cities."

Pope pointed out that portable air purification devices may eventually be more suitable because ventilation may be limited or not available at all. "You may not be able to ventilate the space with outdoor air," he said. "A hotel room is the best example. If you can open the window of a hotel room, then it may be the small crack at the bottom, or you can only knock it out a little bit, but it may not provide you with the real space Everything you need for ventilation."

He also suggested looking at the different MERV filters entering the air handling unit, adding, “But then there will be a pressure drop. This is a problem with vertical units, but it is also a problem in those air handling units because it increases In addition to energy consumption, sometimes this is not a good thing. In addition, these devices may actually damage the air handling device itself because it is overworked."

His final suggestion is to open an outdoor air baffle on the HVAC unit. When the weather permits, it will draw in more outdoor air when it opens.

"The problem is, if you live in Rochester, Minnesota, and the temperature outside is minus 20 degrees, you can blow up your air handling device," he pointed out. "That's not good. That's why, obviously, if you can, you want to study all these other options, but the expandable option is still the air purifier."

Scialla concluded that the use of portable air purifiers may be the best choice for hotels large and small.

"In addition to checking the scientific box and finding the best technology as a source of truth, we also considered scalability and cost," he said. "The good news is that the portable wall-mounted method of [Intellipure devices] has especially been deployed on a large scale-hundreds of thousands of units have been deployed across the country, and are now also deployed internationally. Because we have mastered these efficiencies and can use the market Benefiting prices provide products with super scalability and low maintenance and almost no labor. It just provides you with the final answer: best-first-class science, best technology, best results and most cost-effective Choice, and. It’s hard to refute"

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time you comment.