Posted by Rifat A. on 7/2/2020 to

You may be worried about the current COVID-19 pandemic and wondering what should you do to protect your family from this deadly virus. Thankfully, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers published a COVID-19 guideline for HVAC systems on 27th February 2020, and by following these guidelines, you can prevent COVID-19 virus from entering your home.

In this article, I’ll tell you about these guidelines and ways to maintain the HVAC system to prevent COVID-19 from entering your space. But before that, I’ll tell you about the possibilities of COVID-19 transmission through the HVAC systems.

Can HVAC Systems Spread COVID-19?

There’s an ongoing debate on this topic in the scientist and HVAC professionals’ community. According to WHO, COVID-19 spreads through droplets. When a COVID-19 infected person sneezes, the droplets come out of his mouth and fall in a close proximity. This distance is 6 feet or 2 meters. That’s why the government and health organizations are suggesting people maintain a social distancing of at least 6 feet or 2 meters.

Again, according to the CDC, COVID-19 was first spread through a central air conditioner of a restaurant in China. They found out that an infected person went to a restaurant in China, and people who sat near his table, all got infected. CDC is assuming that this happened because of the central air conditioner of the restaurant. However, some scientists disagree with this statement and say that the people in that restaurant got infected because they got direct contact with that infected person.

So, the bottom line is that there’s a fifty-fifty chance of getting infected by using an HVAC system, especially when someone in your house is already infected. However, in this pandemic, you shouldn’t take any risk. You should maintain maximum protection and follow these HVAC maintenance tips to prevent COVID-19 from entering your space.

4 Ways to Maintain HVAC System to Prevent Coronavirus from Entering Your Home

1. Change Filters Regularly

Air Filter can play a big role in preventing COVID-19 from entering your space. For this, you’ll have to use MERV 9 pre-filters or MERV 14 final filters. These filters can block micro-particles from entering your place. However, there’s no proven study on the effectiveness of air filters in preventing COVID-19 droplets. Many HVAC professionals still believe that these air filters can be effective in blocking COVID-19 droplets.

Besides, as air filter blocks dust and debris from entering your place, it gets dirty quickly. That’s why you should change the air filter regularly because, with dirty air filters, you can have problems like lung disease, asthma, etc. In this pandemic, no one wants to find themselves in an overwhelming hospital with lung disease. That’s why it’s better to change your air filter regularly.

2. Ensure Ventilation

Many HVAC professionals and engineers have suggested that homeowners should have proper ventilation in the house and office space. Also, they recommended not to use the air conditioning system all day. According to some studies, the cold environment is the ideal situation for the microorganisms to grow. If you use your air conditioner all the time, there’s a high chance of getting infected by other viruses and bacteria.

3. Turn on UV Lights

If your HVAC system has a UV light feature then turn on the UV light. According to the EPA, UV light has the ability to kill bacteria and viruses. However, there’s no proven evidence that a UV light can destroy COVID-19 droplets.

4. HVAC Maintenance

Due to this pandemic, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients more than ever. In this situation, nobody wants to find them in these hospitals. That’s why you’ll have to make sure that your HVAC system is clean and running smoothly. If your HVAC system is dirty, you’ll have lung-related problems. As a result, you may need to admit to the hospital. But as I mentioned earlier, it’s not the right time to seek help from the hospitals. That’s why it’s recommended that you should do HVAC maintenance checkup regularly for your own health. You should contact with an HVAC professional who will do all the HVAC maintenance checkups.

See the summary of this content here in the infographic – 4 Ways to Stop Coronavirus from Entering Home Through HVAC [Infographic]

4 Ways to Stop Coronavirus from Entering Home Through HVAC