Discover 5 Key Steps to Improve Human and Building Health

Once again, the COVID-19 pandemic has cornered the news, as concerns over the Delta variant sweep North America. More than a year ago, the start of the pandemic spurred an emphasis on indoor air quality (IAQ) that’s never abated. As a building owner, manager, engineer, or HVAC contractor, you still need to control airborne exposure to disease-causing pathogens—especially when most adults spend 90 percent of their time indoors. But viral pathogens are only one of the air quality threats right now.

We’ve previously addressed the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) guidelines for improving IAQ. But you may want to know what more you can do to improve the health of your buildings—and the people inside. To help you manage air quality issues, we wrote the Guide to Utilizing Ventilation and Filtration. The guide includes five key steps you can take and explains how you can best put them into action. 

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In general, air quality outdoors is better than indoors. When that’s true, simply throwing open a window can improve air exchange and quality. But across the western United States, wildfires are burning, creating unhealthy conditions from California to Canada and on to Colorado. The jet stream is carrying the smoke even farther east, creating hazy skies and poor air quality thousands of miles from the fires. The presence of fine particulate matter that’s more toxic than normal makes wildfire smoke particular dangerous children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with heart or lung disease. And unfortunately, the number of wildfires, the length of the season, and the extent of the burned area have all increased in recent years. 

One other natural disaster that’s impacted many regions this year is drought. Dust storms often occur in these dry conditions. Here too, suspended particulate matter can irritate bronchial passages and lungs, making respiratory illness worse and infections more likely. Although cooking and combustion are the most common sources of particulate matter indoors, many people also suffer from biological particles like pollen and mold that infiltrate from the outside.

The new focus on building well-being is aimed at creating healthier conditions for everything we do indoors—whether that’s working, learning, healing, or couch surfing.  Ventilation and filtration are two of the key elements of healthy indoor environments. When simple steps don’t make enough of a difference, rent or buy ventilation and filtration equipment to improve air exchange and quality. The Guide to Utilizing Ventilation and Filtration offers more ideas to improve IAQ and keep building occupants happier and more productive.

Download Guide

Our experts in ventilation and filtration can help you develop a cost-effective approach to IAQ. Sunbelt Rentals is happy to partner with you to engineer a solution for your specific issues and help you achieve better health for humans and the environment. Request a quote, give us a call at 866-510-4777, or download our new Sunbelt Rentals app on the App Store and Google Play to learn more about our IAQ solutions while you’re on the go.

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