Ahead of UK coronavirus restrictions lifting, many facilities managers are gearing up to return their building to ‘normal’ occupancy. However, this process comes with new safety concerns; primarily, how can we suppress and control the spread of COVID-19. Considering that there will inevitably be a section of the population that will remain vulnerable, this is a critical concern.

On top of this, there are also concerns around opening buildings that have been out of action for extended periods. Night club owners and managers, for example, will have to consider renovating HVAC systems that have been out of use. This is another key concern, as disused systems can be breeding grounds for bacteria, including Legionnaires disease.

However, as has been consistent throughout the pandemic, the one thing that is certain is uncertainty. The government keep moving the goalposts in regard to reopening, leaving many buildings managers left feeling frustrated. Perhaps the best thing you can do at this juncture is take control of what you can and give your HVAC system the upgrade it needs.

Investing in a UVC air purifier

UVC air purifiers are the component that HVAC systems need post-pandemic. This is particularly the case in high-occupancy or high-footfall public places, like bars, workplaces, or shopping centres. The reason is that UVC light has a unique effect on the molecular structure of viruses and bacteria. Unlike ‘traditional’ purifiers that only act on molecules like pollution, dust and mould, UVC stops disease in its tracks.

This is because the frequency of UVC light alters the molecular structure of microorganisms’ RNA. This deactivates the organisms’ ability to replicate themselves, and thus, survive. This neutralises the virus or bacteria, rendering them harmless. This is true for all viruses and bacteria, including SARS-CoV- 2.

Sounds good right? However, there are some important variables to be aware of when selecting your unit. Many air purifiers will come with UVC light claims, but their efficacy will depend on other variables. One of the most important is dwell time, which we’ll look at next.

Why dwell time is crucial

Certainly, UVC light purifiers are key to cleaner, healthier spaces. However, these claims need to be supported by other aspects of the unit’s operation – the most important being dwell time. Dwell time is, in short, the amount of time that the air is exposed to UVC light. To explain why dwell time is important, we’ll use the virus that causes COVID-19 as a model. 

To ‘kill’ or destroy coronavirus’ ability to reproduce, it needs to be exposed to UVC for a minimum of 0.675 seconds. Any shorter and the virus is still in action. To further complicate the issue, the UVC chamber also needs to have a 440mm space in order to ensure full exposure. This calculation assumes the lamp is fully operative. As a UVC lamp ages, the radiation will need longer to purify the air.

Striking the balance

So, you might ask, why not just maximise the amount of time the air is exposed to the UVC lamp? In reality, the equilibrium is more delicate; certainly, inactivating viruses is important, but time is of the essence, especially in high occupancy spaces. Deactivating microorganisms is important, but this needs to be done quickly enough to ensure the air in the space is safe.  

The key is to find the sweet spot where the air is exposed for long enough to destroy the virus but not so long that it doesn’t provide the space with enough clean air quickly enough (CADR). Rejuvenair units are designed to hit this sweet spot – with a handy app to monitor the health of the unit components. If you’re looking to upgrade your ventilation ahead of unlocking, Rejuvenair is the choice you can rely on.

The pandemic radically changed everyone’s life. Lockdown, social distancing and hygiene measures had a significant impact on the way we conduct ourselves daily, and many of these changes are set to persist. Will we ever see a full office again? Will people continue to wear face coverings indoors? And will international travel recover?

Some of these shifts have also had a dramatic effect on people’s personal lives. For instance, Australian maternity wards claim to be struggling under the pressure of a lockdown ‘baby boom’. Meanwhile, as many wonder if they’ll ever return to the office, some have decided to move from our cities in search of cleaner, fresher air. As, of course, clean air is one of our favourite topics, we’ll look at this phenomenon a little closer.

The rural property boom

Arguably, the coronavirus pandemic has prompted a major shift: city dwellers are moving in their droves to rural areas. This is perhaps because the pandemic exposed the challenges associated with city life, namely, a lack of space. As people moved to the home office, they found small apartments or flat shares unsuitable workspaces.

In summer last year, the number of inquiries on Rightmove from people living in the UK’s ten largest cities increased by a remarkable 78%. Meanwhile, there was a 126% rise in searches for property in villages. This is a national average; in Birmingham, residents looking to move to villages were up 186%. In Edinburgh and Liverpool, searches were up by 205% and 275% respectively.

These are certainly remarkable statistics. What’s more, these aren’t just search queries – people are following through. According to data gathered by Hamptons estate agents, 63% of new homes in Sevenoaks in Kent have been bought by Londoners looking to escape to the country.  

Is the pandemic the biggest driving force?

The Guardian newspaper conducted a small survey of readers moving to the country to find out what was fuelling the migration. Half of respondents cited more greenspace as a significant reason, which you would think even before lockdown would be common. Equally, some wanted to be closer to family or where they grew up, another fairly commonplace reason people choose to move from cities. 

However, the survey revealed it was lockdown that really made people reassess their values. Respondents cited prioritising a garden or access to more greenspace as something triggered by lockdown, as they craved freedom from the indoors. More indoor space was also a popular reason, as working from home in cramped spaces proved untenable.

Some reasons were rather more sombre; many wanted to be closer to elderly relatives as the pandemic brought mortality into sharp focus. For some, the pandemic made them feel afraid of living in close quarters with other people. Either way, room to breathe was considered essential.

Making urban spaces healthier

As we (hopefully) emerge from the worst of the pandemic, it will be interesting to see if this great escape to the country continues. Meanwhile, for those that aren’t lucky enough to make the move, we have to think about how to make our urban spaces safer and healthier. From investment in parks to improving air quality – outdoors and in – companies and government bodies need to maintain focus on making our environment healthier.

Many high-end air purifiers boast the acronym HEPA in their marketing materials. But why should we be looking out for this labelling in the first place? And what does it mean? In short, it’s a sign of quality and efficacy. HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, which described filters that can capture at least 99.97% of particles above 0.3 micrometres. Although this standard wasn’t established until the 1980s, HEPA filters were invented in the Second World War by American nuclear physicists.

How do HEPA filters work?

Modern HEPA filters are made of glass fibres knitted together into a web-like structure. When particles enter this web, they’re captured via one of four techniques. These are:

• Direct Impact: Where large particles, like dust, mould and pollen collide with the fibre and stick to it.
• Sieving: The particles become trapped in the filter in the same manner as rice in a kitchen sieve. 
• Interception: The airflow reroutes around the fibre, but inertia carries the particles on the same course, sticking to the mesh. 
• Diffusion: Ultrafine particles move more erratically in the atmosphere, making it more likely they’ll stick to the fibres.

The result is fresh, filtered air, free of contaminants like mould, pollen, bacteria, and viruses. This makes the air quality in the space far higher.

What’s the difference between HEPA-13 and HEPA-14?

In short, 0.025%. A HEPA-13 filter – which is the filter used on most consumer models – traps 99.97% of particles above 0.3 µm. Meanwhile, HEPA-14 filters are 0.025% more efficient, capturing 99.995% of particles. You may think this seems negligible; and really, it is. However, it is the difference between the air being very, very clean and totally sterile.

When you are selecting an air purifier, it isn’t merely a question of getting the highest possible efficacy rating. You have to be realistic about your needs. Although a HEPA-14 filter will make the air sterile, you have to ask yourself if this is necessary. Filters with HEPA-14 have much higher running costs and are far more expensive to replace. Therefore, you have to ask yourself if you want to keep your office fresh and healthy, or if you’re performing open-heart surgery. In reality, 99.97% efficacy is sufficient 99.97% of the time – anything more is overkill.

A final note – another thing to look out for when shopping for an air purifier is ‘HEPA true’ or ‘true HEPA’. It’s important to be aware that this is a marketing term that covers H10–H12 filters, which only capture 85-99.5% of particles. If you’re looking for a really effective air purifier, this is ‘under kill’, if you will.

Rejuvenair offers HEPA quality

Rejuvenair’s air purifiers are fitted with high-quality H-13 HEPA filters to keep the air in workplaces and public buildings fresh and healthy. Combined with UVC purifying technology, Rejuvenair units kill 99.9% of contaminants in rooms up to 60m2. Plus, this efficacy is balanced with appropriacy, ensuring that the unit is cost-effective as it is powerful. 

Our engineers maintain this level of service by monitoring the condition of the filter remotely, so you can organise replacements or repairs in a timely manner from the built-in app. All this, and Rejuvenair pride ourselves on offering one of the most environmentally friendly options available.

Yesterday was the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the British nurse that revolutionised the profession. Her approach to caring for injured soldiers in the Crimean War (1853–1856) changed countless lives and her legacy (quite rightly) lives on. Today, her influence is more pertinent than ever, as official guidance resonates with her fundamentals of health and hygiene – and of course, the fact that she lent her name to the government’s Nightingale emergency hospitals. 

One key example is her emphasis on hand washing. In her book Notes on Nursing (1860), she wrote, “Every nurse ought to be careful to wash her hands very frequently during the day. If her face, too, so much the better.” She implemented this practice in the hospitals she managed on the battlefields in Crimea, preventing countless infections and saving lives.

Florence’s fundamentals of nursing

Although Nightingale didn’t fully subscribe to the notion that diseases are caused by microorganisms (the idea wasn’t really mainstream until she was in her sixties) she was still at the vanguard of hygiene practices in nursing. For example, the benefits of frequent handwashing had only been recently discovered; the advice was first published by Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis in the 1840s.

It was her attention to new research that made her such a trailblazer in her field. She also recognised that the home was a critical site for preventing infection. The same is true today; as per government advice, people are discouraged from congregating in private homes. This advice is backed by research; during Wuhan’s COVID outbreak, approximately 75-80% of infections were family clusters.

As a result, her book Notes on Nursing contained not only advice on medical care, but also public health in general. She gave advice about how to keep a clean and healthy home, and particularly advocated for ventilation. Nightingale suggested that people should open windows to maximise light, increase airflow and filter out “stagnant, musty, and corrupt” air. This, of course, chimes with the advice to keep spaces well ventilated to combat coronavirus.

A modern approach to old wisdom

Florence Nightingale fundamentally changed the way we think about health and hygiene, and in turn, saved thousands of lives. Since, we have built on these essential practices to keep hospitals, homes, and public spaces safe and healthy. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we are applying these basic principles to keep ourselves and others safe with new tools and techniques like face coverings, sanitisers, and air filters. 

Moreover, new research is emerging all the time about the spread of respiratory diseases. Just last week, the CDC in the United States confirmed that coronavirus is, in fact, airborne. This means we need to do everything we can to make sure that all spaces are well ventilated. To achieve this, we need to turn to technology. Air purifiers like those provided by Rejuvenair can eliminate up to 99.9% of viruses and bacteria from the air – helping you follow Florence Nightingale’s time-honoured advice to the letter.

The evolution of building design has been driven by the changing future of work and accelerated by the pandemic. Now, building managers need to ask themselves, is the workplace or public space I run is safe to return to? How am I going to ensure the health of its users? And how sustainable and efficient are its systems, even when the building is at low capacity?

Smart buildings hold the answers to some of these questions. With smart technology, building managers can monitor safety and efficiency, reducing overheads and safeguarding the well-being of users. As a direct result, the building is more sustainable – which is better for people and the planet. Here, we explain how. 

Why smart is sustainable

Here are some fairly astonishing statistics: 36% of global energy usage and 39% of carbon emissions are produced by buildings. This is why making buildings more sustainable is key to a greener, cleaner future. Smart technologies are integral to this goal.

This is because smart applications and systems monitor a building’s energy consumption through intelligent controls, sometimes, yielding as much as a 30% reduction. Moreover, this information incentivises users to change their individual behaviour to contribute to these savings.

Smart buildings can also interact with our increasingly smart energy grid. Smart buildings are set to play a significant role in demand-side response, where power stations supply the grid according to peaks and troughs. Smart buildings can work with infrastructure companies to lower demand and balance the grid more intelligently. 

Confidence in building safety

Furthermore, these tools instil confidence in building users. According to research conducted by tech giants Siemans, 54% of employees are hesitant to return to offices in the future. However, with apps monitoring key metrics like air quality – such as the one developed by Rejuvenair – users have access to the hard data that proves the building is safe.

However, if the future of work really is from home, then lower occupancy will inevitably create challenges when it comes to sustainability. For instance, how can building owners and managers justify lighting and heating unoccupied spaces?

Smart technologies provide insights into users’ behaviour patterns. This gives them the data they need to know when an area should be lit, heated and ventilated for optimum performance. This could account for significant savings in energy, not to mention savings on the bill.

Deploying technology for a green built environment

The future of work, our built environment and the planet are deeply intertwined. This also has an important link to our personal well-being; with a cleaner environment, we can be more productive, efficient, and most importantly, healthier. The key to making this vision a reality is rethinking how we design and manage our buildings.

Smart buildings will play an integral role in realising this vision. With the ability to monitor building occupancy, electricity usage, and air quality, we can optimise systems to save energy and improve the environment. And this isn’t only from the perspective of our own health – it’s for the health and longevity of our planet too.