COVID-19 Ventilation Guidelines

While the first line of defense against COVID-19 continues to be social distancing and other measures when in public, improving indoor air quality in your home or business is an additional step you can take. This can be as easy as opening a window in your home, but that can be inconvenient. It also allows for more dust and pollen particles to enter your home while diluting any viral particles in the air.

How Indoor Air Quality Affects the Transmission of COVID-19

The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, spreads through respiratory droplets that are created when a person who is infected breathes, sings, talks, shouts, coughs, or sneezes. These droplets vary in size, but small ones may linger in the air. A high concentration of these droplets increases the risk of spreading COVID-19. This is especially found in indoor spaces where there is not a lot of air circulating. Good indoor ventilation dilutes the concentration of these droplets, which helps to reduce the chance of COVID-19 spreading. The humidity of the home also affects how COVID-19 spreads. If the humidity is too low, the droplets become smaller, which allows for more of them to exist in the air, while the humidity being too high causes condensation to form on surfaces in the home.

How Good Ventilation Affects Air Quality

The main goal of good ventilation in a home or business is to regularly replace the indoor air with fresh outdoor air. This dilutes the number of contaminated particles, from dust and pollen, harmful gasses, or viruses. It also helps to balance the humidity in the home and removes particles in the air through filtration. Proper humidity in the home also helps to ensure various particles in the air don’t remain in the air longer than they need to. All of these things help to limit the spread of COVID-19 in indoor spaces.

Next Steps

If you are concerned about your HVAC system you can schedule a site visit with one of our HVAC Technicians. They can do a walkthrough of your HVAC system and determine if it:

  • is suitable for the setting, type of activity, number of occupants, and the length of time it is occupied
  • is operating properly
  • can be adjusted to increase air exchange rates
  • is using the highest MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating filters the system can sustain
  • could benefit from an HRV or Whole-Home Humidifier

We do our best to keep Same Day or Next Day slots available, so call us to book your appointment!

For more information on Ventilation Systems and COVID-19, visit the Government of Canada’s Website.