Chinese Drywall and SBS: The Saga Continues

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 | Building Maintenance Industry News, HVAC Video Blog, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

It has unofficially become the Story That Just Won’t Go Away.  Back in July we talked about the possible problems being caused in the American south and southeast by imported Chinese drywall (see “HVAC Industry on Alert for Defective Chinese Drywall,” July 23).  We gave an update a month later (”By the Numbers: The Chinese Drywall Situation,” Aug. 19).  The short version is that imported drywall may contain sulphur and other chemicals that are leaching out in the humid southern and southeastern climates.  It’s damaging HVAC systems, plumbing systems, and other building systems while also driving people out of their homes and businesses and causing symptoms similar to sick building syndrome (SBS).  Since HVAC and SBS are two of our chief in-house topics, we’ve been keeping an eye on the situation. And there are developments to report. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: Chinese Drywall, HVAC Coils, Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome: Advice for Mitigating Influenza in Commercial Buildings

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

Recently your trusty Just Venting blogger received in the mail a magazine (also available on the Web as a text-only pdf), sent out to all residents of his state, that called to mind this blog’s occasional focus on sick building syndrome.  It consisted of advice about preparing for and responding to a pandemic flu outbreak and the widespread dissemination of such a publication underscored a point that, given current circumstances, we simply can’t overemphasize: Preparing for flu in your commercial, industrial, or institutional building is mandatory.  Sick building syndrome has ramped up to a new playing field. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: air conditioning systems, cooling towers, HVAC equipment, HVAC Maintenance, Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome on Steroids: ASHRAE Releases Position Paper on HVAC and Infectious Disease

Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

Sick building syndrome is a concern of every person who spends most of his or her days located indoors in a building with an active HVAC system — that is, the majority of us.  But sometimes circumstances take us beyond the normal concerns involved in sick building syndrome — mold, chemicals, allergic reactions, general malaise, etc. — and we find we’ve entered the zone of all-out infectious disease concerns.  That’s where we find ourselves right now, with the rapidly spreading H1N1 pandemic. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: ASHRAE, H1N1, hvac, HVAC system, HVACR, Sick Building Syndrome, swine flu, White House

Energy and the Economy: Report Says U.S. Can Save $1.2 Trillion through Energy Efficiency Measures

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 | Green Buildings & Green Technology, HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, HVAC Regulations and Standards, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

McKinsey & Company, the worldwide management consulting firm, has released a report that highlights the connection between energy and the economy by demonstrating that the U.S. could save up to $1.2 through the use of non-transportation energy efficiency measures. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: commercial HVAC, energy efficiency, green buildings, greenhouse gas emissions, hvac, HVAC efficiency, HVAC equipment, HVAC systems, indoor air quality, industrial HVAC, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, SBS, Sick Building Syndrome

New Prescription for Sick Building Syndrome (SBS): Use Copper in the HVAC System

Thursday, August 13th, 2009 | HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

We’ve written twice in recent weeks about the issue of copper and its role in HVAC systems, so we figured hey, why not another one? We’re not really being flippant, though, because all indications are that copper is increasingly showing up as a major factor in the HVAC world with applications that may prove beneficial to everybody. Its possible uses for helping to prevent Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) are now coming to the fore, and this is entirely appropriate since copper’s natural antimicrobial properties make it the perfect metal for addressing one of the foundational causes of SBS. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: air conditioning systems, ECI, energy efficiency, epa, European Copper Institute, hvac, HVAC systems, iaq, indoor air quality, SBS, Sick Building Syndrome

Green Buildings Can Reduce Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)

Monday, August 10th, 2009 | Building Maintenance Industry News, Green Buildings & Green Technology, LEED, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

The idea that a building could make people ill has been in the public consciousness since 1976 when Legionella pneumophila first reared its ugly bacterial head at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. While that was an unusual and isolated case, the idea of a building causing illness has never gone away. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: ASHRAE, LEED V3, Sick Building Syndrome, Ventilation

Maintain Your HVAC System to Head Off the High Cost of Poor IAQ

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 | Energy Saving Tips, HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, Sick Building Syndrome | 3 Comments

Summer is upon us, and that means it’s time to seal the building and crank up the air conditioner.

And that means it’s a good time to think about IAQ. Of course, any time is a good time for directing attention to this important subject, but it’s particularly pertinent during the onset of hot weather. And it’s particularly important for us here at Just Venting, since poor IAQ is so very frequently related to HVAC issues.

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION: YES, IT’S REAL

The first thing to fix firm in your mind is that indoor air pollution is a real problem, as explained in detail by Penn State researcher Melissa Beattie-Moss in a May 17 article for Central Pennsylvania’s GantDaily.com. Quoting research by William Bahnfleth, professor of architectural engineering and director of Penn State’s Indoor Environment Center, Beattie-Moss points out that while we have worked wonders as a nation in our efforts to clean up outdoor air thanks to the Clean Air Act, we have failed to put as much attention on the cleanliness of the air inside the buildings where we live and work, where federal clean air legislation doesn’t apply (even though things like ASHRAE regulations do).

“Americans,” Bahnfleth explains, “now spend on average 90 percent of their time indoors, being exposed to indoor air contaminants. The sheer exposure time amplifies the significance of any harmful substances in indoor air — but indoor concentrations of some contaminants may also be several times higher than outdoors.” These contaminents may include Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from building materials and furniture; carbon monoxide; radon; spores and mycotoxins from mold; pesticides; allergens from pets, insects, dust mites and other sources, and tobacco smoke.

He continues, “Visible or not, indoor air contaminants have a tremendous effect on health, productivity, and comfort. Numerous studies have documented that students learn better and workers are more productive in environments with good air quality.”

The effects of these problems on human well being and economic activity are pronounced, and the two play directly into each other. We’re all familiar with Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), “in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.” What we may not be as familiar with is the steep economic cost associated with poor IAQ; one recent study of IAQ concluded that air quality-related financial losses due to sick leave, medical treatment, and lowered productivity may reach $48 billion annually in the U.S.

So, to sum up, it’s a live issue, and we all need to keep up to date about best practices for maintaining excellent IAQ in our buildings.

A BRIEF REVIEW OF IAQ

For a review of the basic facts about IAQ, you could do worse than to visit the EPA’s subsite about the subject. That’s where you can access the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM), released in 2002, which the EPA describes as “a guidance tool designed for use by building professionals and others interested in indoor air quality in commercial buildings.”

You can also read what the EPA has to say about Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). In addition to identifying the possible causes of SBS (inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and biological contaminants), the EPA offers specific recommendations for conducting building investigation procedures and solving SBS problems.

THE ROLE OF AIR FILTRATION: DON’T SKIMP!

On a more specific facility management-related note, we recommend that you read a recent post at the Facility Blog titled “Don’t Skimp on Air Filtration Even When Budgets Are Tight” (Today’s Facility Manager, June 1). In it, Gina Tsiropoulis, Market Manager for Kimberly-Clark Filtration, warns that although facility managers who are looking to reduce maintenance expenses during the present economic squeeze may consider cutting down on HVAC maintenance, and especially on filter maintenance (either by reducing the frequency of air filter change-outs or by downgrading to a lower-priced filter), this is actually very short-sighted, since

Smart fms should realize the small amount of money saved by reducing or eliminating air filter purchases or by purchasing lower priced (and lower efficiency) filters pales in comparison to the energy and operating costs that can be saved by maintaining a robust air filtration maintenance and upgrade program.

She goes on to discuss the role of air filtration in promoting and maintaining not only good IAQ but increased energy savings:

Skimping on air filtration during a tough economy has the potential to put facilities even deeper in financial trouble. It can negatively impact IAQ which can increase costs relating to worker health and productivity. It can also increase HVAC system operating and energy costs. While reducing the frequency of filter change-outs or downgrading to a lower-priced (and lower performance) filter may seem like good ways to reduce expenditures, they are not true cost-savings strategies.

THE IMPORTANCE OF OVERALL HVAC SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

So this is all just food for thought, and also impetus for action. The overarching point that you might want to take away from it is that not only proper filter maintenance but proper total maintenance of your HVAC system is necessary for the very reasons Tsiropoulis notes above. We trust you’ll pardon as we quote ourselves, from words at our own main site:

By now, most people have heard the terms “indoor air quality” and “sick building syndrome.” One of the biggest contributors to indoor air quality is the HVAC system installed in the building. The purpose of the HVAC system is to “condition” the air inside the building. Air that has been “conditioned” is clean and odor-free and is at a temperature and humidity that the majority of the building’s occupants find comfortable. . . . HVAC maintenance plays a significant role in keeping the HVAC system running at peak efficiency.

And we urge you to read the detailed article by Goodway’s Steve Spielmann about cleaning ducts and ventilation systems for purposes of heading of SBS and maintaining good IAQ.

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: air filtration, air filtration maintenance, building investigation procedures, commercial buildings, energy savings, epa, filter maintenance, HVAC Maintenance, HVAC system, HVAC system maintenance, iaq, indoor air contaminants, indoor air pollution, indoor air quality, poor IAQ, Sick Building Syndrome, VOCs, Volatile Organic Compounds

The Basics about Legionnaires’ Disease and HVAC Systems

Friday, November 21st, 2008 | HVAC Maintenance and Efficiency, Sick Building Syndrome | No Comments

If you’re involved in any aspect of a building’s HVAC system, then you need to know about the bacterium known as Legionella, and more specifically, the type Legionella pneumophila. It’s one of the hottest and most important topics in the industry right now, not only because its ill health effects have been prominent in recent years (see, for example, the 2003 New York Times article “Health Officials Baffled by Rising Number of Legionnaires’ Cases”) but because HVAC systems were long ago identified as major culprits in the spread of it.

L. pneumophila is responsible for causing Legionnaires’ disease, a specialized type of pneumonia that causes high fever, chills, aches, coughing, and other symptoms. It also causes a milder form of the disease known as Pontiac Fever. › Continue reading

Written by: Goodway Blogging Team

Tags: ACOP L8., Approved Code of Practice and Guidance L8, cause, cleaning, Europe, European standard, health, HVAC system, Legionella, Legionella pneumophila, legionnaires’ disease, Sick Building Syndrome, US