Importance of Air Quality
One of the most important problems faced by people is the issue of ensuring air quality. Breathing unhealthy air causes serious discomfort over time. These problems are exacerbated when the unhealthy air that is inhaled throughout the day is more than the amount of fresh and clean air.
Dusts, bacteria, viruses, microorganisms and similar unhealthy elements in the outdoor air can enter indoor spaces with the ventilation system in some cases and adversely affect the indoor air quality.
Viruses between 0.003 and 0.06 microns and bacteria with a diameter of 0.45 microns pose serious health threats. Inappropriately used in buildings equipped with new generation technologies.
ventilation systems also bring serious health problems. In these completely isolated buildings, the addition of problems in ventilation systems to the low air quality caused by flooring materials, paints and electrical devices used causes the employees to face serious health problems.
In evaluating the success of any building, the quality of indoor air and the appropriate emission values of the exhaust air should be a priority. In a building, in the first place of the most important criteria of the success of architects and engineers, those who will live in and around the building should be based on creating a thermal, comfortable, healthy and hygienic air quality in which those who will live in the building and around the building can feel comfortable and peaceful in physical, social and psychological aspects. A building with insufficient indoor air quality will create undesirable consequences for the health of the employees. Stress or fatigue caused by poor quality air slowing down the metabolism will reduce work efficiency, life comfort will decrease, hospital and medicine costs will increase, job loss will adversely affect the country’s economy.
A building with unsuitable emission values in the exhaust air will adversely affect life as much as a building with insufficient indoor air quality. Especially people living in big cities, developing technology and changing life
They spend most of their time indoors due to their style. Countries are now setting their own standards for the supply of quality air, which is very important for human health, and seriously control it.
they do.
In order to ensure indoor air quality, microorganisms, viruses, etc. that cause discomfort in the respiratory tract should be prevented from spreading in indoor environments. When this is achieved, health and job loss problems caused by allergic skin diseases such as allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, allergic eye fever, asthma, urticaria and eczema will be eliminated.
Why does sick building syndrome occur?
As technology develops, we see that allergic diseases are getting more intense. The frequency of allergic diseases is increasing in parallel with the development of technology. Allergic diseases have started to be seen more frequently as a result of factors such as collective presence of people in closed and narrow areas, returning from working in the open field to working in the office, carpet flooring, consumption of ready-made foods containing additives, inappropriate air conditioning systems used in offices. Infections, dusts, cigarette smoke, moisture and carpets are of great importance in terms of allergic diseases. In terms of allergic skin diseases, materials such as photocopy machines, paint and ink are important in offices. Air pollution
It is not only the pollution in the external environment, but also the pollution in the indoor environment. The effect of air quality on human performance is a well-known fact.
Allergic diseases can sometimes occur as an occupational disease and due to contact with an allergen in the workplace. In this respect, office environments are particularly risky. The onset of complaints after employment and the decrease in vacation times draw attention to the allergic factors related to the profession. For those working in office environments, the materials used in the construction of the building, the carpets used in the floor coverings, computer dusts, some microorganisms and dusts that occur in the air conditioning systems that are not maintained are at risk in terms of allergies. Especially
It plays a role in triggering the allergies of allergic people. Viral and bacterial respiratory tract infections are the most common diseases that cause the most loss of work force in the world. Because the lungs are our organs most affected by occupational and environmental factors. Inadequate ventilation in work areas, crowded indoor environment or smoking are the main factors in the increase of such infections. Viral infections such as colds and flu can cause a faster response in environments with insufficient air quality.
it spreads in the way.
According to the reports of the World Health Organization, today’s people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, with an average of 70% at work and 20% in the home environment. Experts say sick building syndrome in some buildings
They say it produces a series of symptoms and general symptoms that occur temporarily with living or working. Stating that the employees get sick symptomatically, they point out that the source of the problem is the building itself or the services provided here that cause health problems.
Symptoms of sick building syndrome include headache, dizziness, drowsiness, tired feeling, watery eyes, itching, redness, runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, throat burning, throat dryness, tickling cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dry skin , skin itching, nosebleeds, smell and taste disturbances, difficulty concentrating and malaise.
If you have frequent headaches,
If your throat is dry,
If you have trouble breathing,
If your nose is constantly running,
If you have watery eyes,
If your skin itches,
If you feel tired all the time,
If you have trouble concentrating your attention.
If these ailments resolve when you move away from your work environment, you may be a victim of sick building syndrome. The most important factor in the diagnosis of sick building syndrome is that the symptoms disappear in case of moving away from the working environment.
is to remove.
What should be done as a solution?
It is important to come up with suitable engineering solutions to ensure indoor air quality at the desired standards in terms of microbiology. Considering the parallel between air quality and public health,
The law regulating smoking in places is a very important step in this regard. Exact engineering solutions should be put forward to prevent disturbances caused by ventilation systems, especially legionella, sick building syndrome. Considering in general, in the first stage, appropriate engineering solutions
It is one of the best practices that can be done in this regard to pass the sufficient amount of fresh and conditioned air supplied to the spaces with relative humidity and wetness control through hepa filters after pre-filtration. In the second stage, new technology ozone and UVC filter products, which are widely used in the world for increasing and protecting indoor air quality, offer a realistic solution in terms of air and surface sterilization for all indoor spaces using central ventilation systems. Ozone and UVC filter products neutralize air pollution and microorganisms that occur on surfaces due to this pollution. The products are independent and installed in ventilation systems. In addition to these units, which are easily installed in the air handling units or ventilation ducts of the buildings, there are also electrostatic filter and active carbon filter applications that solve the bacteria, odor, smoke problem used in commercial and industrial areas.
Natural cleaning in nature occurs with the germ-breaking feature of UVC and oxygen-hydrogen-based human-friendly oxides and ozone gas that eliminates odors. UVC and ozone-containing air cleaning systems work according to this cleaning principle in nature.
Unlike other technologies that try to find solutions against bacteria and odor formation, ozone and UVC filter products use technology that is identical to nature to solve these problems. Air filtration technology containing UVC and ozone provides a definite and permanent solution to the problem by neutralizing all impurities in their environment just like in nature.
What is the importance of periodic maintenance in air conditioning systems?
Cleansing air conditioning systems from bacteria, viruses and particles should not be ignored. The most valid and precise method of this purification process is to perform hygienic periodic maintenance without interruption.
Hygienic periodic maintenance in air conditioning systems;
It protects your indoor air quality by destroying the particles and viruses that occur in the system over time and threaten your health,
Provides effective protection against infectious diseases such as sick building syndrome, legionella, anthrax, sars, swine flu, etc.
Reduces respiratory system symptoms in the environment,
Eliminates unwanted odors in the environment,
Removes your chronic fatigue and lack of concentration,
It allows you to breathe healthier and better quality air,
Increases the efficiency of the system and extends its life,
Saves energy costs,
Reduces operating, malfunction, health and job loss costs.
What should be considered in periodic hygienic maintenance?
In hygienic periodic maintenance to be performed in air conditioning systems, the following procedures must be carried out:
● Pre-start and general control of the system should be done.
● The components of the system must be disassembled in such a way that they can maintain their utmost care.
● Equipment in the system should be pre-washed with an aluminum preservative chemical cleaner.
● Fans, fan blades, flaps and cabinets in the system should be cleaned with a chemical containing a base.
● Equipment that is pre-washed with a chemical cleaner should be rinsed with pressurized clean water.
● The washable filters of the system should be washed with a base-containing, plastic-preservative cleaner.
● The drain pan and drainage line should be cleaned with a suitable chemical.
● Electronic circuits, cable connections and ends should be checked.
● The electronic circuits of the system should be cleaned and protected with contact spray.
● If there is a compressor in the system, gas measurement should be made, and gas pressure should be adjusted according to seasonal norms.
● The interconnections and insulation of the system should be checked and the deformed parts should be repaired.
● The equipment of the system whose cleaning is completed must be mounted to their places.
● The indoor unit equipment of the system should be disinfected with a protective antibacterial spray and the C band should be sterilized with UV light.
● The system, whose hygienic periodic maintenance and sterilization has been completed, must be put into use in a sterilized state.
In addition, indoor air quality should be checked at regular intervals and its compliance with the standards should be checked. These inspections should not be left to the responsibilities of those who design, implement or operate air conditioning systems, and should be carried out with a safe control system. Apart from all these, with the initiative of relevant ministries, organizations, unions and chambers, the American Association of Heating, Cooling and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHARE), German Engineers Association (VDI), German DIN Standards, Eurovent or TÜV certifications, which we refer to in the air conditioning sector, The Turkish Heating, Refrigeration, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Standard (TISHIS) and certification criteria, which are based on cooling, ventilation and air conditioning criteria, should be established as soon as possible, first of all in public tender specifications and then in private sector tender specifications.
The nationalization of our standards will further strengthen the planned moves in this regard, where our country has fascinated the world with its national moves.
İlker KURAN
Alperen Engineering Heating Cooling Systems Industry and Trade Ltd. Şti.