The Ventilation of Buildings for COVID-19: A Royal Society Report Summary
By Lucy Martin
In the wintertime of 2020-2021, Professor Andy Woods, Head of the IEEF, applied his expertise from Institute research on ventilation to contribute to an important evidence synthesis report advising on limiting the spread of COVID-19. The report, titled ‘The ventilation of buildings and other mitigating measures for COVID-19: a focus on wintertime‘, reviews existing knowledge, presents new insights, and provides practical guidance to inform public health strategies and engineering measures in the depths of the Coronavirus crisis.
Importance of the report
- Winter Challenges: COVID risk increased in the winder due to prolonged indoor activities and reduced outdoor air ventilation. The disease was at a dangerous juncture at this time, with the reproduction number above one.
- Timely Guidance: The report addressed the interplay between pandemic control measures, social freedoms, and economic activities during the winter season.
- Policy and Engineering Relevance: The findings were relevant for public health policy, building design, and operational strategies worldwide, with a focus on the UK.
Key Contributions
The report mentions how monitoring CO2 levels can be an effective proxy for assessing the adequacy of building ventilation, recommending levels below 1000 ppm in most cases. This insight directly draws upon past institute ventilation research whereby Andy’s group conducted experiments with CO2 in the new Papworth hospital to test the efficacy of the hospital’s ventilation systems.
The report recommends mitigation strategies including reducing occupancy, staggering usage, and purging indoor spaces between events to enhance safety, as well as using localised outdoor air supplies, purification systems, and other engineering solutions for additional protection. It served as an important resource for informing public health interventions by enhancing indoor air quality in the context of COVID-19.