IAQ RADIO DRAFT BLOG
Show Number: 707
Jovan Pantelic, Ph.D.
Research Scientist WELL Living Lab
Wildfires, COVID The IoT & IAQ in a Changing World
This week we welcomed Dr. Jovan Pantelic, Ph.D. WELL Living Lab for a show on COVID, IoT, Wildfires and IAQ. Jovan Pantelic, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist in the Well Living Lab. He earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and his M.S. from the Department of Thermal Engineering at the University of Belgrade (Serbia). He earned his Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore where he studied in the School of Design and Environment, Department of Building.
Dr. Pantelic joined the Well Living Lab in September 2020 after transitioning from his positions as a Professional Researcher at the University of California Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he was completing COVID-19 related research. Over the past 17 years, Jovan has worked on various topics related to indoor air quality, spanning from the airborne spread of infectious diseases in the built environment to the impact of large-scale episodic pollution events, such as wildfires, on indoor air. For the past seven years, Jovan has worked in the field on Internet of Things (IoT) sensing and is considered as one of the leading experts in the field.
Nuggets mined from today’s episode:
Geographic differences in IAQ awareness and concerns (Europe, Asia, North America)? In Europe heating and cooling systems are mostly water based. In Europe natural ventilation is relied upon. In North America mechanical ventilation is relied upon. The expectations in parts of the world are also different.
IAQ study began in Nordic countries which have high energy costs. IAQ study combined energy efficiency measures with improving occupant comfort and IAQ.
In Serbia there is less IAQ awareness than in North America. Energy efficiency is a bigger concern there than IAQ. Serbia is building more smart and more mechanically ventilated buildings.
Singapore is an island. Singapore is very humid (with 27 grams moisture per kilo of air). Mold grows at the interface between warm and cold air. Singapore has many state-of-the-art mechanically ventilated buildings and is building more of them. Mold is the biggest IAQ concern in Singapore, even in new state-of-the-art buildings. Singapore has good mechanical system cleaning and maintenance regimens. Singapore has a looser standard for benchmarking RH, <60% or lower.
What does Well Building research? Well building conducts interdisciplinary research on buildings and humans; the building’s effects on human health. Groundbreaking research on IoT (Internet of Things) sensing air quality. Filling knowledge gaps. Providing input and feedback on industry needs. Holistic research including: physiology and psychology. While the primary purpose of buildings is to house people and not be energy efficient; there is growing interest and research in building buildings for the people. Buildings which are marvels of architecture often don’t work well. Balancing monetary savings from energy efficiency with money saved through improved occupant health.
Covid resurgence? Dr. Pantelic’s PhD is in the study of airborne infection transmission. He became interested in corona virus transmission during a corona virus outbreak struck Hong Kong. Dr. Pantelic designed systems to reduce airborne viral transmission by catching viable airborne viruses for DNA analysis. He transferred from UC Berkeley to Lawrence Berkeley where he worked with Don Milton to prove how much virus is exhaled and its potential for airborne transmission.. Important findings included the effects of heating and cooling on viral transmission. Warm air rises and carries viruses with it while cooler air is negatively buoyant. Flow rates and airflow patterns do matter. Cushions of air can trap and concentrate virus. Research tools included the use of both fluid dynamics and computational fluid dynamics. Don Milton found that some people spread high levels of virus while mechanical HVAC systems don’t. More research is needed to better understand airborne viral transmission.
Supplying more air dilutes airborne viruses. In general, fresh air is preferred over recirculated.
Dr. Pantelic is not convinced that viruses are spread by circulated air.
Naturally ventilated buildings can have both high and low air exchange rates.
When we are sick we tend to close windows.
Covid doesn’t recognize seasonal changes.
There is no perfect covid study model.
Epidemiology covid studies describe the aftermath of specific cases.
Due to the unpredictability of virus release, assumptions regarding viral release must be made during research.
Sensors and the IoT? Senors and IoT are being used to reduce potential for airborne infection transmission by detecting zones that are not well ventilated through the use of CO² as a proxy.
It is difficult to base recommendations for infection transmission on a single disease.
Seek general improvements, are we doing better or not? How many new cases are occurring with the goal of keeping new cases <1.
UVGI? Because the contact time between the germicidal light and the virus is short, it takes a tremendous amount of light, financial investment in UVCI lighting and related energy consumption to kill airborne viruses in airstreams. Ionization systems create byproducts. Portable air cleaners close to the people you want to protect.
Improvements in low cost sensors? Particle counters are much improved. VOC sensors have improved the least due to questions over what is a VOC. CO² sensors are improved. Temperature and RH were and are good. Interpretation of the data requires sufficient insight. Data is lost over the internet.
Wildfires? Buildings are not designed for wildfire impact resistance. Connected sensors are providing valuable information. Natural ventilation is not conducive to wildfires. Wildfire resistance is filtration dependent.
ROUNDUP-
Dr. Pantelic is passionate about improving communication of IAQ data to non-professionals.
IoC (Inversion of Control) measures more and provides more information now to building occupants. Does the data confuse? Dr. Pantelic is supportive of intuitive methods for providing info to non-techies (e.g. traffic light pattern, Red, Yellow, Green) he would like to improve by offering recommendations (e.g. open windows when cooking).
Airborne infection transmission is complicated.
The airborne component of covid transmission was taboo due to liability concerns of mechanical systems designers in non-healthcare settings.
The Last Word- More funding is needed to do more research to better understand complex issues and implement tools to find answers.
Z-man signing off
Trivia:
Name the type of glazing that assists in temperature control by using electricity to change tint preventing unwanted het loss or gain?
Electrochromic Smart Glass
Answered by: Bruce White, 18659 Spruce Circle, Fountain Valley, CA 92708