The COVID 19 pandemic, commonly known as CORONA, has engulfed the world and India is no exception. The first infection was reported in December 2019 and within a span of three months almost all countries got affected. The COVID-19 virus belongs to the CORONA family to which SARS epidemic 2002 and MERS 2012 also belong and was taken as reference for the study. As of today, we continue to get information from the research made by many countries. The COVID19 virus affects the respiratory track and starts with symptoms like the common flu. This virus is a mutated strain and as of today no vaccine is available.
The end user in the residential use is known, constant and identifiable, unlike in offices and public spaces like malls and theaters where the end user is moving and is a temporary occupant. The guidelines for comfort, which are evolved over years are 24 to 30°C, RH of 40 to 60 and adequate fresh air.
Room air-conditioners are installed for a single room application, usually bedroom and at times in living room. It is a private space of one or two individuals extended to a family. The users are constant, and the health history and behavior are known, predictable and controllable and there is remote to negligible possibility of COVID 19 virus contamination.
In the summer, the users will be at higher health risk with the ambient temperatures above 40°C in hot and dry climate, and due to high humidity in costal India and the composite climate zones.
The studies till date are not suggesting that the virus is air borne. The virus is propagated through the coughing, sneezing and at times speaking by an infected person and the droplets travel a distance of ~ 2 m and settle on the surface. If a non-infected person comes in contact with the droplets he is likely to get infected. Smaller droplets may travel longer distance with draft of air.
As the virus is not air borne as per the studies till date, Room AC do not transmit the virus.
Yes, it is safe to use Room AC at home, as the house is a private place with negligible possibility of an infected person coming to your home under the present circumstances of lockdown and social distancing.
It depends on what type of office you have and what precautions are being taken to screen the office staff and visitors. If your office is small with few known people with screening it is safe. In case of large number of incoming visitors, it is essential to take higher precautions. The staff and the visitors should follow the guidelines of government such as use of sanitizers and masks to reduce the risk. The possibility of space getting contaminated is same with or without Room AC. AC can be used with adequate ventilation using exhaust fans.
The no of visitors in a restaurant or shops high. The density is also high. AC as such does not add to the contamination. Rearrange the workplace and tables to maintain the social distancing norm. AC can be used with adequate ventilation using exhaust fans.
The suggested default temperature setting by BEE is 24 Deg C. The comfort conditions depend on the ambient humidity. It is recommended that 24-30 Deg C should be maintained.
Additional Guidelines:
Maintain relative humidity between 40 % and 70%.
For residential application it is advisable to keep window slightly open with the exhaust fan in the attached toilet block running for ventilation. Keep the room well ventilated by keeping doors and windows open whenever the AC is not running.
Always get the servicing done thru authorized technician of the company. Insist on the identity card and ask him if he has followed the guidelines of his company for social distancing and sanitization for himself and the tools he is carrying.
The no of visitors in a restaurant or a shops are high. Therefore, the density is also high. AC as such does not add to the contamination. Rearrange the workplace and tables, adhering to the social distancing norm. AC can be used with adequate ventilation using exhaust fans.
The studies till date do not suggest that the virus is air borne. The virus is propagated through coughing, sneezing and by being in close proximity with the infected person as the droplets can travel a distance of ~ 2 m and can settle on the any surface. If a non-infected person comes in contact with the droplets they are likely to get infected. Smaller droplets may travel longer distance with air.
Air conditioners are used to control the temperature and humidity to give comfort to the users and has been one of the contributor in sound health of the users specifically in the tropical climatic conditions like India.
TEMPERATURE: The temperature should be kept between 24- 30 deg C, 24 Deg C for humid zones and 30 Deg C for dry zones. Daikin AC system can control precise temperature and thus ensuring no under or overcooling.
HUMIDITY: 40%-70%. The Daikin AC System helps in maintaining humidity as er recommendations.
VENTILATION: Minimum 2 Air change per hour (ACPH) is recommended. Fresh air can be added as per guidelines given by ISHRAE/ASHRAE. With the use of Air Treatment Equipment (Outdoor air processing unit & Heat reclaim ventilator), fresh air provisions can be given to maintain indoor air quality.
The best action to limit risk of COVID-19 infection by air is to ventilate indoor environments with outdoor air as much as possible. Mechanical ventilation systems and air conditioning systems, which provide ventilation, can perform this function more effectively than simply opening the windows, because they improve the quality of the outdoor air with filtration.
If fresh air is not provided, it is advisable to introduce a fresh air duct attached to a central inline fan filter unit and distribute the fresh air by grilles into the space or near the indoor units. For Cassette Units, the fresh air duct may be connected to the available port of the Cassette Unit.
AIR MOVEMENT: Zonal arrangements for bigger areas to ensure isolated air movement in that zone only. Same can be achieved by different choices of indoor units like:
The studies till date are not suggesting that the virus is air borne. The virus is propagated through the coughing, sneezing and at times speaking by an infected person and the droplets travel a distance of ~ 2 m and settle on the surface. If a non-infected person comes in contact with the droplets he is likely to get infected. Smaller droplets may travel longer distance with draft of air.
As the virus is not air borne as per the studies till date, Commercial AC System do not transmit the virus.
Yes it is very safe to use Daikin Commercial Air conditioning Systems. It is not a closed system, in fact these systems are very well suited to provide ventilated, well regulated air flow with optimum temperature & humidity conditions for residential & commercial spaces.
Commercial AC System can be used with adequate ventilation using different fresh air provisions. With choice of different indoor units like non ducted (High Wall/Cassette/Floor standing)/ducted (High/medium/low static), it is possible to create separate zones & can maintain indoor air quality as per guidelines issued by government bodies. For details about choice of indoors and zoning please contact Daikin Sales Engineering team.
Diluting inside air by running air conditioner & adding fresh air continuously.
Air purifiers can be added as additional precaution.