Does air conditioning disseminate the coronavirus? We asked an expert
As the days of heating and the summer is based closer, you will have to keep your home safely safely.
As scientists and health experts get to better understand Covid-19, new questions arise on what each of us can do to stay safe. How long does it lastCoronavirus Stay on some surfaces? Eastit looks up? Is therebe a second wave? And now, a new report from disease control and prevention centers (CDC) connected an epidemic in a Chinese restaurant in its air conditioning unit. As the days of heating and summer come closer, if you fear that your own air conditioning can broadcast coronavirus?
According to the CDC, a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, wasThe source of an epidemic Affecting 10 people from three different families who dined him on January 23rd. A person in a family of four wore the virus, although they do not feel symptoms before that date. But Covid-19 is a distributed disease through the transmission of droplets and large droplets remain only in the air for a short period and generally move less than one meter. As affected families remained more remote than that, the CDC determined that another factor has helped propagation: air conditioning.
The CDC determined that the air intake and return air inlet for the restaurant central air conditioner was located above the infected area, the droplets were probably transmitted by this ventilation. It is a frightening perspective, but what does it mean in practice? We asked an expert what precautions you should take. And for more health advice, see7 silent symptoms of seniors coronaviruses need to know.
How safe is it to use central air conditioning in your home right now?
Qingyan Chen, PhD, Professor of Purdue UniversityTransmission of viruses through ventilationsays there are reasons to be wary.
"Small droplets can be airborne. Although small droplets wear much less virus than large, they could be transferred by air conditioning systems," he explains. "Since most air conditioning systems can not filter very small droplets - so that droplets can be recycled in interior spaces - we should be concerned about the use of air conditioning systems."
When it comes to your own house, Chen says you should not be too concerned unlessMember of the family has already coronavirus Or is suspected of having it. If they are, it recommends opening windows to get a "maximum natural ventilation" instead of blocking your air conditioner.
"If you have a patient or if you have a quarantine person in a room, thank you for sealing the return of the air into the room", "he recommends. "This would prevent the air that may contain recycled coronavirus in the central air conditioning system."
What is safer: central air conditioning or window units?
As window units do not provide air from an interior space, they would not lead to cross-contamination, according to Chen.
"In this season of Covid-19, a window unit is safer," he says.
If you live alone in a residential house, you should operate the shape of AC. (Provided you continued to practice goodsocial distancing Not to invite other people in your living space.) If you live in a building of apartments that uses the central air, you may want to talk to your owner on the type of system.Dedicated external air systems Heat and cool spaces using air from outside the building instead of recirculating, so that they are less likely to transmit coronaviruses.
As long as you can stay at ease without that, however, it is the safest to keep your AC completely completely.
"If the temperature continues to increase, you can open a window at night to cool the room and close the window during the day. It could keep the room temperature of the weak air", recommends to Chen. "The use of a ceiling fan or a table fan would also help refresh yourself." For more advice, check15 ways to keep your home cool without central air.
If you clean your air conditioner to prevent the propagation of coronavirus?
Contrary to what you may have assumed, clean your air conditioner at this time could be a mistake.
Chen recommends waiting to replace filters in air conditioning units until the COVID-19 pandemic is completed, especially since the filter itself could have the virus.
"In fact, an older filter has a higher filtration efficiency than a new one, so you should be safe [without replacing it]," he says. "The only disadvantage is that you can get a little less air or use a little more energy [for power]."
Is it prudent to visit a reopened restaurant that uses air conditioning?
Some states, such as Georgia, allowRestaurants to reopen. But Chen recommends rushing for a meal, as "restaurants are one of the most dangerous locations" in the risk of infection.
"Most restaurants use mixing ventilation, in which air conditioning systems are trying to stir as much as possible from the room as much as possible," he explains. "Thus, the droplets in the restaurants would be uniformly distributed. It's not an excellent scenario."
Chen says it would take a major "modernization" to make dinner restaurants safely to visit before the pandemic is completely controlled. Install the relatively less risky "Air distribution on the ground WhereVentilation of displacements"would take a considerable amount of time and money.
If you decide to dinner, Chen advises you to attend restaurants where you can eat outside while observing social distance to mitigate the risk of contracting the disease of another dinner. For more coronavirus answers, check21 myths of coronavirus, you have to stop believing, according to the doctors.
