Review and comparison of HVAC operation guidelines in different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Various organizations and societies around the globe have issued guidelines in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and virus (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning-related guidelines or documents in several major countries and regions have been reviewed and compared, including those issued by the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Associations, the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan, Architectural Society of China, and the Chinese Institute of Refrigeration. Most terms and suggestions in these guidelines are consistent with each other, although there are some conflicting details, reflecting the underlying uncertainty surrounding the transmission mechanism and characteristics of COVID-19 in buildings. All guidelines emphasize the importance of ventilation, but the specific ventilation rate that can eliminate the risk of transmission of airborne particulate matter has not been established. The most important countermeasure, commonly agreed countermeasures, the conflicting content from different guidelines, and further work have been summarized in this paper.

Keywords: COVID-19; Guidance; HVAC; SARS-CoV-2.

Fig. 1

Theoretical aerobiology of transmission of droplets and small airborne particles produced by an infected patient with an acute infection (from ASHRAE) [14].

Fig. 2

Exposure mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and other flu viruses in buildings (from REHVA [16]).