This white paper is intended to provide guidance for owners of commercial buildings, including K-12 schools, higher education campuses, and office buildings, to consider while returning to occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 138 classrooms and labs currently in use this semester by UMass-Lowell students and faculty, building ventilation systems bring in 100% fresh, outside air while exhausting 100% of the rooms’ return air outdoors again.
Boiler FD fans tend to be complicated units with many components, including three or four control dampers, to regulate airflow at all firing conditions.
Dr. Junfen Zhang, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, recommends diligently monitoring and improving IAQ through regular testing and making adjustments to our daily habits.