ASHRAE Offers Course on the Role of HVAC Systems on Infection Control

ASHRAE will offer a course on the role of HVAC systems in infection control in hospitals.

The course, “Designing and Operating High-Performing Healthcare HVAC Systems,” is one of 11 offerings in ASHRAE’s Spring online instructor-led course series, taking place on April 7.

“Infection control is a primary purpose of HVAC systems in hospitals,” said course instructor, Dan Koenigshofer PE, MS Public Health, HFDP, SASHE. “Although COVID-19 is not considered an airborne contagion, the design and operation strategies described in this course may be helpful during the current pandemic. It appears that COVID-19 can be transmitted through aerosols. The movement and concentration of aerosols can be influenced by the HVAC system. Thus, it’s important for hospital engineers to understand the methods to remove and reduce airborne aerosols, using the HVAC system.”

This three-hour course focuses on the design and operation of HVAC systems in healthcare facilities. The course details the relationship of infection control and HVAC design, including application of ASHRAE's HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics, Second Edition, and ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2017 Ventilation of Health Care Facilities. Key elements covered in the course include: infection control, comfort, reliability, safety, maintenance, energy, and flexibility.

Course topics are as follows:

• Discussion of costs of Hospital-Associated Infections (HAI) in the U.S.
• Controversial issues regarding HVAC and infection control such as air change rates and levels of filtration
• Engineering methods to maintain proper temperature and humidity
• How/why to pressurize to move air from clean to less clean areas
• The equation for the probability of getting an infection
• Reasons why the air velocity is limited – deposition and thermal plume
• The design of airborne infectious isolation rooms, protective isolation rooms, operating rooms, emergency depts, sterile processing department and infection control risk assessments

The course will highlight the design, operation, and methods of filtration, UV lighting, and monitoring of pressure, temperature and humidity in HVAC systems for healthcare facilities.

Participants can access this instructor-led course from anywhere with an Internet connection and earn continuing education units/professional development hours for each course completed.

To register, visit the ashrae.org/onlinecourses.