Do you know that the
office equipment and furnishings in your air-conditioned work place release
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which left unattended, can create conditions
for raid multiplication of bacteria and viruses? Do you know that the ducts of
the central air-conditioning system in offices, if not maintained, can affect
health and hygiene adversely?
With almost 75 to 90
percent of people working in software offices, banks and other corporate
companies in Bangalore doing sedentary jobs- spending over 8 to 10 hours at a
stretch in their air-conditioned offices, the risk towards incidence of health
and hygiene-related problems is high.
Even people working
in the office contribute unknowingly towards contaminating the indoor air.
Sweat, body odour, cigarette smoke, cosmetics and constant release of carbon
dioxide without fresh oxygen are top air contaminants in an AC office. Poor
indoor air quality can cause allergies, fatigue, headaches, sore eyes,
lethargy, colds and respiratory disorders, which is termed as the sick building
syndrome (SBS). One of the most common examples of SBS is people yawning in
their office in the morning. It is not because of lack of sleep, it is because
of lack of oxygen.
The solutiontraditionally has been to bring in fresh air or use multiple chemicals to
dilute the concentration of carbon dioxide and VOCs. The American Society of
Heating Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends at
least 15 to 20 cubic feet of fresh air per person per minute in an office. But
unfortunately fresh air in our cities tends to carry a heavy load of automotive
and industrial pollutants. Chemicals on the other hand bring with them their
own problems like toxicity.
How does an office then
improve the indoor air quality and thereby reduce health and hygiene problems
in an air-conditioned office without bringing in fresh air or using chemicals?
The solution lies in proper maintenance of air-conditioners. Maintenance among
other things includes air purification, regular cleaning of ducts to prevent
fungi formation, tuning up the central cooling system and fixing the leakages.
Cleaning of ducts is
crucial for maintaining hygiene. Many offices tend to neglect the AC ducts.
They do not realize that unkempt AC ducts could give rise to foul odours being
emanated and circulated, as ducts are most prone to fungi formation, dead
rodents and collection of dust and lint, which are extremely unhygienic.
The latest technology
used by air-conditioning maintenance experts today for air purification is
ozone. Ozone, when mixed with contaminated air, immediately and powerfully
neutralizes the contaminants. A beneficial side –effect of ozone is it also
decreases the heat load, which can reduce the air conditioning requirement of a
building by at least 20 to 30 percent, which means huge savings on capital
costs as well as operating costs.
Comprehensive
maintenance conducted annually will look into all aspects like break down
servicing, repairs and even replacement of certain electrical parts. It is
worth the amount spent.
Since the productive
assets of any company are its manpower, it would definitely be worth the while
for it to invest in air-conditioning maintenance, which will ensure better
health and hygiene and thereby better productivity.
• Smoking never
should be permitted inside the office. If smoking indoors cannot be avoided,
the ventilation in area where smoking takes place should be increased.
• Frequent emptying
of water trays in air-conditioners should be done.
• Water- damaged
carpets should be necessarily cleaned, dried or removed.
• The filters on
central cooling systems and air cleaners should be changed as required when
dehumidifiers are used they reduce humidity levels.
• Employing a trained
professional who can inspect, clean and time-up the cooling system periodically
or recurrent functional features the leaks should be promptly repaired.
more details,
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