The current illnesses from the new coronavirus outbreak, and the associated human fear, has renewed people’s interest in the potential of the indoor environment to contain disease transmission. This means HVAC engineers and building managers are now public health professionals with the capability to aid in disease prevention.
This is an amazing opportunity for building professionals to manage buildings to improve the health of occupants. Unfortunately, in our profit-driven society, building performance is often defined by marketplace performance as reflected in real estate values, rapid returns on building investments, and low professional liability risks — goals quite separate from optimizing occupant health. Too often, choices in building design and installed equipment are not motivated by the well-being of the users. Too often, safety factors are eliminated or equipment is chosen to promote underlining sales agendas.