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Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by Natsu on Sunday May 30, 2021 @06:13PM (#27337388)
I've been reading stuff like this for some time now, I actually had our ventilation redone, albeit for non-Covid reasons because we had too much dust due to leaky vents causing asthma issues and it makes things a lot better even without worrying about Covid.

I never could find any easy/good way to add UV to the mix without having to redo everything again, though. I wonder if anyone knows any easy/simple add-ons like the one we got to add a bidet to the toilet to deal with the TP shortages.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by pyk on Sunday May 30, 2021 @07:15PM (#27337926)
If you have forced air, you can get a UV bulb that all air passes by for $200-300 - just requires drilling some holes and an AC plug. Also helps with killing mold and bacteria as an added benefit (and some of the original intention for the devices, e.g., OdorStop).
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by nradov on Sunday May 30, 2021 @09:54PM (#27339131)
Are there any independent test results to show how effective those UV bulbs are at killing pathogens?
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by schoen on Sunday May 30, 2021 @10:31PM (#27339393)
I would particularly want guidance about

* what UV frequencies to use

* what intensity of light to use

* what volume of air can flow past it per second

I totally believe that UV light is great at killing pathogens and that UV belongs in ventilation systems, but we presumably need to know how much UV light is needed.

The UV doses needed also seem to depend on a lot on the type of pathogen. For example, viruses require a higher dose than bacteria. In

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019665531...

it required up to 6 times as much UV to inactivate viruses compared to bacteria.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by laurent92 on Sunday May 30, 2021 @06:39PM (#27337609)
I’ve bought the Coway AP-1512AH which filters air, and is extremely silent, and I have a separate CO2-PM10-PM2.5 measurer. It does wonders against asthma. PMs go from 25microgram/m3 to 1 in half an hour, which I trust because the measurement tool is separate. I never succeeded to have less than 10 before the Coway.

Before that, I would sneeze first thing in the morning, then sneeze by rows of 10 times in Spring, 30 times a day, nose bleeding from too much sneezing. I would also have an irritated bronchitis which gave me slight asthma (but enough to make me abandon intensive sports). Now I still have risk of asthma, but at least when I want relief, I close the windows, switch on the Coway, and breathe fresh air. I live in a city center of average density.

However, CO2 fills up quickly. I wish I could find some portable air exchanger: Taking air from outside, exchanging temperature, and filtering. I’ve lodged a bit for a house which has that, I’m hoping I’m selected.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by josephst18 on Sunday May 30, 2021 @07:16PM (#27337931)
I would love to find a portable air exchanger too—opening windows helps with CO2 levels but it’s inefficient for most of the year in much of the United States. Built-in air exchangers with heat recovery are available but are a non-starter for anyone in a rented place. Unfortunately, no good solution exists so far
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by Natsu on Sunday May 30, 2021 @09:09PM (#27338795)
Yeah, I live in a place where, well, let's just say that opening the window for much of the year simply isn't done. I don't think some of my windows will even can be opened any longer due to having been closed for so many years.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by jeffbee on Sunday May 30, 2021 @08:24PM (#27338473)
The good solution is to simply tax landlords to get decent ventilation installed.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by Natsu on Sunday May 30, 2021 @09:06PM (#27338761)
I actually got one of those for the bedroom after reading someone mentioning it during another HN thread. It does seem to make the bedroom better, though I don't think it's quite enough for the whole house.

I don't have any measuring devices to see the impact directly, though.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by darkteflon on Sunday May 30, 2021 @07:26PM (#27338004)
Can I ask why you chose this brand and this model? I’m looking for an air filter but have no idea which brands to trust.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by laurent92 on Monday May 31, 2021 @01:40AM (#27340558)
I chose it because someone mentioned it on HN, and said it was:

- silent

- HEPA

- non-AI/IoT

I was afraid it was a paid sponsored comment, but after comparing versions and prices, I tried it and was satisfied. It’s ugly though, looks straight out of the 60ies with its rounded corners.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by teddyh on Monday May 31, 2021 @03:08AM (#27341135)
Off topic: See, this is what happens when enough people try to use a mild word for something bad they’re doing in order to try to hide the badness: other people who see this usage alter their perceived meaning of the mild word to represent what they see as prevalent usage. The mild word comes to mean the bad thing.

In this example, “sponsored”. A more accurate term in this case would have been something like “paid dishonest shill”, but the constant use of “sponsored” by paid shills (esp. on YouTube) has altered our perception of the word “sponsored”. I would not be surprised if soon many companies would like to move away from that word and not be “sponsors” anymore, and instead be “supporters”, etc.

It’s the reverse of the euphemism treadmill, really.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by DoingIsLearning on Monday May 31, 2021 @05:29AM (#27342123)
Can you comment on the feature they call 'vital-ion' with electro-chemical filtering?

If it's an ionizer won't it be releasing Ozone into your filtered room?

That sounds like the opposite of what you want for asthmatics, chidren, etc.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by laurent92 on Monday May 31, 2021 @01:19PM (#27346234)
I don’t use it because I’ve heard it releases Ozone indeed. I don’t see the point. I have hard times trusting stuff made by others, so I’m just seeing 2 filters and a fan, that was just what I wanted ;)
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by DoingIsLearning on Monday May 31, 2021 @02:24PM (#27346834)
Just for clarity you mean this feature is something you can separately enable/disable in the Coway Air filters?
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by Natsu on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @07:26PM (#27362778)
I think I have the same model. There's a button you can press to turn the ionization on or off.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by DoingIsLearning on Wednesday June 02, 2021 @02:19AM (#27365502)
Thanks a lot for confirming this.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by beisner on Sunday May 30, 2021 @08:53PM (#27338644)
Wirecutter recommends Coway
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by darkteflon on Sunday May 30, 2021 @11:02PM (#27339577)
Thanks, [this](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-air-purifier...) was a great read from a trustworthy source.

The AP-1512HH sounds like a great buy for most cases, although if you're particularly concerned about VOCs including exhaust fumes (we are - we live in a dense city, close to a main road), the Austin Air HealthMate HM400 is probably what you want. Used by "FEMA and the Red Cross ... for deployment at Ground Zero and the surrounding areas in the aftermath of 9/11", apparently.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by TylerE on Sunday May 30, 2021 @11:39PM (#27339811)
Careful with that... Wirecutter is known for recommending whoever gives them the biggest commission.
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by brianglick on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @09:47PM (#27363857)
Source?
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by TylerE on Tuesday June 01, 2021 @11:08PM (#27364355)
Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by disabled on Sunday May 30, 2021 @09:38PM (#27338994)
The best place to get started on that is with Corbett Lunsford's books/videos/podcasts. His book, "Home Performance Diagnostics", is the ultimate resource [1].

He also has a YouTube channel [2] that has a ton of useful information on proper ventilation, humidification, and environmental safety, along with podcasts [3]. You can also check out his main site, Building Performance Workshop [4].

Alternatively, there are books on the subject of "building performance" that you may want to check out.

[1] Home Performance Diagnostics Book: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Performance-Diagnostics-Advanced...

[2] Home Performance YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HomePerformance/videos

[3] the Building Performance Podcast: https://buildingperformancepodcast.com/

[4] Building Performance Workshop: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by swader999 on Monday May 31, 2021 @01:43AM (#27340581)
I added this to my main furnace duct. Easier than the bidet upgrade.

https://www.odorstop.com/os72pro-72-watt-uv-air-purifier-wit...

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by rolph on Sunday May 30, 2021 @07:04PM (#27337822)
there are a number of accesories available for your [lets call it HVAC] system UV is one electrostatic is another and a combination exists.

quick DDG serch and here is a commercialized example that is basically imformative:

https://aristair.com/blog/what-does-an-hvac-air-purifier-do/

UV will kill covid, ionic species such as ozone will kill covid, and electrostatic filtration will adsorb particles based on electrical charge rather than mechanical porousity, keep them in place and let the UV+ Ozone do its job.

Re:Improving ventilation will help curb SARS-CoV-2 by jfkgktkrjt on Sunday May 30, 2021 @07:54PM (#27338240)
There are window particle filters (like insect nets):

https://www.respilon.com/products/products/window-membranes/