Last week I got my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Many others in the US have already been vaccinated and now everyone 16 and older in all 50 states is eligible to get vaccinated. We're getting close, but we aren't there yet.
One of the best things we can do is to understand how this virus is transmitted. I've known for a long time that aerosol transmission is dominant, causing about 96% of the cases, but I recently found out that some people close to me didn't understand that. If you think you're safe without a mask in an indoor environment just because you're more than six feet away from others, you may be engaging in activities that put you and your family at risk.
See my article from last week (link below) and you'll understand why I haven't been to the gym or the dentist in over a year. But now that I'm vaccinated, I'm looking forward to doing both...carefully.
Indoor air quality has gotten a lot of attention in the past year. Unfortunately, that means people with dollar signs in their eyes are trying to sell you air cleaning products that at best just don't work and at worst are making your indoor air quality worse.
I'll have an article out this week about electronic air cleaners. My advice for now is to stick with stuff we know works: filtration and ventilation. The Comparetto Cube, a variation of the Corsi/Rosenthal portable air cleaner (link below) is a great way filter out potentially virus-laden particles in your indoor air.
All the best,
~ Allison
Chief Troublemaker at Energy Vanguard
PS The carbon dioxide level in the indoor air is a good measure for how much air exchange is happening. Are you monitoring it?
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The two kinds of people in the world are those who can extrapolate from incomplete data. Regarding how COVID-19 spreads, the data are becoming more and more complete now. And the facts and analysis all point to this deadly virus spreading through particles that float in the air for hours. Technically, these are called…
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Yesterday I gathered with a few of my friends and colleagues from the building performance community for a virtual happy hour. During our chat, Steve Byers of Energy Logic posed the question: Compared to BC (before coronavirus), how will you be different once...
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 Twitter is an utter hellscape in some ways, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. I’ve seen a lot of good information about the COVID-19 pandemic there, including ways to filter the indoor air for coronavirus and the emerging science about the spread of SARS-COV-2 via aerosols in addition to droplets. On the filtration front, one thing I started seeing there over the past few months was…
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Upcoming Events
PHIUS Mechanical Summit
Day 1 is over but you can still sign up and see everything. A combination of recorded sessions and a live panel on 19 April. Dr. Bailes is presenting on proper airflow distribution calculations and duct sizing and will be part of the live panel.
North American Passive House Conference
PHIUS is planning on this year's conference being live and in-person. It's going to be held in Tarrytown, New York in October. Stay tuned for more details.
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Quote of the Week
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
~ Yogi Berra
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