HVAC Expert | David Schurk

Winter is right around the corner, and with colder weather comes the traditional cold and flu season. Unfortunately, this year we are still amid the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc across the globe. It is known that colder weather is attributed to higher incidences of certain airborne illnesses. It’s also proven to result…

The Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) has recently revised coronavirus guidance to state that it spreads through airborne transmission. This has been a long-awaited announcement by healthcare and scientific communities which have pushed the CDC for months to make such an acknowledgement. The CDC revision states the virus can sometimes spread through airborne particles…

As I sat on my patio in Denver thinking of what to write for this month’s post I found myself coughing as a result of the smoke which has been blown in from distant forest fires over the past few weeks…instantly a topic came to mind. The smoke released by most fires is a mixture…

When it comes to helping rid hospitals of various air of pollutants, more specifically airborne viruses, what can be done? By implementing HVAC system measures such as ventilation, filtration and the addition of advanced air-cleaning technologies, engineering professionals strive to drive a wedge between building occupants and the (really-really) small airborne droplet nuclei aerosols which…

A recently published investigation titled: “Identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Healthcare Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Units”, with affiliation through the Biology and the Built Environment Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (and others) has emerged which demonstrates the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at multiple locations within mechanical AHUs, and more specifically, AHUs serving multiple…

Last month’s discussion began with some insight on a proven method of helping remediate mold growth within HVAC systems serving critical care environments. This month I’ll expand that conversation to include the emerging technology of Needlepoint Bi-Polar Air Ionization (NPBI), which not only helps eliminate mold growth in HVAC air-handing systems, but is also confirmed…

The time has come to recognize airborne transmission of the COVID-19 disease (Report: Transmission Potential of SARS-CoV-2 in Viral Shedding Observed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center). Concern now revolves around the possibility that the virus can be circulated throughout a building or distributed in the air delivered by its HVAC system. To the…

It appears that recent research into the COVID-19 virus has narrowed to that of “transmission by droplet”. That being said, droplets include different types, with those of a larger diameter (micron-size) which, after expulsion from an infectious individual may drop to the ground or surface by gravity to be “cleaned” or “removed” through surface disinfection….

Last month I touched on the topic of mold within the built healthcare environment. But what about mold in the harder to see-or-reach spaces of the hospital, such as deep in the recesses of the buildings HVAC system? Mold requires 4 basic things to proliferate, including food, oxygen, temperatures between 40-100 degrees, and moisture. All…

With the tragic turn of events at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the subject of mold in healthcare environments has taken front-and-center stage all across the country. It’s important to understand that there is always a little mold everywhere indoors – in the air and on most surfaces. Mold spores are brought into the building through various…