This content has been authored by Varun Pahwa, President, Desiccant Rotors International (DRI)

With low pangs of summers already being felt, people will be more prone to spend time indoors to beat the heat outside. There will be many who will be taking a sigh of relief thinking that now they will be free from the poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) menace prevalent during winters. But in reality, the issue of poor IAQ is a persistent issue all-round the year. It only gets worsened in summers with centralized air conditioning systems in the enclosed spaces that leave no space for the influx of fresh air and only stale air keeps circulating in the building.

The impact is felt even more starkly in industries like healthcare, construction, factories, hotels, airports, given to their packed, and complex structure that deteriorates the air quality within the premises. Moreover, these places often being huddled with large crowds compounds the problem.

As a result, there have been rising instances of ‘Sick Building Syndrome’ which is a serious threat to the health and overall wellbeing of the person. Additionally, the poor IAQ is also responsible for a wide range of issues like breathing problems, lethargy, pain in the eyes, and other long-term illnesses.

In order to arrest the issue, people need to be aware that the indoor air can easily get influenced by the outdoor air and is 10 times worse and more harmful because of restricted airflow in the enclosed area. It is not just the metropolitan cities that get affected but even the surrounding cities face the menace of poor indoor air quality.

Hence, highly efficient building management systems must be installed in centrally conditioned spaces such as office complexes, homes, malls, hotels, restaurants, auditoriums, and various other closed premises to not just deal with the contaminants/pollutants generated indoors but ensure that outdoor pollution like PM 2.5, PM10, VOCs as well other gaseous contaminants are not brought inside enclosed spaces through conditioning systems.

Understanding that the major cause of poor IAQ is the lack of clean fresh air in the buildings which only worsens with the presence of moisture, ensuring proper ventilation is the best solution to improve indoor air pollution. It dilutes the contaminated air indoors by utilizing the fresh air from outside. With the help of this approach, one can thoroughly clean the outside fresh air and introduce it into the building, maintaining positive pressure inside the building.

Here, HVAC&R systems are highly efficient in ensuring proper ventilation and are backed up with a wide range of advantages. It not just renders acceptable indoor air quality but also provides thermal comfort in the enclosed space. The system employs advanced desiccant technology that uses hygroscopic substances to suck moisture from the air in order to maintain the proper RH and cool down the indoor spaces. One of the primary benefits of this technology is that it tones down the air according to the requirement of the given space. The Energy Recovery systems ventilate the conditioned spaces without compromising on air conditioning load. Owing to this mechanism there is substantial reduction in the use of energy and utility costs.

Along with HVAC&R system installation, people must also be agile enough to adopt green building designs. Green Building Councils across the globe are playing a critical role in promoting awareness and certifying the importance of Indoor Air Quality in our day-to-day lives. The advanced buildings help in striking the right balance in the indoor air quality that does not compromise on the comfort of the people but at the same time coherently contribute to reducing the energy consumption of the building with the help of green products. These buildings are the most viable solution as it highly maintains proper relative humidity (RH) and prevents any growth of mold, mildew in the enclosed atmosphere.

With advanced systems in place and efficient air purifying systems, maintaining good indoor air quality, even in large spaces has become a cost-effective and doable affair.

Rahul Aeron, Assistant Vice President, Desiccant Rotors International | Construction Week | March 3, 2022

Over the years there has been much conversation around the alarming pollution levels in the air. From government policies to academics, huge steps have been taken to create awareness and curb the menace of pollution. But just countering the outdoor air pollution is not enough. The issue of poor indoor air quality (IAQ) has always been there and in recent years has emerged as a potential threat to human health. As people are highly conscious of outdoor air pollution it is time to focus on IAQ as well. It is potentially more detrimental than outdoor air pollution and to control the holistic issue of pollution it is equally imperative to counter the problem of poor IAQ just like the outdoor pollution.

As a large amount of time is spent indoors, quality IAQ containing breathable air, free from all pollutants adds to the higher quality of life by lowering risks associated with respiratory illness and also reducing the risk of chronic conditions. Poor IAQ has a damaging effect and can negatively impact health. Research has shown that people continuously exposed to a certain level of carbon dioxide have reduced cognitive performance by 50%. Health conditions like asthma, respiratory illness, throat, and nasal illness, coughing, scratchy throat, headaches, fatigue are common symptoms arising from poor IAQ. In certain cases, it can also lead to Sick Building Syndrome and complications of lung and heart conditions. Consequently, long-term exposure can be precursors of serious conditions. It may either exasperate the pre-existing conditions or may give rise to new health issues.

People might think that closing the windows and doors will protect them from pollution. But various elements within the closed premises deteriorate the air quality. There are various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like synthetic building material, furnishing, cleaning supplies, aerosols, dust present in the building. They add to the pollutants already present in the air and meddle with the decision-making capacity and productivity of the person. In addition to this, the presence of humidity can further worsen the condition. It harbors mold and mildew responsible for the musty odor, condensation, and other conditions which are not visible to the eyes. The situation gets even worse in commercial and large buildings due to their complex structure and probability of being huddled with a large crowd of people.

This necessitates the removal of pollutants from the air for improved environmental benefits and public health. Here, ventilation can significantly lower the pollution level. But simply depending on natural ventilation will not give the desired results. They do not have enough power to move the air consistently. It also mixes the fresh air coming from outside with the contaminated indoor air and does not guarantee an air change rate.

Highly advanced ventilation is required. Mechanical ventilation systems must be installed for this purpose. It ensures a steady flow of fresh air throughout the building. It not just removes the stale indoor air but filters pollutants coming in from the outdoor air. An Energy Recovery Ventilator in the air conditioning system can provide a simple solution to all ventilation issues. The system improves IAQ by ventilating the space and flushing out harmful pollutants.

All this is done while being highly conscious of energy. There is minimum wastage of energy as the system utilizes waste heat of exhaust air to cool the incoming air. The ERV plays an instrumental role in saving energy which reduces the operational costs of HVAC systems. It is efficient enough to ventilate even the conditioned spaces without compromising on the air conditioning load.

The detrimental consequences of poor IAQ necessitate IAQ literacy at every stage of life as it affects each and every one, irrespective of age and place. Proper knowledge can better help people to be aware of the inherent threat lingering inside the building and deploy the necessary technologies to combat the effect of poor IAQ.

Varun Pahwa, President, Desiccant Rotors International | Times of India | January 19, 2022,

Varun Pahwa is President DRI. DRI is a global provider of components & systems for Energy Recovery, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), Evaporative Cooling, Dehumidification & Green Buildings.

With the coming of the winters the issue of poor air quality has again become a huge concern for people across India. Also, with Covid-19 hitting the world, people are spending more and more time indoors to protect themselves from the deadly virus. The fog coupled with smoke forms smog envelopes the city with bad air quality. Due to the chilly winter air, people resort to spend maximum time indoors to protect themselves from cold weather as well as the poor air quality outside.

But staying indoors is not that easy, the way it looks. Due to the poor ventilation, or presence of molds have increased the chances of developing ‘Sick Building Syndrome’ that gives rise to serious health issues and overall wellbeing. It is also responsible for wide range of issues like breathing problems, lethargy, pain in the eyes, and other long-term illnesses.

People need to be aware that the indoor air gets easily influenced by the outdoor air and is 10 times worse and harmful because of restricted air flow in the enclosed area. It is not just the metropolitan cities which get affected but even the surrounding cities face the menace of poor indoor air quality.

Industries like healthcare, construction, factories, hotels, airports, are more likely to experience poor air quality due to their packed, and complex structure which does not support the influx of fresh air. Moreover, being commercial spaces, often these places are huddled with large crowds which further deteriorates the IAQ.

As we spend more and more time indoors, mostly in centrally conditioned spaces such as office complexes, homes, malls, hotels, restaurants, auditoriums and various other closed premises, building management systems are dealing with not only contaminants/pollutants generated indoors but also have to ensure outdoor pollution like PM 2.5, PM10, VOCs as well other gaseous contaminants are not brought inside conditioned spaces through conditioning systems.

Given that the major cause of poor IAQ is the lack of clean fresh air in the buildings which only gets worse with the presence of moisture, ensuring proper ventilation is the best solution to improve the indoor air pollution. It dilutes the contaminated air indoors by utilizing the fresh air from outside. With the help of this approach, we thoroughly clean the outside fresh air and introduce that into a building, maintaining positive pressure in the building.

To ensure proper ventilation, HVAC&R systems must be installed which offers wide range of advantages. It not just renders acceptable indoor air quality but also provides thermal comfort in the enclosed space. The system employees advanced desiccant technology that uses hygroscopic substances to suck moisture from the air in order to maintain the proper RH and cools down the indoor spaces.

One of the primary benefits of this technology is that it tones down the air according to the requirement of the given space. The Energy Recovery systems ventilate the conditioned spaces without compromising on air conditioning load. Owing to this mechanism there is substantial reduction in the use of energy and utility costs.

In addition to the installation of the HVAC&R system, people must be agile enough to adopt green building designs. Green Building Councils across the globe are playing a critical role in promoting awareness and certifying the importance of Indoor Air Quality in our day to day lives. The advanced buildings help in striking the right balance in the indoor air quality that does not compromise on the comfort of the people but at the same time coherently contribute to reduce the energy consumption of the building with the help of green products. These buildings are most viable solution as it highly maintains proper relative humidity (RH) and prevents any growth of mold, mildew in the enclosed atmosphere.

With advanced systems in place and efficient air purifying systems, maintaining good indoor air quality, even in large spaces has become a cost effective and doable affair.