Announcement

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Bascon Control Technologies is proud to announce that we are now an exclusive Sauter Controls distributor in Canada.

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Sauter Controls is the world’s leading solution provider for building automation technology in “Green Buildings”, ensuring good climate conditions and well-being in living spaces with a future. As a specialist, SAUTER develops, produces and sells products and systems for energy-efficient overall solutions and ensures the energy-optimized operation of buildings with comprehensive services. SAUTER products, solutions and services enable high energy efficiency throughout the entire building life cycle. This extends from planning through implementation to operation in office and administration buildings, research and educational facilities, hospitals, industrial and laboratory buildings, airports, leisure facilities, hotels and data centers. With over 100 years of experience and proven technological competence, SAUTER is a proven system integrator that guarantees continuous innovation and Swiss quality.

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ASHRAE® Recommendations for COVID-19

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has developed proactive guidance to help address coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) concerns with respect to the operation and maintenance of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems.

The ASHRAE COVID-19 Preparedness Resources webpage, ashrae.org/COVID19, provides easily accessible resources from ASHRAE to building industry professionals.

“The recent escalation in the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 is alarming on a global scale,” said 2019-20 ASHRAE President Darryl K. Boyce, P.Eng. “While ASHRAE supports expanded research to fully understand how coronavirus is transmitted, we know that healthy buildings are a part of the solution. ASHRAE’s COVID-19 Preparedness Resources are available as guidance to building owners, operators and engineers on how to best protect occupants from exposure to the virus, in particular in relation to airborne particles that might be circulated by HVAC systems.”

Available on the webpage is ASHRAE’s recently approved “Position Document on Airborne Infectious Diseases.” The group’s position is that facilities of all types should follow, as a minimum, the latest practical standards and guidelines.

The position document also advises that new and existing health-care intake and waiting areas, crowded shelter, and similar facilities should go beyond the minimum requirements of these documents, using techniques covered in ASHRAE’s Indoor Air Quality Guide to be even better prepared to control airborne infectious disease (including a future pandemic caused by a new infectious agent).

Because small particles remain airborne for some period of time, the design and operation of HVAC systems that move air can affect disease transmission in several ways, such as by the following:

• Supplying clean air to susceptible occupants; 
• Containing contaminated air or exhausting it to the outdoors;
• Diluting the air in a space with cleaner air from outdoors or by filtering the air; and
• Cleaning the air within the room.

ASHRAE recommends the following strategies of interest to address disease transmission: dilution ventilation, laminar and other in-room flow regimes, differential room pressurization, personalized ventilation, source capture ventilation, filtration (central or unitary), and UVGI (upper room, in-room and in the airstream).

Owners, operators and engineers are encouraged to collaborate with infection prevention specialists knowledgeable about transmission of infection in the community and the workplace and about strategies for prevention and risk mitigation.

For access to the full position document, standards, publications, technical committees, research projects and other material to prepare for COVID-19, visit the ASHRAE COVID-19 Preparedness Resources webpage at ashrae.org/COVID19.

ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force Laboratory Subcommittee On COVID-19 Mitigation Strategy

On November 12th, 2020, ASHRAE published its Laboratory Guidance Document — part of its Epidemic Task Force — outlining mitigation strategies regarding the transmission of COVID-19, unique to the laboratory environment.

Read the full Laboratory Guidance Document by clicking here.