It has been established that combinations of increased ventilation, improved filtration, and other HVAC techniques can reduce the likelihood of airborne disease transmission in buildings. However, with only qualitative guidance, it is difficult for building managers to make informed decisions. Furthermore, the possible actions almost always require additional energy consumption, which is generally not well characterized. To address this knowledge gap, we propose simplified physics-based models that can be used to quantify both the expected transmission rate and the associated energy consumption that result from HVAC system operation. By formulating all disinfection mechanisms in terms of “equivalent outdoor air”, a common basis is established for comparing and combining different strategies. The transmission rate can thus be modeled by considering the airborne concentration of infectious particles that would result from an infector in the space. Energy consumption is then estimated by considering the change in HVAC variables and applying standard analysis. To illustrate the insights provided by these models, we present examples of how the proposed analysis can be applied to specific spaces, highlighting the fact that underlying transmission risk and energy-optimal disinfection strategies can vary significantly based on space characteristics.

已经确定，增加通风、改进过滤和其他 HVAC 技术的组合可以降低空气传播疾病在建筑物中传播的可能性。然而，只有定性的指导，建筑经理很难做出明智的决定。此外，可能的行动几乎总是需要额外的能量消耗，这通常没有很好地表征。为了解决这一知识差距，我们提出了简化的基于物理的模型，可用于量化 HVAC 系统运行导致的预期传输速率和相关能耗。通过根据“等效室外空气”制定所有消毒机制，为比较和组合不同策略建立了一个共同的基础。因此，可以通过考虑由空间中的感染者引起的传染性颗粒的空气传播浓度来模拟传播率。然后通过考虑 HVAC 变量的变化并应用标准分析来估算能耗。为了说明这些模型提供的见解，我们提供了如何将所提出的分析应用于特定空间的示例，强调了潜在的传播风险和能量最佳消毒策略可能会因空间特征而显着变化的事实。