New Standards Are Being Introduced For Air Duct Cleanliness

A variety of essential maintenance and cleaning serves in large buildings including offices

, hospitals, schools, residential homes and apartment blocks is offered by professional commercial cleaners.

Among their services are air duct cleaning and inspection, starting with testing the thickness of dust and debris that has collected in the ductwork and might be affecting the performance of a heating or air conditioning system or pose a health hazard by disseminating microbes that feed off the dust.

In 2012 a new set of standards is expected to be launched by the EU following the earlier introduction of a new British Standard, BS EN15780, which recognises the necessity for clean air conditioning and ventilation systems by the BSI (British Standards Institute).

A document for consultation on the new EU standard was compiled some four years ago and the new standard is expected to set benchmarks in some detail for assessing cleanliness, cleaning procedures of these systems, and the validation of the cleaning.

The new guidelines are aimed at building owners, facilities managers and services and maintenance companies and the products used in air duct systems in buildings where there is human occupancy, although it will not cover systems installed for industrial purposes.

The detail is precise. It will provide limits for the amount of dust within the system and three acceptable cleaning levels basic (A), intermediate (B) and advanced (C), each of which will have defined limits.

There will also be guidance on the cleaning methods, whether wet or dry, for example the draft document states that usually dry methods suffice in supply air systems and general extract air systems, while wet methods (or a combination of dry and wet methods) may be needed for exhaust air ducts from professional kitchens and similar installations where extract air contains smoke, grease and/or other similar impurities.

Guidance for assessing the frequency of duct cleaning will also be included and for inspection before the cleaning is considered satisfactory and written certification is issued.

The purpose is to improve the quality of air within buildings for the health and welfare of its occupants but it is also relevant to energy consumption and the service life of a system service life and it is expected help facilities managers or other responsible for air quality in large buildings to ensure that acceptable standards are met.

The air quality in large buildings where there are systems for supplying heat, fresh air or air conditioning is considered important for general health, for preventing the spread of air-borne infections and for assessing whether the building can be classified as a "sick building" if there have been reports of symptoms by users that disappear once they have left the building.

Copyright (c) 2012 Alison Withers

by: Alison Withers

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