Given the emotional and financial hit sustained by Hospitality this past year following the Covid-19 Pandemic, it is more important than ever to provide customers with the reassurance that it is safe to visit you. Air purification and HVAC systems have been used for years, in some countries such as in the UAE they are included as part of building regulations. Since the pandemic, the demand for such systems has been showing increasing demand.
However, before you rush out and spend thousands of pounds it is important to understand what an air purifier is and what the drawbacks and benefits are as it is so easy to be dragged into marketing hype, here is a completely independent and hopefully simplified view for you to consider!
Put simply, an air purifier is an appliance designed to cleanse the air in your property, getting rid of all the impurities including odours, smoke, dust, and even viruses. Given the fact that indoor air can have levels of certain pollutants up to five times higher than outdoor air, it seems like a logical step to take.
How do air purifiers work?
Air purifiers usually consist of a filter, or multiple filters, and a fan that sucks in and circulates air. As air moves through the filter, pollutants and particles are captured and the clean air is pushed back out into the space. Typically, filters are made of paper, fiber (often fiberglass), or mesh, and require regular replacement to maintain efficiency.
That means, in addition to the purchase price of an air purifier, you should also factor in operating costs and filter replacement costs.
How frequently you need to change filters varies based upon the purifier type and usage. Some filters are reusable and washable, but they require meticulous maintenance, so you don't usually find them on the most effective air purifiers. Reusable filters are generally better at removing larger particles from the air, like dust mites and pollen. You'll also find UV (ultraviolet light) filters on the market, which often claim to destroy biological impurities like mould or bacteria, but many require higher wattage and greater exposure to be effective (not to mention some bacteria is UV-resistant).
Other air purifiers use ionizers to help attract particles like static — negative ions bond to dust and allergens and make them settle out of the air.
Sketch, London was the first restaurant in the UK to install such a system. They teamed with HVAC Klima-Therm to install the systems throughout the restaurant to pioneer the move to protect staff and customers at a further level from the mandated masks and social distancing measures.
What is a HEPA filter?
You may have heard this term a lot recently! HEPA is an acronym for High Efficiency Particulate Air. HEPA filters capture variously sized particles within a multi-layered netting usually made out of very fine fiberglass threads (much thinner than the size of a human hair strand!) with varying sized gaps. The filter is airtight, and comprised of a dense sheet of small fibers pleated and sealed in a metal or plastic frame.
The air purifier's fan draws air into the filter and particulates are captured in the filter. The larger particles (ones bigger than the fibers) are captured via impaction (particle crashes into the fiber), mid-sized particles are captured by interception (particle touches the fiber and is captured), and ultra-fine particles are captured by diffusion (while zig-zagging the particle will eventually hit and stick to the fiber).
What should I look for in an air purifier
CADR (clean-air delivery rate) rating. This measures the cleaning speed of the purifier for removing smoke, dust, and and pollen. Look for a CADR of at least 300, above 350 is really great.
Size guidelines. For proper efficacy, you need a model designed to work in the room size. Choose a model that is designed for an area larger than the one you are outfitting it for if you want to operate it at a lower, quieter setting. A larger system that is integrated into your existing air conditioning and extraction systems is ideal if you’re trying to get cleaner air for the entire space, but the cost of this is obviously very significant! You could instead use multiple smaller or portable purifiers for each room which can be in the region of £500 per unit. However you will need to consider aesthetics and noise pollution as these units tend to cause a lot of noise pollution!
True HEPA. True HEPA filters are effective at removing ultra fine particles (think: dust, pollen, mould and other common allergens). The industry standard for such is that the unit must be able to remove at least 99.97% of particulates measuring 0.3 micron diameter in a lab setting. Remember, it is important to note that in real life settings, the actual efficacy of these devices would be far less as new pollutants are constantly emerging. Note that there is no industry standard for the terms "HEPA-like" or "HEPA-type," and are mostly used as marketing ploys to get consumers to purchase the product.
Despite their potential benefits, They air purifiers remove particles in the air, but won’t help much once these particles rest on surfaces. Additional measures include:
Clean rugs, carpeting, and fabric furniture often. At a minimum, sweep these spaces once a week with a HEPA filter vacuum. I would highly recommend replacing carpeting with vinyl or hardwood flooring
Change HVAC air filters every 30 to 90 days
The main way to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus is through proper ventilation. That’s why the CDC, state and local health officials have consistently recommended outdoor dining over indoor dining during the pandemic.
But operating outdoors for most restaurants across the U.K becomes increasingly more difficult as temperatures drop. With more people eating indoors, the CDC and National Restaurant Association recently added new guidance for restaurants when it comes to indoor air circulation.
UVC light is another system option where the UVC light is directed across the upper part of each room, pathogens that rise into the light are destroyed as the air circulates and therefore stops them reproducing. Suppliers for products such as these will be on the rise in coming years as demand starts to increase so it is worth looking around.
But the CDC and the NRA lack specificity when it comes to how to maintain HVAC systems or relative humidity. Experts said keeping relative humidity between 40% to 60% should also curtail the spread of COVID. Pathogens live longer in very dry or very wet environments so keeping relative humidity in this sweet spot is good for restaurants. This is not an easy target to achieve given the heat and humidity in most restaurant kitchens, so layout and extraction is of fundamental importance here and something a well qualified HVAC supplier will be able to help you with.
Many restaurant owners and suppliers feel that these measures will remain long after Covid 19 risks have subsided. I personally envisage that air purification will be part of government guidance for commercial spaces all over the world in a very short space of time, the UK may not be talking about this now, but it will be at the top of Health and Safety agendas in the very near future. An important factor to consider is that customer confidence will not be immediate, they will need reassurance that operators are doing everything possible to protect their safety. Masks and screens are visible but expensive purification systems are not! Think about how you are communicating what you are doing through your PR/ POS and marketing.