EcoVent aims to minimise COVID-19 dispersion in buildings

Researchers at Nottingham University have developed EcoVent, a novel window ventilation/heat recovery system aiming to minimise the impact of COVID-19 dispersion in buildings.

The research team is led by Professor Saffa Riffat, Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences and President of the World Society of Sustainable Technologies.

In order to minimise the risk of high virus concentration airflow, ventilation rates need to be maximised in buildings.

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However, ventilation rates in many naturally ventilated buildings (such as care homes, restaurants and schools) are inadequate. In general, traditional windows can only be used within the short summer months due and can present other issues, such as outdoor noise and pollutants. Closing windows in winter does not allow virus dispersion and can result in poor indoor air quality, dampness and damage to building fabric.

Meanwhile, conventional centralised mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems (MVHR) can be noisy, bulky, require ducting and be costly in installation, therefore are not widely implemented.