Health in the workplace
These two years of Covid-19 emergency have forced us all to turn the spotlight on the unhealthy conditions of the places we frequent regularly, starting from our homes and extending to schools, public transport, shops and, of course, offices and factories. Being concerned with the containment of the spread of an airborne virus, everyone’s attention was drawn to the quality of the air we breathe on a daily basis, with scientific studies and existing regulations on air change in workplaces being made known to the general public.
Air quality is a value that must be protected regardless of Covid-19
Ensuring proper ventilation in the workplace is, however, a key issue even irrespective of the spread of Covid-19. Numerous clinical studies have, in fact, shown that working in a stale air environment causes a wide range of symptoms, including:
- a general feeling of tiredness;
- the onset or worsening of skin and respiratory allergies;
- frequent nausea;
- stuffy nose and respiratory problems;
- a sharp decline in attention and an increase in general irritability;
- eye and vision problems.
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on evaporative cooling
Infrared heaters, evaporative coolers and air change
Heating an industrial shed using infrared lamps is a very successful solution both in terms of efficiency but also as far as proper ventilation of the workplace. Infrared heaters directly transfer heat from the emitting bulb to the people or objects to be heated by means of a series of electromagnetic waves, without dispersion of energy into the surrounding air.
Therefore, as far as the warming action of infrared lamps, opening windows to renew the air does not have a decisive influence on the temperature perceived by the heated individual. Furthermore, the benefits of air changes can be combined with those of an energy-efficient heating system.
In addition, the technical solution proposed by Art-Eco for summer cooling, namely evaporative adiabatic coolers, is very closely linked to air change. Indeed, the operating principle of our coolers is that after cooling due to the contact with water, the air from outside enters the area to be air-conditioned and replaces the warmer stale air already there, which being less dense tends to escape spontaneously through the windows.
Thanks to the windows being always open, both infrared heating and evaporative cooling promote constant air change
In addition, the technical solution proposed by Art-Eco for summer cooling, namely evaporative adiabatic coolers, is very closely linked to air change. Indeed, the operating principle of our coolers is that after cooling due to the contact with water, the air from outside enters the area to be air-conditioned and replaces the warmer stale air already there, which being less dense tends to escape spontaneously through the windows.
In other words, for an adiabatic cooling system to work properly it will be necessary to guarantee constant air change, to such an extent that, in those industrial environments where for different reasons it is not possible to keep windows open, it must be combined with forced ventilation systems.
