A new study says ceiling ventilation may be more important than social distancing. 

Why this matters for classrooms and beyond.

University of Central Florida, Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. 

Researchers built computer models of classrooms with a group of students sitting in rows and a teacher in the front – all wearing masks. 

The models replicated different routes for airborne disease transmission. 

Classrooms with ventilation (with a good air filter) reduced transmission by 40-50%.

The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads through respiratory droplets – the fewer infected droplets hanging out in your space, the better.

Ventilation keeps the air in the room circulating - it also pulls warm air droplets HIGHER. 

Study co-author: With both ventilation & masks, droplets tend to go “up” and away from others, rather than “out” towards people.

“The risk from airborne SARS-CoV-2 exposure does not appear to be strongly correlated with the distance, and many of the peak exposures were observed outside of physical-distancing guidelines.” 

The study went on to say that "mask mandates, well designed HVAC systems, and the combination of exposure time with number of occupants are of increased importance compared to physical distancing."

“We don’t want to relax mask usage. We want to relax social distancing…” 

Dr. Michael Kinzel, one of the co-authors of the study, tells SmartHER News a surprising finding in his research: how much variation existed in a classroom between “safe” vs. “unsafe” areas without ventilation – some areas would have very little risk and others very high. Kinzel said he expected a difference but did not expect such a large discrepancy.

So… do you need a new ventilation system? 

Maybe. Kinzel says masks ultimately help us get closer more safely, but the right ventilation system can help increase capacity and speed up our return to “normal.” 

 YES! The whole point of any ventilation is to prevent buildup of contaminated droplets; cooler rooms are better than warmer rooms since warm air (your breath) rises.

Why did aerospace engineers run this study? Professor Kinzel has an expertise in fluid mechanics (think of all that goes into making an engine work, as liquid gas is turned into mist and combined with air to ignite) so the team applied their knowledge of “fluids” to respiratory droplets.

Health

Level Up

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Quick. Concise. Nonpartisan.

Jenna