By Bruce Longino
Before deciding on the best technology to keep your building occupants safe, confirm how legitimate the testing procedures are. I have seen some crazy technologies supposedly designed to keep people from getting COVID-19.
First, we need to understand that COVID-19 is the disease caused by SARS-VoC-2 virus. Some vendors claim to kill coronavirus. That is not going to keep you save from COVID-19 because WebMD.com says:
Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s. Almost everyone gets a coronavirus infection at least once in their life, most likely as a young child. In the United States, regular coronaviruses are more common in the fall and winter, but anyone can come down with a coronavirus infection at any time.
The symptoms of most coronaviruses are similar to any other upper respiratory infection, including a runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and sometimes a fever. In most cases, you won’t know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as a rhinovirus. You treat this kind of coronavirus infection the same way you treat a cold.
In other words, by killing coronavirus doesn’t mean a technology will kill SARS-CoV-2 which causes the disease COVID-19.
I have seen vendors claim to keep patients safe with UV lamps at the HVAC unit. UV lamps in the HVAC unit will only kill viruses, bacteria and mold on the cooling coil. The UV lamps may even kill SARS-VoC-2. However, UV lamps do Nothing to control pathogens in the space where the building occupants are.
I have also seen UV technology claiming to keep people save in buildings, buses and train cars. When the rooms and buses are not occupied the UV lamps flash to kill pathogens. However, with furniture and seats, there are always shadows. The UV lamps only kill pathogens they shine on. They have no effect on pathogens in the shadows.
Below is the only test I have seen that has been proven to neutralize SARS-CoV-2:
This test was run under real-world conditions with furniture:
During the test, ions were measured in multiple places at multiple times. The test results showed, that the ions filled all of the space including behind the furniture. In my mind, this reminds me of the “partial gas law”. This law states that “if there are multiple gases in a space, each gas will occupy the entire space”. I believe in needlepoint bipolar ionization technology, the “cold plasma” acts like another gas. This is important because pathogens cannot hide from the killing [neutralizing] effect of the ions.
There are a multitude of technologies out there claiming to help keep us from catching COVID-19. No technology can completely do this. However, I intend to use the technology that protects me the best. That is why the Global Plasma Solutions needlepoint bipolar ionizations is in my house, my children’s houses, my sister’s house and my church.
About the Author
W. Bruce Longino, P.E., LEED AP, may be reached by email at blongino@mingledorffs.com.
