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Pandemic Response

Cx Associates understands that now more than ever, building owners and tenants are rightfully concerned about their building's air quality and safety. While we have often addressed air quality in our work prior to the pandemic, we see an increased need to offer specific services geared toward making your building or space safer by improving ventilation and filtration, and to help our clients meet specific pandemic guidelines.   

Our pandemic response offers clients the services they need to keep building occupants safer during a global pandemic.

As we understand COVID-19 to be a respiratory virus that can be spread via airborne transmission, mechanical ventilation systems play an important role in making buildings safer during the pandemic.


Indoor air quality is an essential part of any infection control strategy, and it's necessary to have an HVAC professional verify that your building ventilation systems are operating as intended.


Many buildings and ventilation systems are not meeting the current guidelines for proper ventilation and filtration.

 

Pandemic Response Services

Cx Associates is equipped to provide services in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have specific needs, please contact us to discuss tailoring our services for your building.

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Existing Systems Assessment

Existing mechanical systems, filtration levels, and ventilation sources in each space are reviewed during a site visit. We will provide a report with a list of recommendations and cost estimates for their implementation.

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Ventilation Airflow Assessment

Using ASHRAE Standard 62.1 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), Cx Associates will calculate the ventilation requirements for each space. We will then complete airflow measurements to determine the actual airflow in each space and for each air handling unit. If any spaces do not meet the Standard, we will recommend ways to alter existing equipment or provide recommendations to install supplemental ventilation. For tenants who lease the space/building and cannot implement changes to an entire HVAC system, we will make recommendations for space-specific ventilation and filtration improvements.

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Isolation Rooms

If your building requires an ‘isolation room’ - a room where an infected person can stay until they can leave the premises at a later time - Cx Associates can develop an isolation room plan. Typically, such rooms require a dedicated exhaust system and disconnection from the building’s return air system. This ensures these rooms will be at a negative pressure to the rest of the building and contaminated air does not leave the room. We will assess the HVAC and exhaust conditions of the identified rooms and develop recommendations for additional equipment or alternations needed for the room to serve as an isolation room.

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Educational Presentations

Cx Associates can present the CDC and ASHRAE COVID-19 recommendations and, upon completion of your renovations, can explain what has been implemented to mitigate the risk of contamination to residents and/or tenants. These presentations are currently virtual, in layman’s terms, and can be catered to your specific needs.

Cx Associates is qualified to offer a suite of services to help clients address their Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) needs, including assessing existing systems and ventilation airflow, isolation room plans, and education via virtual presentations for your staff, residents, or tenants. Our COVID-specific experience includes:

Completion of building IAQ assessments for various commercial and multifamily facilities as well as almost 40 schools in Vermont through the Vermont School IAQ Grant Program administered by Efficiency Vermont.

Presented as the technical experts for the Vermont House Committee on Education, the Vermont Superintendents Association, Efficiency Vermont, and Vermont Green Buildings Network webinars.


Internal education and team knowledge-sharing to stay up-to-date on the evolving COVID guidelines developed by ASHRAE and the CDC.


Broad expertise in building systems allow us to help clients develop measures that work for their specific building and budget.

 

Pandemic Response Expertise

Cx Associates associate principal Eveline Killian, senior engineer Katie Mason, and engineer Jamie Hand present Building Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality Considerations during COVID-19 hosted by Burlington 2030 District and Burlington Electric Department.

 

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