![]() These individual control and equipment decisions come together in the designs of the negative- and positive-pressure rooms themselves. Image courtesy of RTM Engineering Consultants Design requirements On larger systems serving multiple rooms, redundant fans are recommended so the failure of a single fan does not compromise the safety of patients and caregivers. Redundancy of the equipment also needs to be considered, and will depend on the facility’s typical census of infectious or immunocompromised patients. The exhaust fans shall be served by emergency power, and the fans should be labeled as contaminated air to meet the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If the fan must be located inside, welded ductwork should be used downstream of the exhaust fan, and a bag-in/bag-out filter housing with pre-filters and HEPA filters should be installed upstream of the exhaust fan. For outdoor fans, all exhaust from AII rooms should be exhausted by means of a vertical exhaust stack or exhaust fan with a vertical discharge arrangement. MERV 14 filters are adequate for AII negative pressure rooms and for PE positive pressure rooms when terminal HEPA filtration is used at the supply diffusers serving the PE room.įor the exhaust system serving AII rooms, the exhaust fan should be located outdoors, if possible, and be placed as far away from intakes and public areas as practical, but no less than 25 feet with discharge above the roof. The air-handling unit serving the isolation rooms requires minimum-efficiency reporting value (MERV) 7 pre-filters, with either MERV 14 or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) final filters. The same air-handling system that serves other standard patient rooms may be used for isolation rooms. HVAC design requirements for medical facilities HVAC systems rise to demands of health care facilitiesĪir-quality imperatives guide engineering research Depending on the number and type of isolation rooms in the facility, it is generally more economical to provide a single larger system to serve multiple rooms than multiple smaller systems. When designing the mechanical systems to support isolation rooms, the designer must consider not only the airflow required to maintain the proper pressure differential, but also the location of the equipment, the serviceability of the equipment and equipment redundancy. ![]() The common location for this remote alarm is either the nurses’ station or the building automation system. In addition to the alarms integral to the wall control panel, most electronic room pressure monitors include an extra identical signal that allows the pressure differential and alarm signals to be displayed at a remote location. The time delay should be set to allow staff sufficient time to routinely enter and leave the room, and typically is set between 30 and 45 seconds. The control panel also should have a programmable, built-in time delay to minimize nuisance alarms. For example, in a room designed to maintain a pressure differential of minus 0.03-inch WC, the alarm could be programmed to activate when the pressure differential falls to minus 0.01-inch WC. The alarm should sound when the measured room pressurization is below the alarm setpoint. In addition to providing a continuous readout of pressure differential, the control panel should include both audible and visual alarms to warn staff when room pressurization is lost. The control panel usually is mounted on a corridor wall adjacent to the entrance of the isolation room and generally displays the pressure difference in inches of water column (WC). Most electronic monitors consist of two main components: a wall-mounted control panel and a sensor. When properly selected and installed, an electronic room-pressure monitor can provide continuous confirmation of the required pressure differential across the room boundary. ![]() While the permanent device can be as simple as a flutter strip or calibrated ball in tube, the most reliable way to monitor room pressure is with the use of an electronic pressure monitor. Image courtesy of RTM Engineering Consultants
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