Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Asian Development Bank has approved 1 million US dollar support to build disease resistant centralized air-conditioning systems in developing member countries.
This will help to improve energy efficiency and mitigate the risks of the coronavirus disease Covid-19 pandemic and other airborne viruses in public buildings.
Studies suggest that viruses such as the one causing Covid-19 can survive in the air for several hours, and droplet transmission can be prompted by air-conditioned ventilation while standard CAC systems are not effective in filtering viruses and other pathogens, says a press release issued by the ADB.
Additionally, up to 50% of the energy consumed in public buildings in developing Asian cities is used by inefficient CACs, which are often old and not regularly maintained.
CACs also rely heavily on hydro fluorocarbons, a greenhouse gas potentially thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.
ADB’s project will focus on proper design and operation of CAC systems to prevent virus transmission through advanced solutions and technologies such as high-efficiency particulate filtration, proper humidification, and ultraviolet air purification to reduce airborne contaminants.
