There has always been a strong argument for natural ventilation, however the Covid 19 situation has focused minds even more on how to get enough fresh, clean air into homes and buildings.
Suppliers of mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems are now under pressure to ensure their systems are “Covid safe” and able to supply fresh air rather than recirculating it.
For us in the window industry, our products can only bring benefits, so long as it is possible to open them reliably for ventilation.
Ventilation – recommended by governments
We know that coronavirus and other airborne pathogens are spread through the air by droplets exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person, and that it is much easier for transmission to occur indoors because the particles linger in the air.
Governments across the Western Europe region are therefore recommending that people ventilate their homes on a regular basis to reduce the risk of cross infection.
For example, the Netherlands government says regular airing of rooms is important and that people should open windows and doors wide for a few minutes to let in a lot of fresh air in one go. They recommend that this is done after cooking, showering or if a group of people have come together.
The UK government quotes research that claims being in a room with fresh air can reduce the risk of infection by over 70%. For this reason it also recommends opening windows for short, sharp bursts of 10 to 15 minutes regularly throughout the day. Airing indoor spaces is particularly important when people are visited by family, friends or if they have tradespeople, health workers or other visitors in the home.
Other advantages
Aside from reducing infection risk, there are other advantages of natural ventilation. Changing the air in a workplace such as a home office can reduce the chances of drowsiness. There are also energy saving aspects because the use of natural ventilation can reduce air conditioning usage in summer.
Of course, during winter months it is not practical to leave windows open for extended periods, even a small amount. Instead, at this time of year it is recommended that people open windows wide but for a short period in order to change the air rapidly. Around 5 minutes is usually enough, although as we have seen, in the current situation official recommendations are that it is done for a slightly longer period.
Ventilation options from Roto
Roto has many products that can help you provide good and safe ventilation options to your customers. There are too many to cover in one article, but here are a few:
TiltSafe – burglar resistant ventilation
Tilt&Turn windows are of course a very effective way to provide ventilation in many domestic and commercial situations. Now, with Roto TiltSafe you can provide a window that remains secure against break-in when tilted open. This is achieved with our patented high-strength steel retainers. TiltSafe has been certified as meeting the requirements of EN Resistance Class 2, so we know it can help a window resist a crowbar attack for many minutes.
This option is ideal for ground floor windows or those that are left open overnight in warmer weather. Your clients can get the health and energy-saving benefits of natural ventilation without worrying about break-ins.
Patio Life – special gasket system
Another Roto product with secure ventilation is Patio Life, the sliding system for large timber doors. It has a special moveable gasket system that creates a night vent while the unit remains fully closed and locked.
Patio Alversa – tilting sash available
Other sliding systems have ventilation functions built in. Roto Patio Alversa is designed to be the most minimalistic sliding system, using a core set of common parts for the fabrication of both Tilt&Slide and Parallel Sliding units. The latter type comes in three different versions, one of which has a tilting sash for ventilation.
Other accessories
Within the Roto Group we also have a comprehensive range of restrictors and child safety devices, all of which can help end users achieve good ventilation while ensuring their windows remain safe.
Sources:
Netherlands government: https://www.rivm.nl/coronavirus-covid-19/ventilatie
UK government: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-film-shows-importance-of-ventilation-to-reduce-spread-of-covid-19
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