Is it possible to create effective displacement ventilation in hospitals and medical buildings? This is precisely the question recently raised by two North American HVAC consulting firms hired to investigate the safety of using ventilation displacement techniques in place of traditional air displacement. The reasoning behind the investigation is of critical importance: to prevent the spread of airborne infections and contaminates. While traditional overhead ventilation mixes air supplied by an overhead diffuser to create a homogeneous environment, "the goal of displacement ventilation is to . . . carry contaminants directly up out of the occupied zone without mixing them." The good news is that displacement HVAC systems are a very real possibility. The bad news is that hospitals, like many health-care related facilities often run on tight budgets.
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