Office Buildings and Ventilation: How COVID-19 and Other Pathogens Spread Between Zones

How does COVID-19 and other pathogens spread between different zones of the office?

Dr. Jason DeGraw of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will discuss the effect of ventilation rates on the concentration and spread of COVID-19 and other pathogens within office buildings as well as the energy implications of the ventilation strategies addressed.

Analysis of air movement using CONTAM, a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation model developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), provides a detailed understanding of how ventilation rates and office building design can affect the exposure of office workers and can help building operators balance these considerations with the associated energy impacts.