The average person spends nearly 90% of their day indoors. As people return to the office, a sizable portion of that time will be spent inside their workplace. Employees will be leaving the comfort and relative safety of their familiar homes and stepping back into shared workspaces, some reluctantly.
Bringing businesses back to brick and mortar buildings, while making the transition easy for employees, doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. And while it’s obviously not the responsibility of building managers or property developers to retrofit spaces for the return to work, making small changes to improve the health and safety of your building can keep tenants happy and also encourage faster lease-ups in the future.
Providing a healthy workplace that promotes wellness can be as simple as improving your HVAC system’s efficiency. Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems are designed to improve your building’s energy efficiency while maintaining a healthier building environment. ERVs create a greener, cost-effective way to add comfort and consistency to the workplace while producing fresh, clean air.
What Are Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems?
Working with commercial HVAC systems, ERV systems are a sustainable and cost-efficient way to control your building’s climate. An energy recovery ventilation system takes exhausted air from your building and uses that air to treat the ventilated outdoor air as it comes into the building.
An ERV system can assist in the heating and cooling of your commercial space and help create comfortable temperatures by maintaining optimal humidity levels throughout the year. When running the AC, an ERV system works to dehumidify the air while also pre-cooling the air. Likewise, the system humidifies and pre-heats when the heat is running.
Retrofitting Your HVAC Systems with Energy Recovery Ventilation
Although energy efficiency will save you money in the long-run, is retrofitting your HVAC system with ERV costly? ERV systems and installations range in costs, but according to the Minnesota Sustainable Housing Initiative, the average cost of an ERV installation is around $2,000.
Price varies based on the ERV you purchase and labor costs. Commercial HVAC systems specialists can help you determine your options. Depending on your HVAC system, you can most likely add an ERV to an existing system. ERVs can be easily installed to the ductwork of your existing HVAC system.
How ERV Systems Contribute to Sustainability
ERV systems can cut down energy costs. Because the ERV uses the exhausted air in its air exchange system, the HVAC system does not have to work as hard or run as often, reducing energy costs. This can also prolong the life of your HVAC system.
The ventilation system filters allergens, pollutants, and other toxins from the building. An ERV filtration system does not utilize ions or ozone to filter and clean the air so there is no harmful ozone being released into the environment through the air purification system.
How ERV Systems Contribute to Workplace Wellness
Keeping employees comfortable as they return to work can promote their mental and physical health, as well as their productivity. Poorly filtered, stale air can increase allergy symptoms and cause fatigue, dizziness, and headaches while working. This can leave employees feeling ill, easily distracted, and unproductive.
The ERV’s system of treating air may help protect your employees’ immune systems. When people suffer from allergies and fatigue, their immune systems suffer. Indoor air can house more pollutants and allergens than fresh outdoor air. Well-filtered air can reduce airborne allergies, and other harms like mold particles, helping employees to feel better and potentially even boost their immune systems.
Installing an ERV system:
- promotes healthy immune systems as people enter back into shared workspaces
- decreases airborne pollutants and allergies
- stops the spread of unpleasant smells
- keeps consistent temperature control
- maintains comfortable humidity levels in all seasons
Why Workplace Wellness is Crucial During the Return-to-Work
As employees return to the office, promoting workplace wellness and verifying indoor air quality is crucial. At home, employees controlled every aspect of their working environment, from the foods and beverages available, ambient sound levels, lighting levels, office companions (or lack of), and the location where they worked. Most importantly, they could control the temperature in their space. Transitioning back to a shared workspace can be challenging due to all of these factors.
While you may not be able to set temperature levels to make all employees happy, you can create a consistently comfortable environment for the majority, so that employees know what to expect.
Because an ERV system does not use open fans, the temperature of the workspace is more consistent and less drafty. Spaces that are too hot or too cold can be distracting. The ERV system helps regulate temperatures across the office building, keeping consistent temperatures throughout the building. Controlled office temperatures keep employees comfortable while working.
The excellent filtration system ensures everyone is breathing in quality air. A high-quality filter can decrease exposure to airborne illnesses, making it easier for people to return to the workplace and stay healthy as they make their way back to shared spaces.
Adding an ERV system to your commercial real estate is a low-cost, sustainable upgrade to provide a higher quality experience for the people in your building.
Fortunately, installing an ERV system is typically affordable and straight-forward. Most likely, your go-to HVAC systems specialist can add an ERV system to your existing HVAC system. If you don’t already have a specialist, you can find a general HVAC specialist to install your ERV system with the help of Monster Commercial.