While up until last year the main topics in terms of dwellings were sustainability, energy savings and smart home, the pandemic has suddenly changed the paradigm by introducing, at least in the short and medium term, a new issue, i.e. that of protection against infection and pathogens. Engineers, builders, designers started thinking how residential buildings need to be Covid-19-proof and an article in the Sole 24 ore daily has summed up these trends in a rulebook.
Basically, the topic of the anti-Covid home has suddenly burst into the market and gained attention around an issue that was hitherto underestimated, namely that of air quality.
A bacteria-proof home
The DesignTech For future white paper is one of the first examples of how the world of design and innovation has already started developing tangible solutions to this issue.
Naturally, building a wholly anti-Covid home is an exercise in theory, as the same solutions implemented in research laboratories and hospitals would need to be adopted.
Nevertheless, building homes that offer greater protection against viruses and bacteria is certainly possible. Here are the main solutions identified in the white paper.
Among the main concepts dedicated to public areas or however open to the public, technologies intended for automatically measuring temperature and disinfection with UV rays stand out. Many other solutions, however, can be applied to the residential context as well.
For example, improving natural indoor ventilation (where the air quality allows for this) or using mechanical ventilation systems with air quality control and management. This makes it possible to have clean air free of pollutants and bacteria.
Wireless and contactless technologies may also offer an important aid. To date we know that viruses can survive for quite a long time on surfaces, and those of shared contact can become vehicles of infection. Reducing opportunities for contact means reducing the possibility of infection.
Lastly, the use of germ-resistant materials, the possibility of adapting spaces in a quick and convenient way and the choice of reducing the density of people are other helpful solutions.
Can our home defend us against infection?
Some of the solutions described here are undoubtedly intended for new builds, nonetheless we can implement some of these tips to adapt our home to the new needs. Which, at a closer look, have many points in common with general improvement of the quality of life. Making our home bacteria, mould and pollutant-proof means, above all, making it more practical, more liveable and cleaner.
Technological solutions to making our home safer
Some of the proposed solutions actually do not even require any implementation of technology. In fact decluttering and making better use of spaces do not require any particular solutions. The idea of creating an intermediate space, for example by making use of a courtyard or a patio as a transit and ‘decompression’ area between outdoors and indoors, is possible without any major structural work.
Obviously the technologies for smart homes, such as the possibility of managing heating and cooling directly from an App on a smartphone or through voice commands make it possible to reduce opportunities for contact, also in the home, especially in “transit” areas before changing one’s clothes and having correctly disinfected one’s hands.
Air quality is important to preventing the spread of infection
As we have seen, one of the main indications concerns air quality management through ventilation. After all, this guideline has already been provided by the Italian Higher Health institute and is applied conveniently and efficiently in controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV).
To this regard, Fantini Cosmi offers a complete range for centralised CMV (Aspirlight Series and Aspircomfort Series) in addition to accessories such as UV-C-type disinfection boxes with ultraviolet ray lamps (installed “in line” on the fresh air delivery duct in CMV machines), whose germicide efficacy is universally recognised, and that safely and noiselessly help sanitise the air.
