Reopening New York - Indoor Dining Frequently Asked Questions

I want to reopen my restaurant, bar or gym post covid-19 mandated closure. What are the New York state requirements to do so?

Pursuant to Executive Order 202.61, indoor food services in New York City may resume beginning Wednesday, September 30, 2020 in accordance with New York State Department of Health interim guidance located at this link:

https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/NYC_Indoor_Food_Services_Detailed_Guidance.pdf

what specifically must be done to my hvac system?

Section II Places. A. Air Handling systems details the requirements of what must be done to your HVAC system. 

That is quite a bit to digest. can you break this down for me in laymen’s terms?

Sure!

First, based on the most up to date reporting and transmission and the requirements - we would suggest increasing the ventilation rate of the space - increasing the air changes per hour (exchanging the indoor air for outdoor air). Based upon your installation, this could be as easy as making changes to how your outdoor dampers are set up and controlled - or may require supplemental fans or ventilation unit - such as an ERV be installed.

Section- filtration. Our recommendations are to retrofit meet the required filtration standard, which is MERV 13 - that will enable your system to operate close to as it was designed. On a central air system, we can achieve. this by fabricating a piece of ductwork that can accommodate these more restrictive filters, by sizing them to be larger filters to maintain the same amount of airflow and keep your system operating as designed.

However, not all systems are capable of this retrofit - such as ductless units, by LG, Daikin, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, etc. The DOH regulations acknowledge this, and will allow the installation of install ultraviolet germicidal irradiation UVGI lights to deactivate airborne particles, should.. We would provide the required certification letter as a qualified HVAC contractor once installed. 

What exactly is MERV?

MERV is a rating. It stands for Minimum Effective Reporting Value.

In other words, it’s a measurement showing how small the holes are in the filter. The higher the MERV number, the smaller the holes, and the less that can pass through. MERV-16 is the highest rated MERV filter, with a 95% removal rating down to .3 micron, and a 90% rate down to .01 micron.

But as we’ll show, bigger isn’t always better.

Why wouldn’t a bigger number (smaller holes) be better?

There’s a sweet spot. Of course, your space should be safe, and so you want the right filter that will block out all the usual suspects. The problem is, most HVAC systems aren’t rated to handle this much. That means, if you’re using a filter with holes that are smaller than recommended, you’re essentially plugging up your HVAC system. And that can be expensive. Current residential and light commercial systems are likely designed for filters rated MERV 1 to 6. HEPA is one step above and beyond the MERV scale.

great! thanks for the information. WHAT’S THE NEXT STEPS?

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