Introduction
As the world continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus, many of us are wondering if our air conditioning systems could be spreading the virus. To answer this question, we asked an expert from Eat This Not That to weigh in on the matter. In this article, we’ll discuss the potential risks of air conditioning systems spreading COVID-19, as well as what steps you can take to protect yourself and your family. We’ll also provide some tips on how to maintain your air conditioning system to ensure it is running safely and efficiently. So, if you’re wondering if your air conditioning system could be spreading COVID-19, read on to find out.
Does Your A/C Spread COVID? We Asked an Expert
As the summer months approach, many of us are turning on our air conditioners to stay cool. But with the ongoing pandemic, it’s natural to wonder: Could our air conditioners be spreading the virus? We asked an expert to find out.
What Does the Research Say?
According to Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, there is no evidence that air conditioners spread the virus. “Air conditioners are not a major source of transmission of the virus,” he says. “The virus is spread primarily through respiratory droplets, which are too large to be circulated through air conditioning systems.”
How Can You Stay Safe?
Dr. Adalja recommends taking the same precautions you would take in any indoor space: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, and keep your hands clean. He also suggests opening windows and doors to increase ventilation, which can help reduce the risk of transmission.
Bottom Line
Air conditioners are not a major source of transmission for the virus, but it’s still important to take precautions when spending time indoors. Wear a mask, practice social distancing, and keep your hands clean to reduce your risk of infection.
Does an air-conditioned environment raise the risk of getting COVID-19? Reports from the beginning of the pandemic suggested it was a major cause of concern. “All of the data we are seeing from bars and from indoor locations, a choir practice that led to 60 people getting infected, I think there’s plenty of evidence that aerosols are really a major source of spread,” said Ashish Jha, M.D. (currently the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator) back in July 2020. Here’s what experts are saying today about the possible link between air conditioning and COVID-19. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
COVID-19 is commonly spread through airborne particles and droplets, both indoors and outdoors—but outdoors is less risky, experts say. “Being outside provides more air flow so the virus is more easily diluted,” says Daphne Darmawan, pediatrician at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Ventilation is incredibly important in preventing the spread of COVID-19, experts say. “The science is airtight,” says Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “The evidence is overwhelming… In the first year of the pandemic, it felt like we were the only ones talking about ventilation, and it was falling on deaf ears. But there are definitely, without a doubt, many companies that have taken airborne spread seriously. It’s no longer just a handful of people.”
While not all air conditioners work in the same way, “a lot of the air is recirculated,” says Linsey Marr, the Charles P. Lunsford professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and an expert in aerosol science. “And when you recirculate that air, that means that the virus is still sticking around in that building, rather than being replaced by more outdoor air, which presumably is virus-free.”
“If shutting off air-conditioning means that ventilation and filtration functions will be disabled, it is quite possible that risk of infection will increase, but if there is no ventilation or filtration, circulation of air in a space may contribute to risk,” says William Bahnfleth, PhD, PE, director of the Indoor Environment Center in the Department of Architectural Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and the chairman of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.
The general consensus amongst scientists and virus experts is that being indoors with other people is what causes the spread of COVID-19, not air conditioning. “It is not the air conditioner that is doing anything particularly,” says Edward Nardell, professor of environmental health and immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School. “It is the fact that you are indoors, you are not socially distancing and you are rebreathing the air that people have just exhaled.”
Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don’t travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.
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