Centre Air Quality
Air Quality at the Vancouver Shambhala Centre
- HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) upgrade. We already have three slightly overpowered rooftop HVAC units that change the room air 7.7 times an hour. The “economizer” on each HVAC unit brings in fresh air–about 15-30% of the total air volume. We installed UVC (Ultraviolet-C germicidal light) components in each unit to sanitize the portion of the air that is recirculated.
- Some events are available on Zoom.
- Provide face masks for participants who don’t have one, and have cloth masks available for purchase (made by a local sangha member).
- Hand sanitizer in several places.
Setting for Volunteers to turn on HVAC system
- Preparation before each event:
– Reception area: face masks, hand sanitizer by the door and at each end of the kitchen island, facial tissues, dishwasher partially open, HVAC set to “Fan On”
– Main meditation hall: one window open, HVAC set to “Fan On”
– Small meditation hall: HVAC set to “Fan On”
– Washrooms: ample liquid soap, paper towels, facial tissues in every washroom - Ventilation settings – “Fan on” in each sector
Our 3 HVAC systems are controlled by their own thermostat: Main Meditation Hall; middle section (small meditation hall, library, Tenno, offices, washrooms, hallway); kitchen/reception area. The second button from the right on each thermostat cycles through 3 settings:
– Fan Auto – the fan only runs when it’s heating or cooling.
– Fan Circ – the fan runs 1/3 of the time
– Fan On – the fan runs continually. Use this setting during the event.
– Turn back to Fan Auto at the end of the program. - Open at least one window in the main meditation hall, and one window in the reception area. This helps exhaust air faster.
.. updated October 6, 2022