A Coronavirus Roundup From Energy Vanguard

Well, there’s nothing like a little pandemic to completely upend our daily lives as well as our short and long-term outlooks for the future.  I’ve spent far too much time reading about, listening to, and watching news about the novel coronavirus lately and I guess you may have done likewise.  Here’s an update of what’s happening at Energy Vanguard as well as some good resources I’ve found. 

And at the very end of this article, I have an announcement about something that has nothing to do with the coronavirus…plus a request.

What Energy Vanguard is doing

We’re still operating at full capacity but we made the decision for all of us to work from home starting last Friday (the 13th).  Although one EVer was sick this week, it probably wasn’t from coronavirus.  Some of our work has slowed down, but we haven’t seen much change in our HVAC design business…yet.  We’ll have to see how badly the economy gets hit for the longer term effects to show up.  Energy Vanguard has five employees (counting me) and we’re planning to keep everyone fully employed through this.

Good general sources about coronavirus

I’ve been watching the numbers of cases obsessively for over a week now, and these are the three sites I check to see how many cases there are, the rate of new case growth, and more:

Worldometer coronavirus page

CNN’s coronavirus page

The New York Times coronavirus page

The CDC coronavirus page

CNN and the Times update their pages far more frequently than the CDC so I check them all.  The Times also has a chart of the new cases reported each day.  Here’s the one on their site that shows new cases confirmed each day, through 18 March 2020.

Yeah, as Buster Scruggs would say (about a much worse situation for him personally), that ain’t good.  That graph looks a lot more like Italy than South Korea.  Our doubling rate lately is less than two days.  Part of that is because we’re testing more, part is growth in the number of cases.  It remains to be seen which of those two growth rates is larger.

Aside from updates of basic data, I’ve found one article to stand out in terms of its analysis of what we can expect.  Here it is:

Coronavirus:  Why You Must Act Now

If you think this virus is not that serious, read the article and the followup article, Coronavirus:  The Hammer and the Dance.

Good building science sources about coronavirus

In the building science world, I’ve found some good resources, too.

First, here’s a great article at Green Building Advisor by Peter Yost.  He answers a lot of the basic questions about how it’s transmitted, the role of relative humidity, and whether or not ventilation and filtration will help.

Building Science and the Corona Virus

Second, my friend Kristof Irwin at Positive Energy has done his usual brilliant deep dive into the microbiome and healthy homes.  His take on ventilation and filtration is a bit different from Yost’s but I don’t think they’re incompatible.  You can read them both and decide for yourself. 

Viruses & Designing For Health Outcomes In Buildings

Yesterday Bryan Orr of HVAC School published an article on those same issues and it’s also a really good read:

Ventilation, Filtration, and Humidity Control: The Holy Trinity of IAQ

Finally, Energy Circle put out a list of coronavirus resources this week.  Their focus is on contractors, so this is different from the previous articles.  In it you’ll find a draft statement for your company, communications strategies, and examples of what other companies are doing.

Resources for Responding to COVID-19

Having good information is critical in this crisis.

I’m writing a book!

And now for the announcement.  I didn’t say anything at the time, but on 7 March of this year the Energy Vanguard Blog turned 10 years old!  (Maybe you’re one of the people who’s been reading it since the beginning?)  I’ve been threatening to write a book for at least 8 of those 10 years and now it’s happening.  It’s called:

A House Needs to Breathe…Or Does It?

The Myths That Lead to Uncomfortable, Unhealthy, Inefficient Homes and How to Overcome Them

You can read more about the book by clicking the title above or the image below.  The book is targeted to those on the front end of the building science learning curve and will cover a lot of the stuff I’ve written about here.  It’s not just a collection of blog articles, though.  It’s a whole new work that will be written with the homeowner front and center.  I’m starting with a look at the goals that a home should accomplish to be considered a success.

Now, my request of you is to help me get a good publisher.  I’m running a crowd-funding campaign on Publishizer and need to get at least 500 pre-orders by 16 April to get the book pitched to traditional publishers.  The good news is that I’ve already got over 300 pre-orders but I need you to help get me over the top.  Please put in an order for one or three or a hundred copies!

Here’s the link:

https://publishizer.com/a-house-needs-to-breatheor-does-it

I’m still writing the book and don’t have a publisher yet, so it’ll be a while before you get your copies, but I’ll greatly appreciate your help with this and make sure you get more than your money’s worth.

Now, go wash your hands, clean your phone, and don’t touch your face! 

 

Related Articles

Cancer and Coronavirus   (a followup to this article)

Which Indoor Air Pollutants Matter Most?

7 Reasons Your Filter Isn’t Improving Your Indoor Air Quality

Will a Humidifier Hurt Your Indoor Air Quality?

 

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