Costs and benefits of antibacterial filter and its effects on energy saving, human health and worker productivity

The outdoor air pollution and the insufficient hygiene of Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems often result in the low quality of indoor air. The World Health Organization estimated that 50% of indoor biological contamination comes from the air-handling system. Some studies demonstrated that the air filters are sources of pollution due to the accumulation and proliferation of bacteria on the surface. Furthermore, the presence of contaminants in indoor environments can have a negative impact on health and productivity of the occupants, who spend about 80% of their time indoors (of which 30-40% in offices). To guarantee not only a better indoor air quality but also a lower health risk and an increase in worker productivity, a new concept of biocidal filtration has been introduced. In this context, the paper presents the results of a literature review aimed at exploring how to integrate the health and performance effects on building oc-cupants into the economic benefits of the antibacterial filter. In detail, the research fo-cuses on the methods used to evaluate costs and benefits produced by the application of a biocidal filter, comparing it with a traditional one, by means of computing both direct costs (related to hospitalization and antibiotic treatment) and indirect costs (mainly iden-tified with the loss of working days). Therefore, this article tries to enhance the focus on energy technology developing an analysis of the impact on human health and employee performance.