ADB Approves $1Mln COVID Grant To Deploy Better Air-Conditioning Systems In Member States

ADB Approves $1Mln COVID Grant to Deploy Better Air-Conditioning Systems in Member States

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a press release on Monday it had approved a $1 million assistance toward building more resilient and health-friendly centralized air-conditioning systems in its developing member states in a bid to mitigate COVID-19 risks

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a press release on Monday it had approved a $1 million assistance toward building more resilient and health-friendly centralized air-conditioning systems in its developing member states in a bid to mitigate COVID-19 risks.

"The Asian Development Bank has approved a $1 million knowledge and support technical assistance project to deploy smart, energy efficient, and disease resilient centralized air-conditioning (CAC) systems in its developing member countries. This will help to improve energy efficiency and mitigate the risks of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and other airborne viruses in public buildings," the press release read.

Citing studies, the ADB said viruses, including the one that causes COVID-19, can survive in the air for several hours and be transmitted via air-conditioned ventilation, which in most cases does not have effective filtering properties.

Additionally, the centralized air-conditioning accounts for almost half of all energy consumption in public buildings of developing Asian cities, while relying heavily on an extremely non-climate-friendly group of greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons.

"ADB's project will focus on proper design and operation of CAC systems to prevent virus transmission through advanced solutions and technologies such as high-efficiency particulate filtration, proper humidification, and ultraviolet air purification to reduce airborne contaminants. These technologies will be integrated with smart digital control systems to reduce energy consumption and disease transmission risks associated with operating CAC systems," the bank said.

The expectation is that the technology will reduce the energy consumption of air conditioners by up to 45 percent.

The grant is funded by the ADB's Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, with equal shares contributed by the High-Level Technology Fund and the Clean Energy Fund. It comes as part of ADB's $20 billion assistance package pledged in April to the developing member states to manage the coronavirus-related shocks.