COVID Safety: Dome Ventilation & Airflow

With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly across Canada and the US, we wanted to share important information regarding dome ventilation and airflow.

There’s no doubt that the virus is more likely to spread in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation or air handling. So, what does this mean for our domes?

Key facts about ventilation and the airflow inside a Farley dome make being in a dome more like being outside than an enclosed space.

Dome Air Quality Resembles Outdoor Air Quality.
A typical dome contains 500,000 to 5,000,000 cubic feet of air. By comparison, a typical 20’ by 30’ classroom contains just 6,000 cubic feet of air.
Most Buildings Don't Have the Kind of Ventilation that Domes Do.
Under ASHRAE standards, a normal classroom’s ventilation is designed to move 222 cubic feet of air per minute. Domes have a minimum of 50 times more outside fresh air!
You Have Plenty of Breathing Room in a Dome.
With each person 6-feet apart, a dome provides about 800 cubic feet of ventilation air per person per minute. Using the classroom example again, a typical classroom with 20 students would have 11 cubic feet per person.

Last year, Gerald N. Catt, Professional Engineer, prepared a brief report on the advantages of domes over conventional buildings in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Read his analysis of dome ventilation and air turnover in the report.

To find out more about this or anything else related to your dome, please email us at info@thefarleygroup.com or call us at 1-888-445-3223.

Thank you,