Newark NJ, Philadelphia PA, Minneapolis MN and Boston MA, and Knoxville TN Facility Managers and School Administrators Receive Fall Ventilation Guidance from Commercial Air Filter Manufacturer Brookaire
The guide curates updated EPA and CDC ventilation guidance for respiratory virus season alongside a peer-reviewed
Press Release Disclaimer: This is a press release distributed through the XPR Media network. It has not been independently verified by our newsroom.
FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY / Storyteller / Oct 27, 2026 /
Every October, respiratory illness starts climbing before most facility teams have adjusted anything about how their building moves air. Flu, RSV, and common cold cases rise steadily from October through the winter months, and the buildings where people spend their days, offices, schools, and commercial spaces, are where most of that exposure happens.
Brookaire, the Fair Lawn, New Jersey commercial air filter manufacturer and distributor founded in 1974, has published a free resource curating the latest EPA and CDC ventilation guidance for facility managers and school administrators across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Tennessee heading into the fall respiratory virus season.
The resource is available at no cost and requires no registration at airfilters.brookaire.com/fall-ventilation-guidance-offices-schools.
WHAT THE EPA AND CDC GUIDANCE SAYS
The EPA released updated indoor air quality guidance reflecting the latest ventilation science for respiratory virus season. Joseph Goffman, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, stated in the agency’s official press release: “This updated guidance will be a valuable tool in protecting against the spread of common airborne respiratory viruses indoors, where we spend about 90% of our time. In addition to immunizations, handwashing, and other key preventive measures, taking action to promote healthier indoor air helps to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses indoors.”
On its ventilation guidance page for public indoor spaces, the EPA summarizes the CDC’s specific recommendation as follows: CDC recommends aiming for 5 ACH, or air changes per hour, using outdoor air ventilation alone, or 5 eACH, equivalent air changes per hour, using a combination of outdoor air ventilation, filtration, and other air treatment.
The resource links directly to both the EPA press release and the CDC guidance page so facility managers can access the original source documents without intermediary.
WHAT A PEER-REVIEWED CLASSROOM STUDY ADDS
A study of elementary school classrooms in Kansas City, Missouri, published in the journal Indoor Air in 2025, measured CO2 levels and tested for respiratory viruses in bioaerosol and nasal swab samples across multiple classrooms during February and March 2023. The published findings state that two-thirds of classrooms had median CO2 levels above 1,000 parts per million during school hours, and that classrooms with CO2 levels at or above 1,000 ppm showed a higher proportion of viral detections in bioaerosol and nasal swab samples.
The resource links directly to the published study on the journal’s website and on PubMed so readers can verify the methodology and findings independently. The Brookaire resource is explicit that the study identifies a potential connection rather than proof of causation and does not overstate the findings.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OLDER BUILDING STOCK IN NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, MINNESOTA, AND MASSACHUSETTS
A large share of commercial and institutional buildings across Newark, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, and Knoxville predate current ventilation standards entirely. Older unit ventilators, aging rooftop units, and HVAC systems retrofitted piecemeal over decades were not engineered with a five-ACH target in mind. Reaching that number in these buildings is not always a matter of adjusting a setting. It can require balancing the system, confirming dampers are functioning as designed, and verifying that filtration is matched to what the system can actually sustain in airflow.
The resource covers interim steps the EPA specifically recommends for buildings where a full mechanical assessment is pending, including opening windows when weather allows, running exhaust fans, and using portable air cleaners in spaces with poor mechanical ventilation.
“The guidance is public, specific, and free,” said Lynne Laake, Marketing Director at Brookaire. “Facility managers and school administrators heading into flu season do not need to guess. A conversation with whoever services your HVAC system about your building’s actual current ventilation rate is the right starting point. This resource makes it easy to go into that conversation with the right information.”
The full resource is at airfilters.brookaire.com/fall-ventilation-guidance-offices-schools. For HVAC contractors and facility managers serving school districts across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southeast, Brookaire’s guide on HVAC challenges for educational facilities is available at airfilters.brookaire.com/hvac-challenges-educational-facilities-guide.
ABOUT BROOKAIRE
Brookaire is a third-generation, family-operated manufacturer and distributor of commercial HVAC air filters headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Founded in 1974, the company operates distribution centers at 17-02 Nevins Road, Fair Lawn NJ 07410; 581 Manchester Ct, York PA 17408; 8095 215th St W, Lakeville MN 55044; 254 Bodwell St Unit A, Avon MA 02322; and 2535 Prime Way, Knoxville, TN 37918. Brookaire manufactures standard and custom pleated filters, HEPA filters, carbon pleated filters, bag and pocket filters, and the DeltaPleat premium filter line, all from 100 percent US-sourced materials. Services include scheduled job-site delivery, job tagging, real-time tracking, a customer portal for multi-site account management, 48-hour custom filter production, and filter disposal pickup.
Brookaire serves HVAC contractors and facility managers across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Washington DC, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.
Fall ventilation guide: airfilters.brookaire.com/fall-ventilation-guidance-offices-schools
Education HVAC guide: airfilters.brookaire.com/hvac-challenges-educational-facilities-guide
Resource library: airfilters.brookaire.com
All locations: www.brookaire.com/locations
Follow Brookaire:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/brookaire-company
Instagram: instagram.com/brookaire
Facebook: facebook.com/brookaire
YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UChSapJieifNddxqEyqj1ESQ
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Media Contact:
Lynne Laake
Marketing Director, Brookaire Corporation
lynne.laake@brookaire.com
(973) 473-7527
