Modern Building Services

FEATURE INDOOR AIR QUALITY 30 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES NOVEMBER 2022 First and foremost is how air quality monitors can lead to better health and welfare for staff and occupants. By being able to effectively measure the quality of the air, it then means that an appropriate ventilation strategy can be put in place to circulate fresh air and remove bad pathogens out of the room quicker. This in turn should equate to a reduction in staff sickness and absenteeism, better productivity, and ultimately, a higher return from employees. From a commercial and environmental perspective, having the data from air quality monitoring means more efficient ventilation solutions can be designed and installed. This can lead to less energy consumption, reduced carbon output, and overall better sustainability. Furthermore, being able to demonstrate improved air quality, can then be used to benchmark building performance and showcase the environmental accreditations of your operation. This comes full circle into marketable advantages such as being able to attract more tenants or people to use your space. What to consider when choosing sensors As mentioned, there are certain requirements that need to be met when designing in air quality monitors as set out by Part F in terms of how they are placed, and their crucial function is to measure how much CO2 is in the air. Beyond that though, there are also other considerations to keep in mind. CO2 is just one contaminant that is present in our built environment, which can harm our health and productivity, but there are others too. PM1 and PM2.5 – a particular matter that has diameters of less than 1 micron and 2.5 microns respectively – are other such contaminants that can be suspended in the air as dust, dirt, aerosols, and bacteria. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and naturally occurring gases like radon are other examples that can be harmful, causing short- and long-term health effects such as eye and nose irritation, through to lung cancer. It is important that air quality monitoring sensors can detect these harmful substances and warn occupants or those in control of the building. For this reason, Elta has chosen to partner with air quality monitoring specialists Airthings to be able to offer these specialist devices that can detect all of the above, and more, such as temperature, humidity, light, noise and pressure. In certain cases with contaminants like radon, being able to produce radon certificates are a requirement to be able to sell buildings. The UK Health Security Agency, UKradon, states that all workplaces in radon affected areas should be tested, unless a detailed assessment shows good reason to expect the radon level to be low, good assessment can only come through monitoring. Work environments vary greatly in size and nature, but excessive radon levels can occur in almost any type of workplace. Employers are required by law to assess any risks to their staff while at work. Looking at the practical side From the more practical side, there is also the need to consider system security, how well monitors can integrate with other building management systems (BMS), their ease of installation, and how intuitive the solution is to report on data. On the points of integration, API connectivity is important as this allows monitors to connect to the central BMS and subsequently, send automatic signals or commands to adjust ventilation rates accordingly. Meanwhile, wireless connectivity between monitors and their hubs, which is what Airthings solutions are based upon, should be the go-to standard as they will significantly lower time and expense on hardwiring. The monitors can cover approximately 50sqm, and up to 25 units can be used per Hub for a robust network, hence the number required will depend on building shape, size, and construction. Quite often, it is the systems behind the monitors that can be the difference between being able to make use of the data, or not. If it is too hard to read the data or draw conclusions and reports from the data, then it invariably becomes an obsolete solution that cannot be acted on. For this reason, always seek systems that provide strong analytics and dashboards, remote monitoring, and can alert users when there are spikes in irregular air quality. Moving the air quality conversation on While having data, reports, dashboards and connectivity is one thing, acting on it is another. However, by starting out with good quality sensor technology, it can be the foundation for demonstrating real change. In Elta’s own case, our offices at Kingswinford went through this very methodology to improve ventilation and air quality in its building. After a continuous three- month long air quality monitoring audit in 2021, and installing its own system, the office’s gained RESET Air Certification and is one of the first offices in the UK to achieve the accreditation. Other certifications such as those offered by the International Well Building Institute, LEED and Fitwel are other routes that can be pursued too. Source 1 https://tinyurl.com/mrypjmwt More information can be found at www.eltafans.com www.airthings.com