Indoor Air Quality
What factors influence indoor air quality (IAQ)?
- Insufficient Air Flow: Increased CO2 levels, Contaminants, Ventilation System Issues
- Buliding pollutants: Mould, moisture damage, Radon, Dirt, Smoking, Pests
- Environmental pollutants: Urban (pm2.5, pm5, pm10), Traffic pesticides, waste, respiratory viruses, weather (sandstorms, humidity, frequent rain, ozone)
What can we do do improve indoor air quality (IAQ)?
It’s hard to control the weather. But we can make sure the air flows inside our buildings so breathing feels like a walk on the beach with a nice breeze
Actions
Simple actions that we can take to improve indoor air quality
Adding Air Flow
You can frequently open all windows to air your spaces out. This works well if the weather is good and their outdoor air in your town is good
Nature solution
You can add plants to clean air in the way nature has been doing it forever, by photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process used by which plants turn carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight and water into food (sugars) and oxygen. If you have space to add plants in your building they not only look nice and have a calming and relaxing effect, they also help clean and improve your indoor air quality
Ventilation Maintenance
Check you air ventilation system. There is an easy way to test it with a piece of paper: At your air ventilation in the building, hold a piece of paper against the part where the air is supposed to come in. If it waves like a flag in the wind, air is flowing in. Then hold the paper against the air duct. The air duct is an essential part of your HVAC system. A round thing that works like a little vacuum sucking used air out of your space. If it works the paper should get stuck against it from the suction of the duct
By monitoring your indoor air quality real time you will be able to detect any issues immediately. Otherwise you may only detect problems only once every six to twelve months depending on your regular HVAC check-up. It may even be less than that. Following trends of indoor air quality, combined with external factors including environmental influences, help you to determine if your building has any air circulation issues. You can then take action and see the effectiveness of such on the Airsmart dashboard