Monnit European Quarterly: Monitor & Improve Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Monnit European Quarterly - Q3 2024

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Top Story

High Indoor Air Quality Boosts Productivity

It’s well known that, like other people in industrialised nations, Europeans spend 90% of their time indoors, inside buildings where pollutant levels can often be much higher—according to the European Ventilation Industry Association (EVIA).

The Promoting Action for Healthy Indoor Air Project calculated that in the European Union (EU), two million healthy years are lost yearly due to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). This not only means a loss in productivity but also burdens our healthcare systems.

For decades, but especially in recent years, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and IAQ have been hot topics for European government and business leaders to address with plans and regulations. The end goals? Improved worker well-being and productivity, leading to greater profits and a better overall economy.

The effects of poor IEQ and IAQ are just some of the many in-building factors contributing to the ongoing battle against a spectrum of health concerns. Problems range from employee air temperature discomfort, virus spread, diminished cognitive function, and allergies to chronic illness, cases of sick-building syndrome (SBS), and hospitalization. All of these have led to a declining scale of reduced productivity.

What can be done to clean our indoor air?

For the sake of the health and productivity of their employees, European businesses must remain committed to adhering to the European Commission’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which considers the modernisation of the building stock, better IAQ, and other key initiatives.

In addition to ensuring regulatory compliance, data from wireless sensors monitoring IAQ and HVAC systems can provide instant alerts if indoor climate conditions breach an unhealthy range.

With Monnit IAQ and HVAC Monitoring Solutions, you can:

Set up a Monnit Wireless IoT Sensor Network in new and older buildings within 15 minutes.
Monitor and log progress and adherence to IAQ standards.
Get real-time alerts and condition trending data.
Gain insights into the importance of data analytics and benchmarking that drive informed decision-making for IAQ initiatives.

Monnit ALTA^® Long-Range, Low-Power Wireless Sensors are easy to configure and run on the 433 and 868 MHz radio frequencies. You don’t need IT experience to use an app and view it on your mobile device, laptop, or desktop PC.

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Tech News

Comply with EU IEQ & IAQ Regulations

A significant recent addendum to the European Commission’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) defines and mandates:

European Union (EU) member states to set standards for healthy indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and indoor air quality (IAQ).
Smart technologies are crucial for effective IEQ and IAQ monitoring and reporting through the extension of the directive’s Expanded Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) requirements.

In 2019, the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported premature deaths of 307,000 EU citizens due to overexposure to particulate matter (PM) 2.5. Considering this, the EEA said dangerous indoor air threatened European lives and urged all EU member states to improve air quality by employing adequate measures.

Whether for new or buildings under renovation, owners and construction and facilities managers should adopt the revised EPBD regulations as uniformly and quickly as possible to comply with upcoming deadlines.

The EPBD mandates, other EU IAQ regulations, and preference for smart buildings across Europe have increased demand for continuous IAQ monitoring solutions coupled with Internet of Things (IoT) systems.

Monnit IoT IAQ Monitoring Solutions can help ensure compliance. Our solutions deliver real-time alerts to owners and managers about possible IAQ issues. The data you receive, log, and store can help prove your buildings comply with IEQ and IAQ standards.

We can help you monitor your entire building with smart technologies. You’ll have the data to make better-informed decisions to track and improve IAQ, HVAC performance, and sustainability initiatives.

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Application Focus

Get Six Tips to Put an IAQ Plan Together

Handling building regulations and directives regarding everything from energy efficiency to water conservation to indoor air quality (IAQ) can be challenging unless you plan to execute your strategy and solutions.

In the case of promoting high IAQ, there’s an array of factors to scheme against, such as natural and manufactured pollutants, moisture and humidity, poor ventilation, and air pressure.

An IAQ plan keeps everyone managing and working in your buildings on the same page. Call it an IAQ management or action plan; either way, you’ll have an outline with procedures to help people adhere to it. An IAQ plan can help you reduce absenteeism, improve performance, maintain compliance, and promote healthy working practices.

In our blog post, we offer six tips for creating and executing a plan to improve IAQ and protect the health and safety of your building occupants. Find out briefly what we mean by:

Offer a scope.
Conduct a facility IAQ assessment.
Detail reporting and investigation procedures.
Develop a preventive maintenance schedule.
Summarize ongoing housekeeping and construction projects.
Provide plan updates, training, and reviews.

Of course, sensor data will give you many insights about what’s working, so we also offer our sensor suggestions in the blog.

Review Our IAQ Plan Post

Sensor Spotlight

Take Action to Protect Tenant Health

Pollutants and particulate matter (PM) significantly impact the health of people who live, work, and play inside buildings. Various health problems like respiratory, cardiovascular, and internal organ illnesses and diseases are linked to indoor air pollution.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring monitoring helps you identify areas in your facilities where polluted air is dangerous and should be dealt with immediately. PM particles can come from human activity and natural and secondary sources.

PM₁ particles are extremely fine and can be volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bacteria, viruses, smoke, exhaust, aerosols, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide.
PM_2.5particles are fine or very small and can come from vehicle exhaust, burning wood, gas and other fuels, fires, tobacco smoke, fuel-burning space heaters, cleaning solutions, candles, fireplaces, smelters, power plants, and industrial facilities.
PM₁₀ particles are coarse or complex and small enough to enter your lungs. They come from exhaust, brick and cement, iron and steel, quarries, fossil fuel plants, burning materials, dust, wind, pollen, chemicals, powders, and landfills.

We offer our ALTA Wireless Air Quality Sensor, which measures PM₁, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ concentrations to protect people in offices, mines, production facilities, commercial kitchens, and more places indoors. We also offer ALTA Gas Detection Sensors to monitor for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), or carbon dioxide (CO₂).

The data you get from our ALTA Air Quality Sensor can help you know if a particulate is at a dangerous level and work quickly to solve the IAQ problem. This is how the IAQ sensor works:

It measures the PM based on a preset time interval or Heartbeat.
Turns on a small fan at the beginning of a measurement cycle to bring in ambient air and measure the PM content of that sample.
The sensor evaluates PM content using a laser that scatters based on the number and size of particles suspended in the air.
This measurement is then sent to the gateway, making the data available in iMonnit.

Protect the people in your buildings with clean air using data from the ALTA Air Quality Sensor.

Learn More About Our IAQ Sensor