FEATURE
SENSING AN OPPORTUNITY
Stacey Lucas of Sontay, explains why CO2 sensors are the perfect solution to monitoring air quality in our buildings, acting as an extra pair of hands for owners and facilities managers responsible for ensuring a building stays healthy on the inside.
The attention on indoor air quality has grown exponentially since the start of the pandemic. There has been an increased need for well-ventilated, clean spaces; a demand which has changed the way people view the impact of indoor spaces on their health and wellbeing.
Indoor air quality is king The need for buildings that assure occupant comfort and wellbeing has always been a priority, yet the past 18 months has enhanced the demand even further. Many members of the general public are now more attuned to aspects such as indoor air quality – an area that, arguably, pre-Covid was simply the stuff of building services engineers, sustainability consultants and the like.
The attention on indoor air quality is driving the specification of solutions that assure the right standard of quality is achieved on a daily basis. Smart building sensors installed as part of an efficient building management system (BMS), offer an ingeniously effective way of remotely monitoring indoor conditions. Measuring key criteria such as relative humidity, CO2 and air quality offers vital information on the likelihood of viral transmission in the indoor environment, and offer an important cue as to the state of an indoor environment. Keeping the interior space at optimum conditions ensures people’s health, wellbeing and productivity is uncompromised.
These self-managing devices are constantly monitoring and sending information. If levels fall outside of a set threshold, the BMS strategy kicks in to increase ventilation, for instance, to return an environment to its optimum conditions.
The CO2 sensor The past year or so has focused a lot of attention on the amount of indoor space people should be allowed to share in order to keep everyone healthy. This was important not only during the first year of the pandemic but now, as many of us are suffering from terrible winter colds because we are now allowed to integrate more socially.
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Yet, as workers continue to return to the workplace – combined with the need to still provide safe environments for those with compromised immunity – sensors that measure CO2 levels will be highly beneficial.
A CO2 sensor provides a clear indication of when a workplace requires ventilation due to deterioration in the indoor air quality. When we exhale, we emit CO2, which if left unchecked in a busy office environment, can lead to headaches due to increased discomfort levels. A CO2 sensor with an LED traffic light-style display helps alleviate this issue. When showing green, the sensor is indicating that a room isn’t over-occupied and the risk to air quality is low. Should the sensor show amber, it’s a sign that windows require opening or fewer people need to be in the room to maintain the same healthy indoor environment. When the sensor turns red it is a call to action, as it indicates there is not enough ventilation in the room. At the amber and red stages, if a sensor is connected to a building management system, it will activate relevant ventilation.
Excess CO2 levels as detected by a sensor can signify that a space is over-occupied. This reading may imply that people need to move to another space and also keep two metres apart. Not only do CO2 sensors activate relevant ventilation therefore, they serve as a visual indication of whether a space is of optimum safety and comfort for occupants.
Small but mighty, CO2 sensors have the power to ensure indoor spaces are safe for everyone. Whilst the worst period of the pandemic has past, Covid has taught many of us the value of healthy spaces, and the role they play in assuring people’s health, wellbeing and productivity. Indoor air quality has become a household phrase, and their specification will continue to flourish as the appetite increases. CO2 sensors are becoming ever more vital to the way we measure how safe our spaces are, now and in the future.
www.sontay.com/en-gb/
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