AIR CONDITIONING, COOLING & VENTILATION
Air quality monitoring and behavioural change: the next step
BEAMA is calling for the mandatory installation of air quality monitors in all new builds as well as a retrofit scheme to support their installation in existing homes. Chair of the BEAMA Ventilation Group, Keith Ritchie elaborates
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mart technology at home has seen rapid development in recent years. As a result of the pandemic, there has also been an accelerated interest in ventilation and its importance for health and wellbeing. The merging of
these two trends inspired a particular focus on CO2 monitors, as CO2 can be used as a reasonable metric of wider air quality issues. This marks the start of a broader move towards quantifying and measuring indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation effectiveness, both in public buildings but also at home. For good reason too, as evidence increasingly demonstrates the harmful impacts of poor IAQ. Taking CO2 specifically, significantly elevated levels of CO2 can cause headaches, reduce concentration and even impair cognitive ability. If levels deteriorate even further, they can impact your respiratory system, your heart and even cause nerve damage. The normal range is 350-600 parts per million (ppm), while physical effects of CO2 exposure can typically be felt at 1,000 ppm.
In this context BEAMA is calling for the mandatory installation of air quality monitors in all new builds as well as a retrofit scheme to support their installation in existing homes.
Why are air quality monitors important?
Chair of the BEAMA Ventilation Group, Keith Ritchie Ideal hp dps BSEE May22.qxp_Layout 1 4/4/22 15:17 Page 1
IAQ is not easy to measure. Apart from mould, the public often find it hard to comprehend what good IAQ and ventilation looks like, as these are not visible. Compare that to improved energy efficiency where it is much easier to see
immediate benefits, for example, through a reduction in your energy bill each month. Air quality monitors can play a significant role in making a previously imperceptible risk visible. A CO2 monitor inside a bedroom shows the CO2 levels inside that room and informs the occupier when levels are too high. Awareness enables them to act and improve the situation if required (for example, by opening a window). This ability to identify poor air quality is essential to advance people’s knowledge and change their perception.
For the first time, people can consider air quality in their home and act when necessary. Monitors can also reveal and reverse misconceptions about viewing the indoors, particularly our homes, as “sanctuary places”. Therefore, the power of a relatively inexpensive sensor to cultivate positive behaviours that benefit human health, is something we must capitalise on.
The positive impacts of IAQ monitors
are backed up by recent research where participants reported that the use of a sensor significantly improved their understanding of IAQ. They also felt more confident about knowing how to mitigate risks and reduce indoor air pollution. The study concludes that the provision of low/no-cost IAQ monitors alongside an online guidance platform, helps people to better understand the risks they face and take appropriate actions to reduce this risk.
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