IAQ Monitoring

The average person fills their lungs 20,000 times a day. Every breath brings in life-giving oxygen and carries carbon dioxide away. The reality is, we are incredibly vulnerable when we breathe. In today’s post pandemic world, and with health concerns on the frontal lobe, being able to closely monitor all aspects of your building’s air quality crucial. Whether you are at home, or at work, Walker Reid’s I.A.Q data monitoring process allows for a security blanket in the defense against contaminated air. 

“In the last several years, a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air in our homes and office buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities. Other research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. Thus, for many people, the risks to health may be greater due to exposure to air pollution indoors than outdoors.” stated the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The indoor air quality of our home and office environments can be filled with health hazards that cannot be seen. These airborne allergens include mold & mildew particles, chemical gases, bacteria can all create health risks to you and your family. 

These air pollutants can introduce many different chemicals, including volatile organic compounds, directly into the indoor air. Home furnishings, paint, finishes on furniture, upholstery, mattresses, flooring including wood & carpet, pressed wood products off-gas into the air in your home.

The potential impact of indoor air quality on human health will affect the most susceptible including ones who are either very young, older adults, or anyone with cardiovascular or respiratory disease.

With Walker Reid’s IAQ monitoring, licensed IAQ professionals will always have eyes on your residence, or place of business. Allowing professionals to stay on top of your invaluable data points will further protect you from any air quality issue, and prevent harmful ones from ever happening at all.

Walker Reid Strategies provides a certification for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Using the latest sensor technology, we collect detailed data points about your IAQ, then grade it based on leading medical research and industry best practice. 

The benefits of a healthy building are plenty. Attracting occupiers and residents, enhancing marketing campaigns, and responding to changing expectations for indoor spaces is vital. Across the board, a healthy building shows consideration for the well-being of the people within your indoor environments.

There is a strong story to be told if an HVAC system is not performing adequately. In most commercial buildings, the HVAC accounts for about 40% of its operational energy consumption, and that figure has potentially climbed even higher as a result of the pandemic.

Over the past 2 years, maneuvering around COVID-19 has certainly been the challenge. The question of “am I safe?” was the most asked, in public, and most importantly in workspaces alike. Consumer interest in air quality arose sharply and stays on the rise. The interest has turned into a demand, an expectation that buildings will leave occupants feeling confident and healthier. According to a number of studies, surveys, and reports, if tenants do not feel this way at work, they are willing to leave. In addition, workers and tenants are less likely to apply to a business or building if they are under the impression the environment will make them sick. 

For building owners and operators, it is about being able to leverage all of that data to its absolute potential, and that involves thinking beyond air quality. At the end of the day, knowing just how much this data, and monitoring systems can impact a building’s functionality is crucial information for everyone who has a hand in building management and building systems.

• Humidity
• CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)
• PM 2.5 (Fine Particulate Matter)
• TEMP
• TVOCS (Volatile organic compounds)
• CO (carbon monoxide)

What is it?

Relative humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. It’s expressed as a percentage. EX: 55%

Where does it come from?

Relative humidity is a percentage that represents the amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature compared to the max possible water vapor amount at that same temperature. For instance, relative humidity of 25 percent means that air is at a quarter of its possible water vapor capacity.

Why is it a problem?

Both high and low humidity can directly affect occupant health and comfort, and the presence of biological pollutants such as mold spores. Incidence of absenteeism due to respiratory infections was found to be higher among people working or living in environments with low or high relative humidity.

What is it?

Particulate Matter 2.5 is fine particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5μm. Some common examples are dust, sea salt, ash and vehicle exhaust.

Where does it come from?

Indoors, PM2.5 can come from a number of sources, such as combustion (e.g. heating and cooking), mechanical processes and biological particles (e.g. bacteria and viruses). Simply opening a window isn’t always the best solution for poor IAQ as indoor PM2.5 concentration can also be heavily influenced by both manmade and natural sources from outdoors.

Why is it a problem?

These fine particles can easily penetrate into the lungs and bloodstream, causing irritation of both upper and lower airways, as well as cardiovascular issues: this can can even reduce life expectancy.

Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a guideline of 10μg/m3, there is said to be no safe level of PM2.5.

What are they?

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are compounds that can become gases or vapors: common examples in our daily lives are acetone, benzene and formaldehyde. TVOCs is a collective term which defines a group of common VOCs

Where does it come from?

VOCs comprise a wide range of chemicals, which may be emitted over periods of weeks or even years from construction and furnishing products such as sealants, paints, cleaning products, and air-cooling refrigerants for building services.

Why is it a problem?

In the short-term, exposure to elevated levels of VOCs can cause adverse health effects such as eye and airway irritation, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders and memory impairment. Long-term they can be even more dangerous, potentially causing damage to the central nervous system and even cancer. There is also an association between higher concentrations of VOCs in indoor air with allergies, asthma, and poor respiratory health.

What is it?

Room temperature describes the range of air temperatures that most people prefer for indoor settings that feel comfortable when wearing typical indoor clothing.

Where does it come from?

Indoor temperature is affected by many variables from occupant density to mechanical ventilation effectiveness and room temperature set point.

Why is it a problem?

Poor thermal comfort can contribute to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms, which include headaches, itchy skin, dry or sore eyes, blocked or runny noses and rashes. Research also indicates that performance of office work is maximised at 21°C to 22°C and for every degree above 25°C productivity is seen to decline by 2%: the same drop has been seen for every degree below 19°C.

What is it?

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a naturally occurring, colourless, odourless gas that makes up 0.04% (400ppm) of the air we breathe.

Where does it come from?

Human and animal respiration and combustion are the main sources of indoor CO2. Occupied indoor concentrations of CO2 are significantly higher than those outdoors.

Why is it a problem?

Studies have shown that elevated levels of CO2 can significantly impair cognitive function and cause up to 11% reduction in productivity. And even though it’s naturally part of the air we breathe, even very low levels of CO2 have been shown to cause adverse health effects, such as aggravating respiratory problems. There is also a recognised connection between elevated indoor CO2 levels and increases in Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms.

What is it?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels. When people are exposed to CO gas, the CO molecules will displace the oxygen in their bodies and lead to poisoning.

Where does it come from? 

Carbon monoxide is a chemical produced from the incomplete burning of natural gas or other products containing carbon. This includes exhaust, faulty heaters, fires, and factory emissions.

Why is it a problem?

When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, your body replaces the oxygen in your red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This can lead to serious tissue damage, or even death. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas produced by burning gasoline, wood, propane, charcoal or other fuel