According to specialists, air quality sensors interior make the invisible visible. Design and engineering firms, which are among the early adopters of these models, claim that the pandemic sparked interest in using this type of technology to monitor the air quality of the place in real time, optimize the use of energy and protect the occupants from any circulating flu virus.
However, getting the most out of new technology to improve indoor air quality would require addressing several obstacles, including aging building infrastructure and a lack of regulation. Even for designers and builders themselves, interest in improving ventilation could wane now that the emergency phase of the pandemic is over.
In this sense, The New York Times portal described how air control through sensors can improve any workspace in office buildings. Beyond its sanitary use to improve air flow, it was also used in very specific cases, such as forest fires in the area of Manhattan.
“When the smoke from the forest fires began to cover New York in June, the employees of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an architecture and design firm, had a panoramic view of the crisis. From their desks, nearly 30 stories above the ground, they watched the sky transform from a misty blue to a dirty gray. But inside the office, cool air billowed from vents along the ceiling, and large screens reassured employees with the announcement: “Indoor air quality is very good,” the New York newspaper described.
“The assessment was based on readings from indoor air quality sensors that tracked pollutant levels in real time, including the fine particulate matter that makes wildfire smoke so dangerous. The sensors had been installed during the pandemic, but now they were proving their value in the midst of a new air quality emergency.
both in United States as in Argentina, there is little regulation of indoor air quality, and once an office building is up and running, the occupants typically have little idea whether the air they are breathing is one hundred percent safe. For that matter, implementing a sensor system is not a simple solution. The building must be suitable for this type of installation and infrastructure.
On the other hand, because humans breathe out carbon dioxide, levels of the gas can build up when people gather indoors. High levels of carbon dioxide recorded by sensors can be a sign that a space is not sufficiently ventilated, and if a person with Covid-19 is present, coronavirus particles could also accumulate.
The sensors are linked to the ventilation system, which automatically responds when conditions change. “We get alerts every time there’s an announcement that says, ‘Your CO2 levels are peaking,'” he said. Ojiakor Obinani, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architect, who helped evaluate and select the building’s air quality monitoring platform, adding: “When that happens, the ventilation system kicks in. In last month’s wildfire, the ventilation system pulled smoky air through high-quality filters, which trapped contaminants and kept indoor particle readings low.”
Finally, studies suggest that good indoor air quality can alleviate asthma symptoms, reduce absenteeism, and even improve cognitive function. Implementing these systems would also help companies respond to any future air quality crises, even if they have nothing to do with infectious diseases or spreading smoke in the area.
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