Are we fully aware about the quality of the air that we breathe?

Let’s see why is indoor air quality crucial.

After the pandemic, concern about indoor air quality has grown in common areas such as offices, restaurants, schools, other public buildings, and homes. European Commission and World Health Organization have done several research about indoor air quality and publish guidelines for how to develop indoor air quality. According to the European Commission ‘Europeans spend 90% of their time indoors.’ (1) According to WHO, ‘Problems of indoor air quality are recognized as important risk factors for human health in both low- and middle- and high-income countries. Indoor air is also important because people spend a substantial proportion of their time in buildings.’ (2) We spend a significant percentage of our time indoors, but how often do we think about the quality of the air that we breathe?

Since we cannot see the indoor air quality with bare eyes, we do not know what we breathe. Poor indoor air quality can be a reason for health problems such as allergies, headaches, and fatigue. Also, can decrease the productivity. For example, have you ever left a meeting with a headache? It is the effect of the poor indoor air quality in the meeting room. Clean breath will give you energy, and mental focus, clean your lungs, and makes you happy. Compared to others, children and older adults are getting more affected by the low indoor air quality. That is why notably in offices and in schools’ indoor air quality is an important topic that we should focus on.

Which parameters are measured for air quality in buildings?

Indoor air quality measures the level of carbon dioxide (CO2), humidity, temperature, dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and biological pollutants such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.

Did you know that indoor air quality can be worse than outdoor air quality? According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ‘Air pollutants indicate that indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.’ (3)

The top polluters of indoor air quality are smoke, poor circulation, toiletries, mold, cooking, candles and electronics, cleaners and detergents, and VOCs.

How can we improve indoor air quality?

We can improve indoor quality with indoor air quality monitors. Discover the wireless and wired solutions by Next Industries for this type of application, capable of transmitting data long distances and in difficult environmental conditions.

An indoor air quality monitor is a device or a system that measures the levels of various air pollutants and helps in determining if the air is safe to breathe. When certain of those levels become unsafe, it gives a sign. This sign will let you create a safer environment with increasing the indoor air quality. Continuous indoor air quality monitoring can prevent many diseases that possibly happen. Breathing clean air is critical for good health.

References:

(1) European Commission 2003, Indoor air pollution: new EU research reveals higher risks than previously thought, IP/03/1278, Brussels, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_03_1278 .

(2) World Health Organization 2010, WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: selected pollutants, https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/128169/e94535.pdf .

(3) Environmental Protection Agency 2022, Why Indoor Air Quality is Important to Schools, https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools/why-indoor-air-quality-important-schools .