When the Canadian wildfire smoke hit New York City in June, I got a call from a senior executive with a pressing question: was the air inside their company’s building safe for employees to breathe? I could confidently answer yes thanks to the indoor air quality sensor system I’d helped them deploy several months before. According to the real-time data, particle levels were below the health-based limits even as outdoor levels surged to more than 400 ug/m3 — levels that we know is associated with not only headaches and eye irritation but also heart attacks and hospitalizations.
It’s Time for Companies to Monitor Workplace Air Quality
A guide to understanding and implementing sensor systems.
November 09, 2023
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Summary.
Organizations that aren’t yet thinking about how to implement real-time air-quality monitoring in their buildings should do so soon. First, because any employee or customer can now collect rudimentary data in real time. Second, because corporate air sensor networks can offer timely actionable information in moments of crisis, enhance worker health and productivity, and help them achieve climate and sustainability goals. It is important to know which indicators to measure, including CO2, PM2.5, TVOCS, T/RH, and to think carefully about sensor placement and density, the setting of thresholds, and response plans.