The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant restrictions have enormously impacted how workplaces are managed. While a range of new safety practices such as enhanced cleaning rotas, regular sanitisation and limited occupancy has become commonplace, ventilation is perhaps the most important tool in reducing the risk of airborne viral transmission.
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) has published extensive guidance around ventilation systems in commercial buildings and how they can be used to maintain adequate air quality and reduce the risks of airborne infection. In April 2020, the CIBSE stated that commercial spaces needed to change their operations and control strategies of ventilation systems. The guidance suggested that ventilation should be run at a higher volume flowrate and that the recirculation or transfer of air from one room to another should be avoided unless this is the only way of providing adequately high ventilation to all occupied rooms.
For some businesses to adhere to this guidance, it is necessary to open doors and windows to facilitate natural ventilation flow. However, while this may improve the internal air quality (IAQ), it can also require additional heating. Running the heating system for longer or at higher temperatures to create a comfortable environment increases the financial and environmental costs of running the building. With gas prices continuing to rise, this increased consumption could significantly impact the business’ bottom line.
Fortunately, Internet of Things (IoT) technology such as goldeni offers a solution to maintaining the balance between adequate ventilation and comfortable internal conditions without driving energy consumption and carbon emissions up. By installing IAQ sensors throughout a building, businesses can monitor the workplace’s carbon dioxide levels, humidity, temperature, and volatile organic compound (VOC) levels.
This data is gathered by the internal sensors in real-time and can then be layered with the operation of the heating and ventilation system. Should the IAQ levels deviate from their desired state, goldeni will raise an alert so that building managers and maintenance teams can take immediate action, either by changing the control strategy of the ventilation systems or by opening windows for a set period to improve the flow of air.
This proactive monitoring means that windows no longer have to be open constantly, which reduces the demand on the heating system and thereby improves the energy efficiency and lowers the carbon emissions of the building. The IAQ levels can be displayed via a digital dashboard, highlighting that the building is healthy and offering occupants peace of mind that their working environment is safe.
Internal air quality sensors connected to goldeni, in-office dashboard displays, and the cloud-based software analytics platform provide the confidence and security for managing and maintaining good internal air quality for your commercial office space.
To find out more, please contact the team on info@goldeni.com
