MANAGING AIR QUALITY

Abhinav Gupta

- CEO & Co-Founder ActiveBuildings

One can barely look at the bright side amid this pandemic, which has claimed millions of lives and disrupted economies worldwide. But what it has really shown us is the need to protect our environment from further damage.

Scientists, epidemiologists, environmentalists have been sounding the alarm numerous times on how global warming can bring about the loss of permafrost, giving rise to many bacterial, viral, infectious diseases. And for decades, our leaders, policymakers, and many businesses have failed to listen or take actionable decisions. A situation like this has led individuals, NGOs, organisations, and start-ups to take up the responsibility and spread awareness on environmental issues. Innovation in technologies is another route adopted globally to bring about some much-needed change to the world.

Until 2017, AIR, of all the elements mixed with other harmful bacteria, has shown to have claimed the most lives all over the world, third only to cardiovascular diseases and cancers. While Covid 19 has managed to grab people's attention towards the importance of clean air, there is still a lot of scepticism in believing that the air is polluted at dangerous levels and poor air quality can cause deaths. As of 2021, Covid-19's death counts are rapidly increasing at alarming levels. It then becomes pertinent to show people the proof of 'invisible enemies' present in the air.

DATA MATTERS

Data plays an integral part in creating transparency; therefore, a report on the indoor air quality evaluation significantly impacts consumers. They compare the Indoor air quality  report with the pollution levels outside and are surprised to find out that it is 2 to 5 times worse indoors.

There are safe limits set by environmental agencies of both national and international stature, surpassing which the indoor environment can become highly detrimental to an individual's health.

On being presented with data, the fact becomes glaringly apparent that one's indoor space needs some intervention; that is why reliable data is of immense importance when trying to fix problems around air quality.

TRACKING THE AIR YOU ARE FIXING

Pollutants in the air are so small that they can be compared to a single grain of salt and still have the grain of salt be 30-40 times larger than a standard PM2.5 particle. Thus, special technology is needed to track these particles, and many more, like the concentration of particulate matter, TVOCs, Carbon Dioxide etc.

In addition, COVID-19 particles are now confirmed to be transmitted through the air as well. With mutated variants with increased transmissibility, it becomes even more critical to understand the indoor air quality and the risk it poses when it remains suspended in the air for longer periods. 

Viruses cannot stay suspended in clean air for long. Therefore, air that is least laden with pollutants is less likely to provide a suitable environment for virus transmission.

Devices that can integrate with existing building systems come in handy here because of their retrofitting capabilities, thereby not restricting their adoption by newer, more advanced building management systems.

TRACKING SENSORS

Some sensors have the ability to track pollution in every corner of the building. Pollutants are of varying sizes and require different materials inside a sensor to track these pollutants down. When pollutants come in contact with the materials inside the sensor, the data gets recorded. With the help of a gateway installed in the building, sensor data is communicated to filtration systems which, upon receiving the message from the gateway, gets activated to filter out these pollutants.

Simply stated, the sensors integrate with the buildings and its systems act as an AI assistant and improve air quality inside the buildings.

Harmful pollutants filtered out in this process are PM0.1, PM2.5, PM10, various chemical pollutants (VOCs) and aerosols, carbon monoxide. Exposure to all of these pollutants causes a decrease in productivity, concentration levels and also causes issues like headaches, nausea, irritability, irritation in the eyes, throat, etc.

These sensors understand the micro-climate of the indoor space. Having the advantage of
AI, it is also possible to receive updates on smart phones for sensor-related updates. Since filtration systems work to filter out pollutants, they tend to get choked after a while, depending on which city the building is located in, the climate of the city, the location of the building in that city, etc. When the sensor detects that the filters are about to get choked, it sends a notification on the app, alerting the user that the filters need maintenance or replacement. The said app is available for download with the purchase of these sensors. 

ADVANCED VENTILATION SENSORS

A high concentration of carbon dioxide is also a problem. Poor ventilation paves the way for carbon dioxide to cross its permissible limits. It can cause drowsiness, headaches, destabilise one's focus, and in more recent times, be a factor for the COVID-19 virus to stay suspended in the air for longer.

In places that are equipped with HVAC, the air is drawn from the outside at outside temperature and is cooled to the desired temperature and then circulated in the building. The process of cooling the outside air consumes a substantial amount of energy.

Some sensors can integrate with an existing ventilation system or HVAC system. With the help of a similar gateway, the sensor communicates to its systems that carbon dioxide concentrations are increasing within the building. The system then draws in air from the outside to balance out the oxygen-carbon dioxide levels inside the building and even optimises it. It is such that fresh air is drawn in when it takes the least possible energy to cool the air down to the desired temperature. The sensor also detects when oxygen levels have normalised and stops the influx of fresh air, reducing energy consumption.

Unique features like these have multifaceted benefits, like lowering utility bills while ensuring the safety of occupants from airborne diseases.

CONCLUSION

The environment poses many qualms to human health as of now. While people have started paying more attention to the importance of reversing the adverse effects of the environment, a lot of damage has already been done. One cannot simply wait for the air to get cleaner or for more stringent laws to be enforced by the governing bodies before one can carry forward with life. At times like these, it is necessary to take all precautions to protect the spaces that will once again be frequented by people so that they do not turn into potential virus super spreaders, and that is why monitoring the air and filtering it wherever possible is the absolute need of the hour.

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