Improving Indoor Air Quality Essential to Curbing the Spread of Deadly Viruses

Posted on by Ductmate Industries

Indoor Air Quality Featured on 60 Minutes

In a new 60 Minutes episode released on October 29, 2023, they explored what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us about preventing the spread of potentially deadly respiratory infections and utilizing indoor air quality monitoring systems.

Because we now know that viruses like the one that causes COVID-19 can travel through the air much farther than six feet, public health advice focusing on social distancing, handwashing, and masking wasn’t enough. Air quality scientists say that from the start of the pandemic, they should have focused on improving the air we breathe indoors.

In this 60 Minutes feature, Airthings indoor air quality monitoring devices were highlighted as one simple solution to improving indoor air quality and curbing the spread of viruses.

Airthings for Business: The Complete IAQ Solution

Airthings for Business from Ductmate provides the complete solution to improving the health and well-being of your building and its occupants.

Ductmate offers the Airthings Space Hub, Space Pro, and Space CO2 Mini devices to building owners to help map out issues within their facilities and target the root causes of poor air quality and energy inefficiency in their buildings.  These three products can be configured to meet the needs of virtually any small to medium-sized commercial or institutional structure, including schools, offices, hospitals, and more.

Depending on the product, Airthings devices monitor particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), airborne chemicals (VOCs), temperature, and more, as well as its virtual sensors that monitor occupancy and virus risk.  When paired with the Airthings dashboard, you can monitor data remotely in real time and make smarter decisions to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency levels.

Understanding Your Virus Risk

The Airthings devices use virtual sensors to calculate virus risk by a room’s CO2, temperature, and humidity levels.  From there, the device ranks the virus risk as a score out of 10.  Understanding your virus risk is critical when ensuring the indoor air quality inside your building allows for spaces where people thrive, but viruses don’t.

With a new strain of COVID on the rise and flu season starting, it is more crucial than ever to prioritize indoor air quality and curb the spread of deadly viruses.

Where Can I Buy Airthings?

Ready to buy Airthings? To purchase the Airthings for Business solution, please contact Ductmate customer service at 1 (800) 990-8459.

Airthings for Business: The Complete IAQ Solution

Posted on by Ductmate Industries

Indoor air quality is often up to five times worse than outside.  Considering most people spend 90% of their time inside, it’s time for a smarter solution.

Why is Indoor Air Quality Important?

People spend a lot of time indoors, so it’s no surprise that Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is strongly and directly connected to health and well-being. According to the US Environment Protection Agency, indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental risks to public health.  Annually, 3.8 million people worldwide prematurely die from illnesses attributable to indoor air pollution.

Poor indoor air quality can cause short-term issues, like headaches, inflammation of the nose, throat and eyes, and flare-ups of pneumonia or bronchitis, or it can contribute to long-term problems like cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.  It has also been associated with aggravating respiratory issues, including asthma.

Improving indoor air quality is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure good health and optimal comfort.

What Causes Poor Indoor Air Quality?

Indoor air quality largely comes down to several key contaminants and components, which are known to play a role in comfort and health.

Pollutants that can affect the air quality inside buildings fall into one or more of the following categories:

Particulate Matter (PM):

Particulate matter is a range of dust, dirt, and liquid particles that become suspended in the air.  This includes dust, smoke and tobacco smoke, pollen, animal dander, particles generated from combustion appliances, and particles associated with dust mites, mold, and bacteria.

Some are large enough to see, like smoke, smog, or soot. The healthier the air, the fewer PMs.

Airborne Chemicals/Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs):

Airborne chemicals/Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) come from combustion processes such as solid fuel heating, gas cooking stoves, vehicle exhaust, and tobacco smoke.  They can also come from building materials, furnishings, adhesives, paint, varnish, cleaning products, and pesticides.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2):

Emitted naturally by breathing, CO2 can build up in poorly ventilated buildings where the air is recycled.  High concentrations are linked to poor decision-making, low productivity, and infectious disease transmission.

Environmental Pollution & Radon:

Environmental pollution indoors comes from outside contaminants like vehicle fumes and industrial pollution that can seep into buildings.  It can also come from naturally occurring gases like radon. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps into buildings from rocks and soil and can build up to dangerous levels indoors.

Human Contamination/Virus Risk:

People in buildings are often carriers of viruses that can spread through the air.

Improved indoor air quality can help stop the risk of airborne viruses, including SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus), and other viruses.  The Biden-Harris Administration identified improved indoor air quality as an important tool to fight the spread of airborne diseases in the American Pandemic Preparedness Plan in September 2021, and the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan prioritized it again in March 2022.

SMACNA Prioritizes IAQ

Recently, SMACNA launched WeAreWhatWeBreathe.com, a new web resource designed to raise public awareness for indoor air pollution and how indoor air quality (IAQ) improvements can help improve occupants’ health.  This comprehensive site is a destination for private and public stakeholders to explore how ventilation, airflow, and indoor air quality impact schools, homes, and office settings.

“The pandemic shined a much-needed light on indoor air quality and some of the major health concerns arising in our schools, homes, and workplaces,” SMACNA Chief Executive Officer Aaron Hilger said. “As a standard-setting organization, SMACNA is proud to play a leading role in addressing the impact of poor ventilation and air quality on our lives. We hope this website will be a helpful resource while instilling a sense of urgency for building owners and school systems to provide tenants with the clean, quality air they deserve.”

To learn more about indoor air pollutants and the need for better ventilation, visit WeAreWhatWeBreathe.com.

The Solution: Airthings for Business

Like other environmental health risks, IAQ can easily and reliably be monitored to assess risks and improve air quality.  Airthings provides the complete solution to improving the health and well-being of your building and its occupants.

Ductmate now offers the Airthings Space Hub, Space Pro, Space Plus, Space Nano, and Space CO2 Mini devices to building owners to help map out issues within their facilities and target the root causes of poor air quality and energy inefficiency in their buildings.  These three products can be configured to meet the needs of virtually any small to medium-sized commercial or institutional structure, including schools, offices, hospitals, and more.

Depending on the product, Airthings devices monitor particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), airborne chemicals (VOCs), temperature, and more, as well as its virtual sensors that monitor occupancy and virus risk.  When paired with the Airthings dashboard, you can monitor data remotely in real time and make smarter decisions to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency levels.

Why suffer through poor indoor air quality that can adversely affect your health when there’s a simple solution? And when it comes to energy bills, why pay more than you have to? On average, an Airthings for Business customer saves up to 20% on energy costs.

Where Can I Buy Airthings?

Ready to buy Airthings? To purchase the Airthings for Business solution, please contact Ductmate customer service at 1 (800) 990-8459.

Airthings in the classroom, East Porter schools improve indoor air quality while reducing energy costs

Posted on by Ductmate Industries

How did four schools in Indiana use Airthings for Business to reduce CO2 levels, improve student satisfaction and the health and wellbeing of their students, staff and colleagues? Not to mention $23,250 in Energy Savings. Read our case study to find out!

“Airthings for Business have been a great tool for helping us to maintain and enhance the air quality in our buildings.” – Craig Kenworthy, Facilities Director

Background

The East Porter County School Corporation, located in Northwest Indiana, serves schools in Kouts, Morgan Township, and Washington Township.

Challenge

Highly rated public school district East Porter consists of 2,488 students in grades K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 11.  Their focus on high quality education has always been their number one priority, so naturally they sought to better understand their indoor air quality data and how it was impacting:

  • Faculty and student performance and health
  • Energy costs 
  • Equipment functioning 

Covid-19 further reinforced their urgency. Ascertaining which indoor air factors are of concern and could potentially be contributing to airborne virus transmission was now a must. They needed the data so that they could address any issues in order to make staff, students and parents confident in reopening schools for in-person learning.

Solution

By installing the Airthings for Business solution, East Porter was able to monitor a full range of indoor air quality measures that helped them identify faulty positioning on several dampers that were causing elevated CO2 levels.

Initially, they made manual adjustments and once improvements were verified, they applied logic to automate the positioning adjustments saving several hours of manual work per day.

With the combination of CO2, humidity, temperature, and occupancy sensors in the Airthings devices, East Porter was able to identify areas to better improve their indoor air quality prior to the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit, East Porter was equipped with data to help evaluate where vulnerabilities existed. This enabled them to take action to reduce possible airborne transmission through the insight provided by Airthings new Virus Risk Indicator.

Results: healthier air & energy savings2 

  • Reduced CO2 levels by 165 ppm
  • $23,250 in Energy Savings realized by Morgan schools with the assistance of Airthings for business solution
  • 210 hours/year reduction in manual work eliminated by automating morning startup logic

Get Started With Airthings

Sources:
1. niche.com/k12/d/east-porter-county-school-corporation-in/
2. Results collected from the anonymized Airthings data with their permission in 2020-2021.

Airthings helps facility managers at Life Chiropractic College transform their indoor air quality

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The Challenge

Life Chiropractic College West is a private college that specializes in teaching a ‘Doctor of Chiropractic’ degree program in Haywood, California. Over 600 students study at its campus, which spans 12 acres and includes a building covering 200,000 square feet.

“Part of being a chiropractic college is having a lifestyle centered on health and wellness.” – Michael Baldwin, Director of Facilities and Auxiliary Services

With that ethos in mind, staff were especially concerned when suspected indoor air quality issues began to emerge.

For Dr Kerri Duggins-Rames, head of the college’s Air Quality Committee, ‘brain fog’ among the building’s users indicated that high levels of carbon dioxide could be a problem. “It started with symptoms,” she explains. “Symptoms I observed in myself and started to observe and overhear in my students.”

Long-term exposure to CO2 can result in reduced productivity, poor decision-making, and increased drowsiness and lethargy, so it is a major red flag in a teaching environment1. Indeed, research suggests that test scores rise and absence rates fall when indoor air quality issues are tackled2. It’s clear that indoor air quality and learning are linked.

Michael Baldwin confirms: “Recent studies have shown that when carbon dioxide levels exceed 800 parts per million on a regular basis it can impair your cognitive function.”

Staff and students at the Life Chiropractic College were concerned about indoor air quality issues and worried that their ability to function effectively was compromised as a result. But, they didn’t yet have functional data to prove what the problems were or understand what had to be done.

Finding a source for that information would be key to putting things right.

The Solution

Life’s director of facilities, Michael Baldwin, was looking for a way to address the college’s air quality concerns when he came across the Airthings for Business at a trade fair for facility managers.

The Airthings solution links indoor air quality monitors to a hub that collects relevant data in real-time. This data is accessible through the Airthings dashboard, ensuring that both current and historical information is available at the touch of a button. The interface provides an overview of all rooms, floors, and locations in a facility, with automated alerts to let users know if conditions change or deteriorate.

After the system had been installed, it gave staff an invaluable source of data that highlighted problems in particular rooms on campus. The system provides actionable insights on indoor air quality for facility managers. As well as its affordability, Michael Baldwin emphasizes the solution’s functionality and user-friendliness, saying, “The product is very easy to use and you can get great function out of it.”

The college exploited detailed information on CO2 levels and occupancy to adjust which classes went to which rooms at particular times. This meant avoiding high CO2 levels and making optimal use of spaces according to their air quality.

Carbon dioxide data can also be a powerful tool for understanding the way a building is used. It reveals when locations are busy, providing insights into how resources like heat, lighting, HVAC, or even cleaning services can be used more efficiently and effectively.

According to Michael Baldwin, indoor air quality monitoring “also helps us justify upgrading equipment and the budgetary aspects of that.” Indoor air quality data highlights exactly where there are problems so that the right maintenance can take place right away.

The Results

After Life Chiropractic College West installed the Airthings for Business air quality sensors and the air quality data began to flow, the insights led to a transformation on campus.

Sagi Hebron, a student and member of Life’s Green Team, explains that the equipment highlighted problems with airflow in the building: “We got new HVAC units, which is a big deal. And using the Airthings monitors we can see the differences in the air quality.”

Data on carbon dioxide also allowed the college to change how it uses its spaces. Armed with a more detailed understanding of building occupancy, Life West was able to tweak its timetables to improve learning conditions for students.

According to Dr Kerri Duggans-Rames, the equipment makes a real difference to academic outcomes at the college. She emphasizes the importance of indoor air quality in education:

“Airthings for Business can help us maximize student performance, absolutely. Cognitive function can be affected. I’m talking about graduate students in an incredibly difficult graduate program. Every moment, every milestone, and every exam they need to be on point.

“Airthings for Business has been very easy to work with,” facilities director Michael Baldwin added. “It’s the ideal solution”.

Sagi Hebron advises businesses, schools, and other institutions to “Try to figure out what the problem is in the building that’s causing it not to be a healthy building. Make the decision to get the Airthings monitors because, from what I understand, they are the best monitors for air quality that you can have.”

Key Takeaways

  • Life Chiropractic College teaches healthcare courses and places a lifestyle of “health and wellness” at the center of campus life
  • Staff and students suspected the college might have air quality issues, after experiencing symptoms like ‘brain fog’
  • The Airthings for Business gave facility managers and other staff access to data that revealed air quality issues on campus
  • The college used the data to address ‘airflow’ problems with a new HVAC system and a change in the way classes were timetabled
  • indoor air quality monitoring helped the college maximize student performance for an affordable price, and staff found the product easy to use
  • The college recommends other institutions use Airthings monitors to make their buildings healthier

Get Started With Airthings

Sources
1. https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(54)00063-2/fulltext#section.0070
2. https://www.aivc.org/sites/default/files/155_0.pdf