Maintaining Indoor Air Quality

Indoor Air Quality refers to the quality of the air within and around the building. Indoor Air Quality depends on a lot of factors like the quantity of gases like Oxygen, Carbon Di-Oxide, Carbon Mono-Oxide etc. It also depends on the content of particulates and microbial contaminants. Importance of Maintaining Indoor Air Quality is vital because an average human being spends approximately 90% of their time inside a building.

Why does it matter so much?

As most of the time is spent inside a building, it is vital that the Indoor Air Quality is maintained according to the proper standards.

Poor Indoor Air Quality can lead to symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. Also, some diseases have been linked to specific air contaminants or indoor environments, such as asthma with damp indoor environments.

Considering the other side, it is said that well maintained Air Quality can have a positive effect on the resident health. It is said to have increased productivity, concentration levels and happiness.

Factors Affecting Indoor Air Quality

• Building site or location.
• The Building design.
• Building systems design and maintenance.
• Renovation activities.
• Local exhaust ventilation.
• Building construction materials.
• Building furnishings.
• Maintenance of Building.
• Occupant activities.

How to maintain it:

There are several ways of maintaining and improving the Indoor Air Quality and some of them are: –

Source Control

Usually the most effective way to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions.

Ventilation Improvements

Improving your ventilation is another way of maintaining the IAQ. There should be ample fresh air inside the building and the ventilation systems should be properly working. Besides this, there should be regular checkups on the HVAC systems. There should be scope for maintaining the Air Quality even when there’s more pollution than normally expected. Paint work, extra occupancy are some of the factors that can temporarily increase the polluted air inside a building. There should also be proper filtration of the air coming inside the building.

Air Cleaners and Purifiers

There are devices that can measure the Air Quality, make decisions according to the quality of air present. For a simple example, if the cleaner detects more Carbon Dioxide than normal it will automatically pump fresh air.

Air Cleaners vary according to a number of factors such as their features, size and the long term performance. While you can make the decision yourself, it is recommended to hire a professional for selecting the best Air Cleaner.

Indoor plantation

Indoor plantation is a great and cheap way of maintaining the Indoor Air Quality Plants need bare-minimum investment, and they are great when it comes to cleaning the air.

Summary

While a lot can be maintained by taking preventive measures and regular maintenance, it is advised to hire a professional for doing a thorough audit. The Cotocon group possesses expertise and experience in this field. It can help in making changes to your current building or proposed constructions so that fresh air is always present in your system.

The Cotocon group caters to LEED Certifications, ENERGY STAR Benchmarking Certifications and more. Get in touch with the Cotocon Group for a detailed explanation on how you can get your home LEED certified or call us at 212—889-6566.