Wireless IAQ monitoring: Achieve a healthy indoor air environment

Measurement and monitoring of hazardous gases is a critical issue in industrial safety, conventionally worker safety has been concerned with acute levels of airborne pollutants, today there is also mounting concern about the affect of long-term exposure to low levels of pollutants.Indoor Air Quality and conditions such as Sick Building Syndrome are a major concern to businesses, building managers and employees because it can impact the health, comfort, well being and productivity of the building occupants.

Common factors that can lead to an unhealthy Indoor Air Environment include:

• Poor Ventilation
• Airborne Pollutants (Dust, Carpet Fibers, Fungal  Spores)
• Chemical Pollutants (Light industrial chemical  substances, cleaning substances)
• Ozone
• High concentrations of TVOC’s, Carbon Monoxide and Formaldehyde
• Pollution from external sources (e.g. fumes)

Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure, the immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable, including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, headaches, dizziness and fatigue.  Long term exposure to low levels of pollutants could have an affect on an individuals health in the future years, these, according to the U.S. EPA/Office of Air and Radiation, can be severely debilitating or fatal illnesses including some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer. Typical indoor air quality investigation and examination consists of taking single point measurements of pollutant levels. This monitoring method is unreliable, as the pollutant levels is subject to hourly, daily and indeed seasonal fluctuations. Building service professionals and designers alike have regarded these IAQ examination methods as being inadequate considering today’s environmental challenges, however advances in technology have made it possible for continuous monitoring to be achieved. Allowing a scientific approach to the systematic monitoring and management of IAQ. The Wireless IAQ Profile PPMonitor is one such solution. PPM Technology have developed the Wireless IAQ Profile PPMonitor to facilitate simple, effective and flexible management of Indoor Air Quality, it is able to collect a complete and accurate record of IAQ; presenting facility managers and health and safety officers with the data they need for the effective management of air quality within the building.

The PPMonitor is able to continuously detect, monitor and record a number of hazardous gases. Accurate sensor technology enables up to 8 parameters to be measured at each wireless unit, including;

• Temperature, Humidity,Formaldehyde, Carbon Dioxide,
• Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur Dioxide,
• Nitrogen Dioxide,Ammonia, TVOC’s, Ozone.

Real-time functions enable immediate warnings of the presence of harmful gases in the air thus protecting employees and the public; buildings can be immediately evacuated giving minimal exposure to the building occupants. The system has been designed to be easy to setup and operate. A manager PC simply connects to the mesh network using a Telegesis ZigBee USB module, allowing for transmitting and receiving of information to and from a particular wireless unit on the network. Wireless monitoring units can be placed at different locations within a wide variety of building layouts; one unit is connected to the Building Management System; BMS Software allows an entire wireless system to be managed from a single PC, the PC can pre-set a number of different exposure levels to trigger when limits are exceeded; these could be visible or audible alarms or to control 3rd party systems such as ventilation systems; these can be immediately triggered to disperse the gases and bring in fresh air supply to the affected areas. Other advanced industrial hygiene functions are also automatically calculated and could trigger alarm conditions. Two of which are Time Waited Average (TWA) and Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL). These levels are commonly legislated by governments and until recently there was no way of finding if these levels were breached. The size of the network can extended easily by simply adding repeater nodes or additional PPMonitor or Mini PPMonitor units; each with unique sensor specifications if necessary. This ability to further expand the network allows for a greater level of monitoring across the whole building or complex, and hence a more detailed representation of indoor air quality in general. The PPMonitor software enables the data to be viewed graphically, produce reports and statistical data. Analysis of the recorded data over time allows for more efficient management of resources and energy.

                We recently performed a trial setup of the IAQ monitor system in Hong Kong, all data was taken at regular 1-minute intervals using 4 IAQ monitor units for four consecutive days. These units were placed in various locations around the building for a wider analysis of data. The information gathered was automatically stored on a PC connected to the wireless mesh system using the PPMonitor software. The IAQ profiles produced from the test demonstrate that much can be done in building management to save energy and hence reduce the CO2 emissions of the building. The power required to air condition a 50-storey office building such as the one in which our test was undertaken, can easily exceed 10 million KWH per annum. This translates to the burning of over 1000 tons of coal and oil, and the emissions of over 3 million Kg of CO2. Equipping a building with an IAQ monitoring system such as the Wireless IAQ Profile PPMonitor, can provide building service professionals with the data they need for the effective management of air quality within the building, and help achieve a 10 to 20% saving in emissions.

For more information
PPM Technology Ltd
Unit 34-35,  Cibyn Industrial Estate, Caernarfon. LL55 2BD
Wales / UK Tel.: +44 (0) 1286 671 811
www.ppm-technology.com