Keeping Indoor Air Good When Outdoor Air Is Bad

Recent incidents of extreme outdoor air pollution, such as smoke from the Canadian wildfires, have prompted health officials to advise individuals to stay indoors during such events. However, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air pollutants are typically two to five times worse—and occasionally more than 100 times worse—than outdoor air. Normally, outdoor air is brought in to offset poorer indoor air quality (IAQ). But when fresh outdoor air ventilation is not available to improve IAQ, building managers need to take extra precautions.

To do so, check out these tips recently released by engineering and technology company Honeywell to help keep indoor air safer when outdoor air quality reaches harmful levels:

• Continually assess and communicate IAQ. Building managers should utilize IAQ sensors to monitor carbon dioxide, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), temperature, relative humidity, and PM2.5 (an extremely dangerous, fine particulate matter that can travel deeply into the respiratory tract). Integrating these sensors into the building’s heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems help analyze data, track trends, and alert building managers when indoor air is not safe.
• Rethink ventilation. To keep air clean, building managers can use mechanical ventilation devices, such as fans that vent to the outdoors or portable air cleaners, which can be particularly helpful when outdoor air is polluted.
• Improve filtration and purification. Building managers should utilize filtration and purification technologies, like high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, to eliminate the contaminants from a building’s air supply.