Facilities managers may wonder how building occupants feel about the indoor environments where they spend most of their time. They may be interested to know that a majority of occupants may not feel their buildings have safe air quality. At least that was the findings of a recent survey conducted by the consulting agency Savanta.
Safe Air Quality Survey Results
The survey included 1,165 participants ages 18 and over from Canada and the United States. Survey respondents spend time in different types of buildings including offices, condos, and hotels. Savanta found that 73 percent of those surveyed did not believe the air and water in their buildings were safe.
Fewer than 30 percent feel that indoor air and water quality is comfortably safe in offices, condominiums, and hotels. By contrast, 74 percent responded that they feel safe entering air quality-certified or air quality-rated buildings.
improving IAQ
According to the WHO, as much as 40 percent of the buildings in North America are sick
They are not wrong to feel that way. According to the World Health Organization, as much as 40 percent of the buildings in North America are sick.
The question is how do facilities managers and business owners address sick buildings, improve ventilation, and provide safe air as 83 percent of survey participants believe that their employer is likely to pay extra to improve IAQ.
air and water quality
North Americans also don’t mind paying more for safe air quality at home. Survey participants who live in condo buildings said they would pay an average of $13.50 per month more for better IAQ and water quality maintenance. Respondents would also pay as much as $9.50 per day for better IAQ in hotels.
“I think it’s very clear from this survey that people are concerned about the indoor air and water quality,” said Alan Wozniak, President, and CEO of Pure Air Control Services Inc. “They also expect stakeholders to do something about it. Knowing that people feel unsafe indoors, should prompt them to make improvements, especially in light of the ongoing pandemic.”
Sick Building Syndrome
Improper ventilation can trigger SBS and its symptoms of eyes, nose, and throat irritation, headaches
Sick building syndrome describes the condition in which the occupants of a building become physically ill after spending time in that particular building.
The World Health Organization recognizes it as a disorder. Improper ventilation can trigger SBS and its symptoms of eyes, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, shortness of breath, and lethargy. SBS symptoms are sometimes mistaken for allergies or the seasonal flu, however, they disappear once the person leaves the affected building.
HVAC improvements
Improvements to HVAC systems create safe air quality and eliminate the causes of SBS as the triggers for this disorder come from both outdoor and indoor sources.
Outdoors this can be car exhaust coming through intake vents. Inside buildings, contaminants from cleaning products and office equipment contribute to SBS.
Healthy Building Program
The Healthy Building Program consists of several systems and methods designed to improve IAQ and achieve safe air quality.
It includes an IAQ baseline evaluation that also tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It includes an HVAC Hygiene Assessment and hygienic cleaning and restoration of the entire HVAC system including all of the supply and returns ductwork.
PURE-Decon building disinfection
Air-cleaning devices equipped with EnviroSmart™ technology adjust performance
Next, PURE-Decon building disinfection destroys bacteria, mold, and other pathogens. Additionally, air-cleaning devices equipped with EnviroSmart™ technology adjust performance to specific room conditions and then work around the clock to remove viruses and microbes as well as odors.
Finally, IAQ Guard monitors building conditions to ensure conditions stay healthy. It’s all a part of Pure Air Control’s Environmental Project Management that provides cost-effect solutions to improve IAQ and the health of building occupants.
Pure Solutions for Safe Air Quality
Pure Air Control Services know the health of building occupants is important to a business. That’s why it focuses on IAQ and HVAC systems.
If users have an issue they believe is making employees or other building occupants sick, Pure Air Control Services can find the source and correct the problem. Schedule a building health check with Pure Air Control Services.
