How to use an air quality meter to ensure you are breathing safe air

Whether your environment is at work or at home, an indoor air quality monitor is an essential device if you’re serious about protecting the health, well-being and productivity of family members or work colleagues. Here are all the reasons why!

What is Indoor Air Pollution?

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a measure of the relative level of air pollution within and around buildings and structures. IAQ has been linked to health issues (even deaths!), impaired learning and workplace discomfort. The term Sick Building Syndrome is applied where the well-being and productivity of building occupants are seriously affected.

IAQ is part of indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which includes IAQ as well as other physical and psychological aspects of life indoors, such as lighting, visual quality, acoustics etc.

It’s estimated that in the western world we spend approximately 90% of our time breathing “indoor air”. Unlike outdoor air, indoor air is often recycled continuously. This process traps and causes a build-up of toxic pollutants, as well as air temperature and humidity. Yuck!

Getting technical and specific for a moment, IAQ can be affected by:

• gases - including carbon monoxide, radon, volatile organic compounds
• particulates - microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere
• microbial contaminants - mould and bacteria; or
• mass or energy stressors – temperature, humidity

Some of the common culprits that lead to poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ include inadequate ventilation, non-vented gas heaters, poorly/inadequately maintained HVAC systems, toxic cleaning products, toxic carpeting, paints and laminates and a host of others.

The primary methods for improving indoor air quality include:

• controlling air pollution at its source – e.g. removing toxic materials, choosing environmentally friendly cleaning products
• adequate air filtration;
• improving ventilation to dilute contaminants; and
• the routine cleaning of carpets and area rugs.

Methods to Determine the Indoor Air Quality of Your Building

The factors used to estimate IAQ includes the collection of air samples, monitoring human exposure to pollutants, collection of samples on building surfaces, and computer modelling of air flow inside buildings. In Australia, two main methods are used for assessing IAQ:

• Real-time (continuous) measurements. This involves positioning indoor air quality monitors throughout or around a building to detect pollutant sources and provide information about the variation of pollutant levels throughout the day; and
• Integrated sampling with subsequent laboratory analysis. Integrated samples, normally obtained during the 8 working-hours for offices or institutional spaces, is used to provide information on the total exposure level of a selected pollutant.

Instrument Choice currently offers indoor air quality monitors that produce real-time measurements. We also provide expert advice to ensure you select from the group of indoor air quality monitors that are right for your application.

What are the Most Common Applications for Indoor Air Quality Monitors?

Instrument Choice scientists have received thousands of inquiries from customers investigating the best indoor air quality monitors for their application. The most common fell into the following categories:

• Indoor air quality complaint investigation and analysis
• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system performance monitoring
• Indoor air quality engineering analysis
• Mould investigation and remediation
• Health and comfort assessments
• Airport lounges, shopping malls, and offices
• Schools, universities and kindergartens; and
• Hospitals and elderly care facilities

The Best Examples of Indoor Air Quality Monitors

Instrument Choice has a very large range of indoor air quality monitors including desktop, wall-mounted and portable units.

Desktop & Wall-Mounted Indoor Air Quality Monitors

The Extech CO100 Desktop Indoor CO2 Indoor air quality monitor is a versatile and cost-effective indoor air quality monitor used to detect carbon dioxide (CO2), air temperature and humidity. This maintenance-free unit covers broad measurement ranges, offers an alarm function and automatic baseline or manual calibration against fresh air. This model is popular with schools, facilities managers (offices, factories, hotels, hospitals), agribusiness (e.g. glasshouses), and with OH&S managers (e.g. transportation links – road, rail etc.).

The IC-800051 Indoor Air Quality Wall Monitor continuously monitors indoor air quality displaying readings that are visible across a large room. The device also features automatic baseline calibration (ABC), it’s maintenance free and designed for long-term accuracy, stability and reliability. The unit is ideal for applications in crowded public spaces with potentially high levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide), such as offices, factories, classrooms, hospitals and hotels.Monitored data includes air temperature, relative humidity (RH) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Handheld Units

For an example of a portable, accurate and potentially integrated indoor air quality monitor theIC-800050 Datalogging Indoor Air Quality Meter
is worthy of your attention.It can capture, measure and store huge amounts of data for air temperature, RH, CO2, Dew Point and Wet Bulb. Results can be downloaded using a USB cable and software (included).

The Aeroqual Series 300 Lithium Portable Indoor air quality monitor - IC-HH S300L
is a portable indoor air quality monitor that offers a cost-effective solution should you need to accurately measure multiple target gases at different concentrations across indoor and outdoor applications. You can fit multiple sensor heads to suit your requirements.

Want to find more indoor air quality monitors? Find a large range to browse here.

If you have any questions at all regarding Instrument Choice’s products, if you can’t find the indoor air quality monitor you’re looking for, or you need advice with an application, setting up your equipment, or designing an experiment contact an Instrument Choice scientist.