SAFE INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ).
Updated: May 1
SAFE INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) PRINCIPLES CAN BE OBSERVED AND TESTED IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE AIR QUALITY IS SAFE FOR ITS OCCUPANTS. LET ME SHARE SOME COMMON PRINCIPLES; FIRST IS USING VENTILATION PRACTICES TO PROMOTE HEALTHY AND SAFE INDOOR AIR QUALITY. THE THREE (3) MAGIC WORDS CAN BE SAID TO BE DILUTION, FILTRATION, AND VENTILATION.
The Physical Environment consists of its internal and surrounding contaminants, such as ventilation, gasoline or diesel engine exhaust, internal chemicals, mold, level of cleanliness and maintenance, pests, and others. These contaminants affect the occupant's health, possibly producing asthma, allergies, infectious diseases, or respiratory illness.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY PROFESSIONALS
Our goal as IAQ professionals, is to detect and control indoor air pollutants, analyze ventilation and filtration components, establish maintenance of acceptable temperature (F°) and relative humidity (RH%) and recommend any required procedure such as mold remediation. Ventilation impacts building airflows by reducing indoor aerosol transport, which reduces the ability of airborne bacteria to be transported, such as Covid-19. Ventilation also dilutes the concentration of other indoor air pollutants. Ventilation rates according to ASHRAE 62.1 should experience 6 air changes per hour, the process of supplying air to or removing air from a space for the purpose of controlling air contaminants levels, humidity, or temperature within the space.
The building design has to be considered while evaluating principles of safe indoor air quality, buildings are different, buildings are not tight unless built that way (infiltration- unintentional, natural windows, Interzone airflows- crawl spaces, basements), air moves based on physics, not design intent, outdoor air is not necessarily fresh air.