![]() ![]() Here are some of the challenges of maintaining good indoor air quality: But doing so isn’t always so easy, especially in a commercial setting. This move underlines the importance of having robust measures in place to monitor, report and take action on levels of CO2. This is part of new revisions to Building Regulations which are intended to improve ventilation and IAQ in commercial and residential buildings. In the UK, from June 2022, CO2 monitors will be mandatory in all office buildings and new standards for recirculating ventilation will be introduced. What are the current challenges in maintaining CO2 levels in buildings? However, employers in the UK are still responsible for keeping their employees safe at work. Indoor pollution directives tend to be set out as guidelines, rather than enforceable laws. Many nations, including Japan, Korea, Portugal, France and Norway, have set 1000 ppm of CO2 as the standard for specific indoor environments, including school and office buildings. And, according to ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, levels of indoor carbon dioxide should be below 700 ppm. The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), for example, has set a permissible exposure limit of 5000 ppm of CO2 as a time-weighted average over 8 hours. ![]() Guidelines can differ according to nation. In these cases, measures should be taken to improve ventilation. What are seen as acceptable CO2 levels typically vary from country to country.įor example, in the UK, the government has agreed to a set of standards for acceptable CO2 levels in indoor spaces:Ĩ00 ppm or below indicates that an indoor space is likely to be well ventilated and has acceptable indoor air quality.Ĭonsistent levels of 1500 ppm and above indicate that the room is badly ventilated. What are acceptable CO2 levels in buildings? In the UK for example, a campaign is underway to monitor CO2 levels in classrooms across the UK to help lower viral transmission risk.Īnd, from June 2022, it will be mandatory for all office buildings to have CO2 monitors. As a result, as we’ve just alluded, high concentrations of indoor CO2 can be used as measures of occupancy and ventilation rate.īut good ventilation is crucial in mitigating the spread of viral infection by aerogenic transmission (infection by small particles that hang in the air), so much so that changes are being made at the national level. Since carbon dioxide is a natural product of human respiration, indoor occupants are its main contributors. CO2 is a measure of indoor ventilation and viral risk For example, the Centers for Disease Control’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC) quote the cost of poor indoor environmental quality to US businesses as in the range of $20 to $70 billion per year.Ģ. This has a material impact on businesses. The average American spends 90% of their time indoors and research has found that stuffy, poorly ventilated buildings negatively affect employee productivity. So although relatively high levels of CO2 may not cause health problems directly, they can be viewed as one indicator of poor ventilation, and, as consequence, lowered indoor air quality. ![]() Other indoor air pollutants, such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), emitted by some furnishings and building materials, can build up in poorly ventilated buildings without adequate fresh air. Combustion from these sources can also generate other products, such as carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM), which both have serious health effects. Since CO2 is a product of combustion, its levels can be raised by things such as vehicle exhausts and furnaces. The quantity of outdoor air being ventilated and the quality of that outdoor air Indoor carbon dioxide levels can vary widely, ranging from a few hundred ppm to 1000 ppm and above. CO2 is an indicator of indoor air quality Let’s explore these two factors in detail: 1. But further, it is a crucial indicator of the risk of viral transmission too. CO2 as an effective indirect measure of indoor air quality (IAQ) in general. Monitoring indoor CO2 matters primarily for what it tells you about other air pollutants. Why is monitoring indoor CO2 levels important? ![]()
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