How do CO2, outdoor air, and indoor air affect the health, productivity, and well-being of employees?
The statement 'I'm going to get some fresh air' is familiar to everyone. Yet there is an assumption in the statement: we have to go outside to get fresh air. But how come?
Who doesn't recognize that after a long day of work in the office you start to get a headache? Or nausea? These are signals of a bad indoor environment.
Getting drowsy is often the reason to get some fresh air. It's a fact that going for a walk outside during lunchtime is a great pick-me-up. Although the outside air is not optimal, it can be said that it is healthier than indoors. Indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted [1]. Yeap, really!
Ventilation systems must supply buildings with fresh air and remove dirty air. The more people, the higher the air pollution. The type of activities that take place in space is also important, because working harder, including mentally, results in more indoor air pollution.
“We always look at outside air pollution, but the indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted.”
Contrary to common belief CO2 is probably not the blame. Researchers think the gases humans produce other than CO2 are the culprit [2]. CO2 just happens to correlate very well with those. The health effects of bad indoor air include dizziness, nausea, and drowsiness. When CO2 in the indoor space rises above 800 parts per million (ppm), it has direct consequences on cognitive ability [3]. Therefore, the Dutch Working Act (ARBO) requires buildings to have a minimum ventilation rate that approximately corresponds to 1200 ppm.
Researchers at Harvard University showed that cognitive ability doubles as soon as CO2 concentrations dropped from about 1000 to 500 ppm, in combination with a low amount of volatile organic compounds and good ventilation[5]. A low level of pollution in the indoor air ensures that you can think twice as well. Therefore, the increase in cognitive ability in healthy buildings resulted in a productivity gain of €6000 per employee per year[6].
“The increase in cognitive ability in healthy buildings resulted in a productivity gain of €6000 per employee per year. ”
It is therefore important that the supply of fresh air in a building is continuously adapted to the number of users and the nature of the activities that take place in a room. A ventilation system does not have to work overtime during the night (energy efficiency), but when many people are present, a high CO2 concentration is not desirable.
Optimal indoor air quality requires a system that continuously measures and anticipates. That is, if the amount of CO2 rises, the ventilation system must automatically supply more fresh air or an alarm must go off indicating that the user switches on the ventilation system or opens a window.
The office is taking a different meaning, with health becoming a central component. By starting to measure and analyze the air quality levels in your office spaces, you gain insight into how healthy the space you're offering to your employees is and how the productivity of yourself and your employees can be improved.
Are you curious to know more about the air quality level at your building? Do a Clairify quick scan and get useful insights into the CO2 in your building.
Feeling tired or sluggish at work? Poor indoor air quality may be the cause. Learn to recognize the signs and improve your office's air quality.
Learn how to implement an effective indoor air quality policy in your building with Clairify's solutions. Follow our 5 steps for a healthy workspace.
Indoor air quality startup Clairify raised a successful seed investment from Rockstart, Oost NL and strategic advisors to accelerate growth.