Comprehensive Guide To Improving Indoor Air Quality In Your Commercial Space

Indoor air quality is a vital aspect of all residential or commercial buildings. Having quality indoor air quality provides various benefits such as comfort, efficiency, safety, boosting productivity, and, most importantly, overall health. In addition, most office buildings have many air pollution sources, and some of these buildings may not be suitably ventilated.  

Finally, people mainly have less control over the internal environment in their workplaces than at home. Air quality is still a relevant issue since we are still dealing with COVID-19. Due to the pandemic and awareness of the importance of air quality, many facility owners invest in different products that will help minimize the spread. 

Improving indoor air quality starts with discipline, regular building, and HVAC maintenance. Follow these 5 steps, and you'll have a quality indoor environment. 

5 Steps You Can Take To Improve Commercial Building Indoor Air Quality:

1. Change HVAC Filters Regularly

HVAC systems can become contaminated with dust and air pollutants if not maintained regularly. These contaminants can pollute your indoor air quality and cause health issues such as respiratory illnesses or allergies. 

Installing HVAC access doors and panels is highly essential during maintenance so that the technicians have convenient access to the HVAC components. Clogged filters can interrupt airflow and lead to the build-up of pollutants in enclosed spaces. 

2. Source Control   

The best way to enhance your indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or minimize their emissions. For example, avoid using fixtures that contain asbestos because it is an active air contaminant. 

You can also modify gas stoves to decrease your building's emissions. In addition, source control is a more cost-efficient solution to maintaining indoor air quality than expanding ventilation because increasing ventilation can increase your usual energy costs.  

Another consideration to improve air quality is installing in-duct air purifiers into your existing HVAC system, reducing airborne contaminants. Choosing an air purification solution without producing any ozone, such as Sanalife's ActivePure Induct Guardian, is essential.

3. Improve Building Ventilation   

Another solution to help decrease the concentrations of indoor air pollutants in your facility is to boost the amount of outdoor air in your building. 

You can increase ventilation in your building by properly using economizers, which are devices that supplement mechanical cooling with fresh air, to efficiently and cost-effectively increase fresh air ventilation. Run HVAC systems during all occupied hours to ensure clean air enters and is distributed throughout the building. 

Also, open operable windows, as weather, outdoor air quality, occupant safety, and HVAC systems permit. To the extent possible, enable cross-ventilation by opening windows and doors at opposite sides of the room or building.

However, ensure that you carefully evaluate the outdoor air quality when bringing in fresh air from outside to minimize indoor air pollutants with outdoor impurities, such as smoke from vehicles or nearby sources.  

Properly ventilating your building and bringing in fresh outdoor air can also help control indoor temperatures. It helps dilute indoor airborne pollutants coming from indoor sources, reduces pollutants, and improves indoor air quality. 

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4. Keep the Area Clean 

Maintaining cleanliness is one of the simplest ways to minimize air pollutants in your commercial building. You can reduce the build-up of allergens from coughing, sneezing, or coughing that contaminate the area and can spread viral diseases.  

Clean and sanitize commonly used items in the office such as desks and computer devices with a damp cloth and antiseptic solutions to reduce the build-up of dust and bacteria. In addition, if your establishment has carpets, they should be vacuumed at least twice a week with a HEPA filter to ensure the efficient removal of allergens and dust. 

In the post-COVID age of facility operations, facility managers seek new avenues for disinfection that have high efficacy and can reduce maintenance costs. For these same reasons, countless businesses and schools nationwide are implementing hospital-grade disinfection through versatile Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) and UV-C devices such as the UVD Robot by Sanalife. The CDC strongly recommends Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) as a tool for viral mitigation in indoor environments. 

5. Use Air Cleaning Devices 

Purchasing commercial-grade equipment for your facilities, such as air scrubbers, ActivePure® Induct Guardian, air purifiers, and dehumidifiers, is excellent for maintaining your indoor air quality. You will instantly feel the changes immediately after using these air-cleaning devices.

Not all air purifiers work the same. Some manufacturers produce air purifiers, but not all follow standards related to air filtration, testing efficacy, and operational safety. First, it is essential to know what mechanical and electric air cleaning technologies they feature when looking at air purifiers.

When choosing the best air filter for your business, consider additional efficiency measures like air exchanges per hour (ACH) and cubic feet per minute (CFM). These measures will help you find the right air purifier to provide optimal air exchanges for the spaces you seek to protect.

The Bottomline

As a building owner or facility manager, showing interest in enhancing the air quality of your commercial buildings shows how much you care for every occupant inside. Improving air quality helps decrease the spread of airborne illnesses, but it can also help reduce your energy bill costs. Improving air quality should be the goal for every building owner, especially in the post-COVID world. Investing in quality products that will help maintain indoor air quality will help provide safer indoor environments for your occupant's overall health.