Carbon dioxide (also known as CO2) is a chemical that we often look at when doing IAQ surveys. We don’t watch it because its a health issue, rather it helps us determine how much outside air is being delivered to a space. When an office doesn’t receive much outside air, the CO2 levels rise. At
I used to read the comic strip Peanuts. If you did too, you will remember the cloud of dust that followed Pigpen. He carried his cloud with him. We never actually saw where Pigpen’s dirt came from, but it would be interesting to know the source. Many offices environments have similar dust just waiting for
Understanding a problem and communicating that to the tenant are critical when an IAQ problem pops-up in your building. Because of this, we take engineer training seriously. This week’s video explains how we train engineers during a response to complaints, making them a relentless agent for your company.
I heard a comment last week that said “if we did not have tenants in buildings, we would not have IAQ problems!” I had to laugh. But since that’s unlikely to occur anytime in the future, I choose to see it from a different perspective. In the “early days of IAQ,” seventy-percent of the problems
Most of the reactive IAQ projects we work on are in response to someone complaining about IAQ. When that occurs (in addition to speaking with the complainant) we look at air handler units for the complaint area. We have learned over the years, that a failure in one or another aspect of AHU maintenance, can
Some of the systems in a building can create odors. Knowing what they are and how to manage them, however, can go a long way towards preventing them. In the early days of indoor air quality, we often said “dilution is the solution to indoor air pollution.” Eventually though, we learned that source control –
Acoustical ceiling tiles are as common in commercial buildings as gypsum wallboard on the walls. While they do a great job providing a bright and consistent ceiling, they also raise concerns in tenant’s minds when they become water stained. Water stained ceiling tiles can occur when small leaks happen in the above ceiling areas. The
Your problems don’t begin the day someone finds mold in your building. They started much earlier but weren’t identified or corrected in time. Today’s video points out some of the issues that can occur that lead to mold growth in all kinds of spaces.
Carbon monoxide is one of those issues that we always look for in commercial buildings. It’s the one that we seldom find though. That’s good, because finding it indoors could lead to a variety of health issues including confusion, dizziness, headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, plus a few others. In past years, when outside air
The study of building science is one that has been ongoing in Europe for many years. Recently, North America has started looking at building science in the construction of new buildings. Building science is the study of construction techniques with the goal of improving insulating abilities, and managing the movement of moisture and heat into