Preventing sick building syndrome

Monitoring devices that are able to detect high levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) have been introduced to the local market, with the aim of detecting poor air quality that can lead to sick building syndrome.

Sick building syndrome is a medical condition affecting people that occupy a specific building, whether commercial or residential. The syndrome is marked by symptoms such as headaches, respiratory problems, skin irritations and non-specific hypersensitivity reactions.

The symptoms are often attributed to factors in the environment, such as poor ventilation and appear to be exasperated when windows and doors are kept closed.  Buildings where metabolic rates are high, such as gyms, fitness centres and aerobic-workout rooms may also exceed acceptable CO₂ levels.

Indoor CO₂ concentrations over 1 000 ppm may lead to cognitive impairment and dysfunction.

Hand-held monitoring devices allow building operators to monitor CO₂ and other potentially-harmful substances, with the aim of ensuring the health of occupants. Susceptible buildings include healthcare facilities, classrooms, offices, factories, gyms and areas that are susceptible to the build-up of gases.

Location-specific CO₂ data may help to detect potential faults in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems of buildings and to determine the most cost-effective and efficient solutions. CO₂ data monitoring may also help to improve energy savings and overall indoor-air quality, while reducing the symptoms of sick-building syndrome.

The battery-powered monitoring devices or data loggers can be used to measure indoor CO₂ concentrations throughout a building or wherever data is required. Measurements can range from 0 ppm to 5 000 ppm. 

Air quality information can be accessed from a handheld device or laptop by means of a plug-in or the cloud.

The units are distributed and supported by Euca Technologies on behalf of logging and monitoring systems company Onset Computer Corporation.