IAQ, a key issue integrated into construction

Why Indoor Air Quality has become essential

Indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air, with a high level of pollution in a building equipped with an inadequate ventilation system. There are numerous sources of pollution in every building system, directly influencing the level of air quality: building materials, furnishings, maintenance products, human activities or even poorly regulated heating systems. These pollutants, such as CO₂, VOCs or fine particles, circulate through the indoor system, increase the level of concentration in the air and have a direct impact on the health, well-being and productivity of occupants.

In both commercial and residential buildings, poor IAQ within the ventilation system and the building management system, linked to an unsuitable or poorly-adjusted installation, can lead to fatigue, headaches, respiratory problems or reduced concentration. This is why taking IAQ into account in every building system and at every stage of installation has become a quality criterion in its own right in modern construction, where installation plays a decisive role.

An increasingly structuring regulatory framework

Regulations are evolving to integrate Indoor Air Quality into real estate projects and into every building system, with a clear objective of overall efficiency, linked to the use of construction and technical products adapted to guarantee the effectiveness of the system. In France, as in other countries, a number of regulations require the monitoring of certain pollutants within ventilation and management systems, to ensure effective IAQ control, particularly in buildings open to the public (ERP), schools, nurseries and offices, where the products used and their efficiency have a direct impact on IAQ.

Environmental regulations, such as the RE2020, also encourage more airtight and better insulated buildings in terms of their construction systems and choice of products, in order to improve air quality in every room. While these advances improve the energy performance of the overall system thanks to high-performance products, they also make precise control of the ventilation system in each room essential to avoid deterioration in IAQ. Measuring at the heart of the system, in each room and in addition to product control, becomes essential for effective action.

Designing healthier buildings from the outset

By integrating IAQ into the design phase, we can create buildings that are both more durable and more comfortable for their interior spaces, in particular by controlling indoor humidity. This involves choosing low-emissivity materials, designing interior ventilation systems to regulate humidity, and above all integrating Indoor Air Quality sensors capable of measuring humidity in each interior environment.

The sensors enable continuous monitoring of pollutant levels in indoor air, as well as humidity, and adapt the operation of the building's indoor equipment according to the humidity measured. This approach is in line with the logic of intelligent, connected buildings, capable of optimizing indoor comfort.

The role of connected sensors in IAQ management

Measurement solutions play a key role in managing Indoor Air Quality in buildings, ensuring compliance with current regulations. Nexelec sensors, designed for residential and tertiary buildings as well as numerous establishments, enable real-time monitoring of essential indicators such as CO₂, temperature, humidity or even volatile organic compounds in establishments, to ensure ongoing compliance with current regulations.

Thanks to connected technologies such as LoRaWAN, these sensors can be easily integrated into Building Management Systems (BMS). They provide reliable data to control ventilation, optimize energy consumption and guarantee healthy indoor air for building occupants.

A lever for building performance and value enhancement

Over and above the health and safety of occupants, IAQ becomes a genuine lever for overall performance, thanks to continuous monitoring based on measurement and adapted equipment. A building that integrates air quality measurement and control solutions relies on reliable equipment to ensure effective monitoring of the indoor environment, contributes to health, better meets regulatory requirements, improves user comfort and enhances the value of its real estate assets thanks to the measurement of key parameters provided by the equipment.

Building owners, operators and managers have every interest in relying on solutions like those proposed by Nexelec, to deploy dedicated Indoor Air Quality monitoring equipment, based on measurement, and place health at the heart of their construction projects.