In sectors such as health and social care protecting staff and vulnerable people is really important to stop the spread of diseases. It also means employees should therefore have less time off due to sickness, which is a problem when there is a shortage of staff. This is when the health index, as well as the air quality index, provided by the HALO Smart Sensor 3C , could help facilities managers support staff, patients or residents better.
The Health Index provides a real-time indication of the potential risk for the spread of airborne infectious disease in a building. While medical interventions and the development of vaccines can reduce risks for diseases like COVID and flu there are significant risks of transmission, especially if there is poor ventilation in a building.
To provide the information for the health index the HALO detects:
- Carbon Dioxide (CO₂): Higher levels of this gas can be an indication of an unhealthy indoor space as people naturally breathe out this gas and high concentrations will occur when areas are too crowded and there is poor ventilation. Research has found that concentrations as low as 1,000 parts per million (ppm) can affect people’s cognitive function and decision-making performance.
- Particulate Matter (1 μm, 2.5 μm, 10 μm): This is a mix of particles and droplets in the air. PM sized 10 micrometres or smaller can be considered to be a risk to health as they can be inhaled but additionally high concentrations can indicate the presence of infectious diseases as viruses are commonly transmitted attached to very fine particulates.
- Humidity (RH): if the humidity is high the air feels warmer than the official, recorded temperature and it can contribute to feelings of low energy and lethargy.
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): These are gases emitted from a variety of materials that can have short- and long-term health effects and tend to be found in higher concentrations inside. Short-term exposure to low levels of VOCs can cause throat irritation, nausea, fatigue, and other minor complaints. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of VOCs has been linked to more severe respiratory irritation as well as liver and kidney damage.
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂): High levels of nitrogen oxide are associated with respiratory diseases and higher prevalence of asthma, which can result in hospital admissions.
If facilities managers are particularly concerned about the indoor air quality there is also a specific index which will give them the information needed. The factors detected for the air quality index are:
- Particulate Matter (2.5 μm, 10 μm): Indoor PM levels can be influenced by outdoor sources like vehicle exhaust, wildfires, and power plant emissions. But many indoor activities produce PM as well: cooking, burning fireplaces, and smoking are just a few common sources.
- Carbon Monoxide (CO): This is an odourless, colourless gas which in high concentrations can be deadly. Exposure to lower levels sometimes given off by fuel-burning appliances can also cause adverse reactions, including confusion and memory loss.
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂): This is a gas that occurs naturally but can be increased by human activity, primarily through the combustion of fossil fuels.
As well as giving people the ability to take simple actions like opening windows, the HALO Smart Sensor can be connected to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems with a BACnet interface to notify it to let more air into the room to reduce CO₂.
Real-time alerts allow facilities managers to take actions quickly and management has been improved with the introduction of the HALO mobile app and the improved HALO Cloud platform. This provides easy access to historical data and makes managing multiple devices more straight forward.
If you want to know more about how the health and air quality indexes could support your organisation please contact us.