THE IQ OF IAQ

Smart buildings must prioritise indoor air quality as a vital, real-timemeasure of occupant health, comfort, and overall building performance.

- Mick Reilly, Director - Head of Building Services, Cundall

Indoor air quality (IAQ), along with broader Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is fundamental to human health, cognitive function and comfort. Yet, it continues to sit on the periphery of many building services and building technology strategies. This continues to be missed opportunity for high performing buildings, and as we learn more, potentially dangerous one.

It’s estimated that we spend up to 90% of our time indoors, whether at homes, at work, shopping, dining, schools, or public transport hubs; the buildings we spend time in have an undeniably profound impact on the health, happiness, and productivity of their occupants.

In countries like India where high temperatures, humidity, and fine dust particles compromise outdoor air quality, the buildings become our protective shell.

But what if the air inside is just as harmful? Numerous studies have shown that common indoor pollutants such as CO2, PM2.5 and VOCS have both immediate and long-term negative health effects. Elevated CO2 levels can impair decision-making and cognitive function, poor ventilation contributes to the spread of airborne pathogens; particulate matter-particularly from poorly maintained HVAC systems or external infiltration into leaky buildings-can exacerbate respiratory and cardiovascular issues.

Yet buildings, including those marketed as “smart,” rarely have real-time IAQ monitoring or response capability in place.

A smart building is a healthy building