IndoorAirQualityEach day, more and more awareness and attention go out to the importance of clean air, but how does one know if own indoor air quality is acceptable or needs improvement? Air quality is a difficult concept to grasp and the impact of poor air quality is often not immediately visible.

Guessing if your indoor air contains clean air is a challenge. The presence of high dust loads on windowsills and furniture indicates there are many large particles in the air, but the smaller particles, the ultrafine particle matter, which are much more dangerous for health, are not visible.

Quality of air is determined by the diverse composition of components in it. Any deviation or excessive amounts of any pollutant will eventually cause an impact on health and/or comfort. Some symptoms may be caused by several potential reasons. Taking action to resolve such issues will require first clarity on what is really the root cause and what is actually in the air we breathe. For example:

When many employee complain about headaches and concentration issues, this can indicate there is a high CO2 and low oxygen concentration in the air. However, it may also be an indication to presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s), so what is the real cause?

High particulate matter concentrations also affect your health. But are the particulate matter concentrations in your building too high? Knowing for sure is impossible, as you do not have proper measurement tools or the expertise to indicate this.

Turn doubt into knowing

To erase the doubt of the own indoor air quality and to find possible points of attention, VFA Solutions performs air quality measurements. During these measurements, depending on the chosen protocol, various aspects are identified. Hereby, you know exactly what the status of your air quality is. Think about measuring the particulate matter concentration, the CO2 concentration, the concentration of a specific gas, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), relative humidity, temperature and even light intensity. All these aspects influence your indoor air quality and indoor environment. When one or multiple aspects differ from the norm, this can have a huge impact on the comfort and health of your indoor environment. Identifying the status of these aspects is therefore step one.

Not only will VFA Solutions identify the status of your air quality and indoor environment, this will come with a advice report which lists optimalisation points. Hereby, you know exactly which steps need to be taken to optimize your indoor air quality and indoor environment. This advice varies per situation and can include adjusting the settings of your ventilation system, as well as implementing (extra) air purification or an adjustment in the ventilation behaviour of your employees.

Which measurements does VFA Solutions offer?

VFA Solutions offers a number of standard air quality measurements. We will identify per customer what the need is and possibly adjust or expand the air quality measurements. Below, an overview of the standard measurement protocols is provided, of course much more is possible. Contact us for more information.

  • Particle matter measurements 1 day
    Measurements will be focused on the particulate matter and ultrafine particulate matter concentration and sources. The results will be tested according the norms and particulate matter sources will be identified.What will be measured:
    – Particulate matter concentration
    – Extra costs: VOC concentration (volatile organic compounds)
    – Extra costs: specific gas measurements and analysis
  • Air quality measurements 1 week
    Complete air quality measurements during 1 week, with measurements which log the data.What will be measured:
    – Particulate matter concentration
    – Relative humidity
    – CO2 concentration
    – Temperature
    – Extra costs: VOC concentration (volatile organic compounds)
    – Extra costs: specific gas measurements and analysis
  • Air quality measurements 2 weeks
    Complete air quality measurements as mentioned at Air quality measurements 1 week, during 2 weeks.
  • Specific gas and odour measurements
    Air quality measurements focused on one or multiple specific gases and/or odours.

Are you unsure about your air quality or indoor environment? Please contact us for air quality measurements and turn your doubt into knowledge.

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