How to Improve Indoor Environmental Quality
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is the term for the way the overall condition of a building impacts the health of its users. When buildings have high IEQ, they’re productive and healthy places to work. But, when environmental quality is low, buildings can have a seriously detrimental effect on your health.
In fact, a number of studies have highlighted the adverse impacts building can have on people that use them. Buildings can reduce our ability to concentrate, affect the quality of the work that we’re able to do, and even make us physically unwell.
And poor IEQ has serious financial implications too. According to one study, health issues related to indoor environmental quality are costing US businesses as much as $70 billion annually.
So what can you do about it? In this article, we’ll share some pointers and advice. From new technologies to simple strategies you can implement today, there are many things you can do that make a real difference.
But first, let’s dig into what we mean when we talk about indoor environmental quality.
The key aspects of indoor environmental quality
When it comes to indoor environmental quality, a number of different factors have a big impact:
Indoor air quality. Dubbed by the World Health Organisation as the “biggest environmental risk to health”, poor indoor air quality is responsible for the deaths of as many as 6.5 million people around the world each year. That’s down to the health effects of pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter.
Yet indoor air pollution doesn’t have to be fatal to be harmful. For example, CO2 is a natural product of respiration that at levels typically found in buildings isn’t enough to cause serious harm. However, it is known to reduce productivity and make people unwell—and that’s a big enough problem by itself.
Temperature and thermal comfort. We know that the temperature of a building affects people’s ability to work effectively, but the implications of poorly regulated temperature go deeper: according to a study we conducted among employees in 2022, 62% said that discomfort due to temperature affects their mental wellbeing.
Damp and humidity levels. News stories from the UK have revealed the serious impact of damp on the wellbeing of building users. While the focus has rightly been on domestic settings, commercial buildings are affected too.
High humidity is known to cause physical discomfort, as well as to encourage mould growth. But, on the other hand, if humidity is too low, it can affect people’s ability to work effectively.
Lighting. According to one study into IEQ, one in three workers consider comfortable light to be essential to their daily health. While it’s often overlooked, natural light can reduce eye strain, headaches, and other physical symptoms.
Cleanliness. A healthy building is a building that’s clean—i.e. free of dirt, dust, and pollutants. However, not all conventionally “clean” buildings are healthy. Many cleaning products can themselves be a source of air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Acoustics. While overlooked in most discussions of environmental quality, sound levels are an important element. Too much noise can cause distraction and headaches, and can reduce the ability to concentrate.
What are the benefits of improving your building’s environmental quality?
Improving all of the different aspects of indoor environmental quality can boost your employees’ wellbeing and productivity:
Reduce the risk of sick building syndrome. Sick building syndrome is the name for a range of symptoms experienced by occupants who spend time in or around specific buildings. These symptoms can include headaches, eye irritation, a dry cough and difficulty breathing, chills, and nausea.
The thing is that these symptoms are thought to be caused by the building itself. Improve key elements of IEQ—such as air quality—and you’ll likely relieve these symptoms.
Support staff wellbeing, including mental health. Unhealthy indoor environments can have effects that aren’t immediately obvious. For example, one study found a link between IAQ and stress. Meanwhile, air pollution has been linked to increased risk of depression and anxiety.
Improve productivity and concentration. In a recent study we conducted among hybrid workers, eight in 10 said that they were aware that carbon dioxide affects their productivity levels.
On the flip side, it’s well documented that improved conditions boost productivity. One study found that improved IAQ alone can boost productivity by as much as $6,500 a year per employee.
Comply with the law. Countries are increasingly legislating to enforce indoor environmental standards in public buildings and workspaces. For example, in the UK, new building regulations were introduced in 2022 to encourage managers of commercial buildings to improve levels of VOCs, carbon dioxide, and humidity.
The commercial, human, and environmental benefits of improved IEQ are undeniable. Read on to find out how to make a difference in your own buildings.
How to improve indoor environmental quality
How can you boost indoor environmental quality in your workplace? Here are 6 steps you can implement today.
Continually track IAQ levels
Air quality is perhaps the single most significant factor of IEQ, with over half of employees we surveyed saying that poor air quality has a negative impact on their physical and mental health.
But the reality is that many workplaces don’t even know that they have IAQ problems. That’s why managing environmental quality indoors has to start with measuring the quality of the air.
Conventionally, that’s done with hand-held sensors. While this is a start, it’s a strategy that’s really labour intensive. But there is a smarter way.
That’s Infogrid’s Healthy Buildings system. Install IAQ sensors across your workplace and receive real-time alerts about air quality centrally. It can help you track all the main sources of indoor air pollution, including carbon dioxide, VOCs, particulate matter, and more.
Automate climate controls for maximum efficiency
Uncomfortable workplace temperatures are preventing people from working at their best. But these days, when it just costs so much to heat a building, it can feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.
There is a better way. For example, why not automate your temperature controls to target heating to exactly where it’s needed to avoid wasting energy?
Think about it. If occupancy levels in a particular room are high, you might want to lower the heating levels, and if the room is unoccupied, you might not need the heating on at all.
The same goes for ventilation systems. High occupancy levels require better ventilation, as many people can make a room stuffy—increasing the chance of viral transmission. So you need a HVAC system that responds to live occupancy levels.
By using an automated temperature monitoring system, you can optimise climate across all of your buildings. You’ll improve employee wellbeing, comfort, and productivity, all whilst saving on energy costs and reducing your carbon footprint.
Find out more: Using Building Intelligence for HVAC: Benefits and Examples
Improve natural light
After air quality, light level is the factor that affects employee comfort the most. That said, for many offices, it’s not always the easiest thing to improve.
Ideally, throughout the design stage of your building, you should strive to create spaces that bring as much natural light as possible into the office. Large windows will be your most obvious ally in this.
But for many buildings, that opportunity might have been missed. In this case, your goal should be to make your artificial light as balanced, comfortable, and natural-seeming as possible.
For example, office light shouldn’t be too bright or direct, as it will increase the chances of employee discomfort and eye strain. Instead, a good way to mimic natural light is to use LED panels, rather than fluorescent lamps. An added benefit is that these are highly energy efficient too.
What’s more, it can help office environments to use lights to create different zones across the space. Using low lighting in booths, for example, can improve the sense of privacy, while focused lamps can help individuals concentrate on their own tasks.
Create areas where people can really talk in privacy
Office cubicles help people focus on their own work without the distractions of other people’s conversations. Right?
Actually, no. This widely believed myth has partitioned up office spaces for decades, while actually encouraging people to talk louder. Obviously, that doesn’t create the conditions for productive work.
In fact, studies have found that offices without partitions are quieter than those with, while being more social too.
So, what can you actually do?
Tear down those walls and create separate areas for noisy tasks and quiet concentration. If you can, using sound-absorbing materials in your office can help too.
Make cleaning processes smart and green
To improve environmental quality, cleaning processes should be effective, efficient, and non-polluting.
Office workers know this themselves. In a study we conducted, 60% of office-based employees said that they want building managers to use data to improve cleaning processes. You’d do well to take their advice. Smart cleaning processes powered by data can help you identify and target the areas of your building that need the most attention.
For example, you can use smart sensors to track desk usage. Rather than cleaning every single workstation, focus your resources on those that actually need cleaning instead. Similarly, combine restroom usage sensors with user satisfaction panels, so that cleaning teams can respond quickly when there’s an urgent need.
Ultimately, it can help you maintain cleaning standards without you needing to overuse consumables or waste employee time.
Find out more in our ebook: How Data Can Revolutionise Your Cleaning Processes
Maintain energy efficiency
Whatever you do in your building, don’t lose sight of the impact you’re having on the wider world.
The built environment contributes roughly 40% of the world’s carbon emissions—and as much of a third of that is wasted through inefficient processes. Environmental quality indoors should contribute to environmental sustainability everywhere.
Focusing on energy efficiency can be a great way to ensure your building processes are as sustainable as possible. But, usually, it’s not enough merely to monitor how much energy you’re using overall.
Instead, with Infogrid’s Sustainable Buildings system you can track the energy efficiency of all your individual building processes individually. For example, smart energy sensors can measure the impact of your HVAC system across your building, so you know where and when it’s least efficient.
At Infogrid, we helped a supermarket do exactly that. It saved them $1.6 million on their HVAC system alone.
Let Infogrid help
At Infogrid, we help businesses and commercial building managers make their offices and commercial spaces healthier and more efficient.
By combining the world’s smartest sensors with cutting-edge artificial intelligence, our building intelligence systems can help you too—improve indoor environmental quality, boost productivity, and drive sustainability.
Book a demo today to find out how it works.