"Please ventilate
"

The importance of CO2 sensor technology in the working environment and as a COVID containment measure during the pandemic.

by Mitchell Klein

A smiling man with glasses and dark hair in front of a window wall

Modern building with open windows and reflective glass façade against a blue sky.

The news and media are propagating compliance with general safety measures against SARS-CoV-2; a quick grab for disinfectant has almost become automatic for us. However, regular ventilation of rooms where people are present is just as important as the use of disinfectants or face masks.

For offices or social rooms without technical ventilation, the rule is to ventilate for at least 15 minutes before using them - especially if other people have been there before (Federal Environment Agency, 2020; Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik, 2020). This is related to the transmission path of coronaviruses identified by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) via aerosols in the air, the occurrence of which in turn correlates strongly with the CO2 value of the room air. So if the CO2 value in the room air rises sharply, the aerosol load will also be high, as there is more exhaled air in the room. These aerosols spread to every corner within a few seconds to minutes and can have devastating consequences if one of those present is infected. Even if the minimum distance regulation is observed and the 2-meter office concept is implemented, the high aerosol concentration - combined with a lack of fresh air supply - would make staying in this room hazardous to health.

However, if we can control the CO2 level in a room, we significantly reduce the risk of infection. An internal observation in our own offices confirms the effect of an open window, even if only one window in a larger room can be opened inwards. The following diagram shows the CO2 concentration with the window closed and with the window open inwards.

Diagram with air quality or pollutant measurement, shows an increase in the ppm value, markings for three open windows and three closed windows.

The CO2 level should be well below 1000 ppm - a value of around 410 to 800 ppm would be optimal, with an outdoor concentration of around 350 ppm (Erdmann et al., 2002; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). It is of course better to have windows to the outside, as the sensors would detect an even lower CO2 level than shown here on the diagram.

Since office users are strongly advised to open windows to ventilate meeting rooms and offices, MazeMap Workplace offers the option of quickly and easily notifying users when CO2 levels have reached a critical level. To make this possible, CO2 sensors and some backend processes must be configured in the MazeMap Workplace system and installed in the desired rooms. The configuration depends on the requirements of the desired functions, including notification in the event that CO2 levels are too high, as well as a detailed and configurable dashboard where the CO2 statistics for a specific room can be displayed.

The process by which MazeMap Workplace users receive a notification depends on the form the notification is to take and who is authorized to receive it. Currently, users can choose between push notifications and email, and it can be specified that one or both types of notifications can be sent when the CO2 threshold is exceeded.

You can also configure who receives the notification. If the people-finding functionality has been set up in the building, MazeMap Workplace will only notify those users in the room in question so that they can ventilate the room. If desired, notifications can also be assigned to specific roles so that only users in a certain area of responsibility (e.g., real estate manager or facility manager) receive them.

Smartphone with notification of high CO2 concentration, home screen with appointment overview and messages. Cityscape in the background.

Using data derived from CO2 sensors, MazeMap Workplace can provide a detailed view of CO2 levels in a room at any given time. Configured users can then easily view and manage interactive indoor climate dashboards in the mobile app and portal. This allows for a better understanding of how a building is being used and enables improvements to be made accordingly. By integrating various CO2 sensors, MazeMap Workplace supports a healthy working environment to curb the spread of COVID-19 across a broad customer base, with the added benefit that improved air quality can increase cognitive performance in the office (Brueck, 2017).

Bibliography

Professional association for trade and goods logistics. (2020). What to consider for social rooms and sanitary facilities? Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.bghw.de/die-bghw/faq/faqs-rund-um-corona/allgemeine-schutzmassnahmen/was-ist-bei-sozialraeumen-und-sanitaerraeumen-zu-beachten

Brueck, H. (2017, November 10). Office air sometimes contains higher levels of carbon dioxide - here's what happened when we did a test. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/office-air-co2-levels-making-workers-tired-2017-11?r=DE&IR=T

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, September 1). Indoor Environmental Quality. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/hvac.html

Erdmann, C. A., Steiner, K. C., Apte, M. G., (2002). Indoor Carbon Dioxide Concentrations and Sick Building Syndrome Symptoms in the Base Study Revisited: Analyses of the 100 Building Dataset. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-08/documents/base_3c2o2.pdf

Robert Koch Institute. (2020, November 27). Infection control measures. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.rki.de/SharedDocs/FAQ/NCOV2019/FAQ_Liste_Infektionsschutz.html#FAQId14931446

Federal Environment Agency. (2020, August 12). The risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission indoors can be reduced by appropriate ventilation measures. Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/2546/dokumente/irk_stellungnahme_lueften_sars-cov-2_0.pdf