Website Helps Managers Navigate through IAQ Challenges

As education and commercial facilities continue to address indoor air quality (IAQ) in their buildings, facility managers continue to seek advice on the best way to invest in HVAC system upgrades. 

The Sheet Metal and Air Conditional Contractors National Association (SMACNA) recently launched a website to help managers navigate the waters of improving IAQ, ranked by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board among the top five environmental risks to public health. Poor air quality inside facilities due to poor ventilation and underperforming HVAC systems leaves people exposed to air pollutants 2-5 times worse than outdoor pollutants. 

WeAreWhatWeBreathe.com gives managers a roadmap to solutions, providing information such as: 

• How IAQ can improve occupant health 
• A guide to identifying federal and state funding opportunities 
• A database of SMACNA-member contractors 

Even as more schools continue to address their HVAC systems due to the various forms of federal funding that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, IAQ continues to remain foremost on the minds of building occupants, and for good reason. 

According to the Science Advisory Board: 

• Poor air quality contributes to $150 billion in illness-related costs per year. 
• About 36,000 schools nationwide need HVAC repairs or upgrades. 
• Workers in offices with low pollutant levels have double the cognitive function of offices with average levels of the same pollutants. 
• Reducing carbon dioxide levels from 2,300 parts per million (ppm) to 900 ppm could raise students’ test performance by 5 percent.  

Dave Lubach is executive editor for the facility market. 

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