Guidelines

CO2 and humidity are often the cause of health problems

Research shows that incorrect C02 and humidity levels are often the cause of regular health complaints in schools, offices and other busy areas. Commonly mentioned are fatigue, headaches and dry or irritated eyes. See, among others, GGD guideline – assessment of ventilation in schools.

For a healthy indoor climate, with good air quality, the AurAir® CO2 meter has an easy to read and understand screen layout, using color coding (traffic light) to present the different air quality levels. The AurAir expresses CO2 level in parts per million (ppm) and relative humidity in percentage (%).

Guidelines for CO2 in indoor areas such as schools

In line with the guidelines on coronavirus and the use of ventilation, heating and cooling. As formulated by the GGD, the ARBO catalogs of Primary and Secondary Education and the Program Fresh Schools class C, AurAir uses the following color coding to display the CO2 level:

• GREEN: 400 to 800 ppm is good (400 is the outside air level)
• ORANGE: 800 to 1200 is medium
• RED: 1200+ is bad (1200 is really the indoor air limit)

The Building Code is based on a certain air exchange rate, which can also include natural ventilation (opening windows and doors). This natural ventilation can cause problems in the winter. For this reason, we prefer to adhere to the stricter rules of the GGD. In addition, these are based on the continuous monitoring of the highly variable air quality instead of one-time testing of static architectural aspects.

We hope we will never find the following values, but we give you as an illustration:

• 5,000 ppm is very bad and is allowed for up to 8 hours a day
• 10,000 ppm is very bad and allowed for a maximum of 15 minutes per day
• 10,000+ can be deadly

Indoor humidity guidelines

Based on scientific research, we use the following guidelines for humidity:

• Between 40% and 60%: perfect
• Below 40%: air is too dry. This can affect your eyes (dry eyes, especially for lens wearers)
• Above 60%: Air is too humid. This is bad for your lungs and causes mold in closed spaces.

Air quality is also a problem in corporations

A study also found that employees consider good air quality to be the most important:

• Only 1 in 4 employees say the air quality in their office is optimal for them to do their best work.
• 45% say their companies could improve their wellness by providing fresh and allergen-free quality air.
• Nearly 1/2 of employees say poor air quality makes them get sleepier throughout their workday.
• Almost 1/3 experience itchy, watery eyes or throat irritation at work.
• 85% say the air quality in their home or outdoors is better than at work.