IoT company Eleven-x and Pinchin, one of Canada’s largest building science, environmental and health & safety consulting firms, have inked a partnership to deploy innovative new building and indoor environment monitoring.
The partners said that the offering will be part of a comprehensive solution to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 in support of safe building and workspace re-occupancy.
Risk assessment has been identified as a necessary step in opening more workplaces, according to the companies. Part of the risk mitigation involves addressing potential airborne transmission by managing ventilation rates, relative humidity and monitoring and communicating these conditions to staff and tenants.
The solution is based on a partnership that brings together two companies with very complimentary areas of expertise in indoor environment monitoring, with Pinchin, who provides solutions that ensure safe and healthy spaces in complex environments, and eleven-x and their expertise in integrating wireless solutions designed for real-time monitoring. The solution includes wireless, real-time monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and humidity for indoor environments. As businesses look to re-occupy in a post-COVID world, real-time continuous environmental monitoring, including the measurement of humidity and CO2 levels and optimizing ventilation, will be crucial.
CO2 is an indicator of how well an area is ventilated relative to the occupant load. High CO2 concentrations can indicate poor ventilation and / or locations where groups are gathering. Research supports the theory that keeping humidity levels between 40% and 60% reduces the transmission of viruses, according to the two companies. So real-time monitoring of CO2 and humidity levels can help building owners demonstrate that they are meeting American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)’ s ventilation and humidity recommendations. The data can also be used to demonstrate to staff and tenants that control measures are in place and effective.
The two companies have already collaborated on a solution that includes eleven-x’s XIU LoRaWAN interface and network services enabling wireless connectivity for Pinchin particulate monitors. The interface enables remote, real-time monitoring of the airborne particulate concentration in occupied public areas in busy retail and office settings adjacent to active construction sites. Additionally where measures are undertaken to maintain the construction site under negative pressure (ensure air only flows into the construction zone and not out) the system continuously monitors that pressure differential drastically reducing the potential for dust and odour to leave the construction site and impact the public.
“Real-time monitoring of spaces and environments is now more important than ever before, and we are excited to be able to help by providing solutions that will have a positive impact on people needing to be in offices and buildings,” said Jeff Grossi, CEO at Pinchin. “This collaboration of our indoor environment monitoring solutions along with eleven-x’s wireless technology expertise is not only very complimentary, but also very timely in that it offers a lot of opportunity moving forward.”
“This partnership with Pinchin is really about our technology working alongside theirs to bring safety to people in many different environments and enclosed spaces, which is going to be paramount as they return to work and moving forward,” said Dan Mathers, president and CEO of eleven-x.
