When approaching indoor air quality (IAQ) monitors designed for commercial buildings and office spaces, it can be tricky to find the best solution for your project. To help you choose the most suitable device, we put together some key considerations you should keep in mind when looking for a commercial air quality monitor, starting with expensive and common mistakes to avoid.
The most expensive mistake projects make is prioritizing technical specifications (like resolution or accuracy) over project goals, requirements, and limitations.
There are a lot of options out there for commercial air quality monitors (different hardware and software features, data integration options, installation methods, etc.). Projects can get easily overwhelmed and try to simplify their decision by pulling tech spec sheets from different vendors and comparing the numbers side-by-side, and making decisions based on the numbers listed.
While comparing tech specs is an important part of choosing an IAQ monitor, you can’t start and end your selection process by evaluating these numbers alone. A list of technical qualifications cannot provide a complete picture of how the monitor will meet your goals. But, in many cases, these are the only criteria projects will consider.
We’ve seen dozens of projects opt for a monitor because of arbitrary criteria listed on tech spec sheets, such as resolution, range, or odd parameters (that they may not even need to measure in their space, like SO2, for example).
If you jump right into the weeds of technical qualifications before understanding what you’re trying to achieve and what limitations you’re working with, you may end up with a monitor that fails to meet your goals, at which point you may need to completely switch solutions.
If you’re going for WELL and want to use IAQ monitors for your certification, all you need to do is look for a monitor that is RESET Grade B and part of the Works with WELL catalog. If your monitor has those two labels, then you’ve already ticked all of WELL’s boxes from a product compliance perspective.
However, what’s more important in this case is understanding how many points your potential air quality monitor can help you achieve. Different monitors provide different parameters, meaning not all devices will give you the same number of points.
Choosing a monitor that doesn’t measure every parameter WELL asks for could cause your project to miss out on several points, or even have to do performance testing to meet basic air concept requirements. But, with the right monitor, you can easily meet multiple preconditions and score up to nine points in both the air and thermal comfort concepts.
Now that we’ve covered the wrong way to choose a commercial air quality monitor — only evaluating tech specs — let’s talk about the right way to select a monitor: understanding the big picture of your project.
Getting the big picture of your project requires two assessments. The first is examining your goals, and the second is evaluating the physical requirements and/or preferences you’re working with. Put these assessments side-by-side to identify where they coincide, and use that overlap to narrow down your monitoring options to only the solutions that work best for your project.
Defining your goals for monitoring IAQ will help provide an overarching set of guidelines for what hardware and software features to look for in your solution. At Kaiterra, our clients typically have one of three goals for their project. However, some projects have multiple goals, in which case you should prioritize them so you can identify which selection criteria are most important.
WELL, LEED, Fitwel, and RESET certifications all have different requirements for monitoring IAQ, including:
• Parameters: Which are must-haves or nice-to-haves? This will differ among certifications as well as between different tiers of certification.Ensure your monitor offers seamless integration with your building management system (BMS) and/or integrated workplace management system (IWMS) through certified protocols.
If your goal is operational efficiency, prioritize monitors that are BTL-certified and support standard protocols like BACnet/IP or API integrations. If a potential solution uses a BACnet base, specify whether the vendor uses a BACnet/IP or BACnet/MSTP communication protocol.
Also, when it comes to integration, pay attention to your ideal data push interval (how often you need your data to be synced) and double-check that your monitor can support that.
Prioritize monitors that measure health-critical parameters (PM2.5, CO2, VOCs) and software that translates them into actionable metrics.
If your goal is only to optimize health and well-being for your occupants (meaning you don’t need to meet certification requirements or integrate with BMS), start by identifying which parameters are most important to you and then determine how you will evaluate the impact of improving them (improvements in air quality parameters, changes to productivity, etc.).
Also, consider what level of data access you want your solution to have. Many projects centered around health optimization want to show occupants how they’re working to improve the indoor environment, and will share this data online or present it on a screen in the lobby to keep occupants in the loop. If you want to publicize your IAQ data, be sure to screen vendors for tools that will allow you to easily do this.
The second part of understanding the big picture of your IAQ monitoring project is identifying the physical requirements, limitations, and preferences of your project. Evaluating the four categories below will help you narrow down your available options and make sure the monitor you choose will work well with your environment:
The rule of thumb is to choose hardwired power for new builds and battery power for retrofits. Your power choice depends entirely on your project stage: hardwiring offers permanence for new construction, while battery power offers more flexibility and less disruption in existing spaces.
If you’re hardwiring, be sure to check for any technical requirements, such as whether you need to use Power over Ethernet (PoE). In many cases, projects will have both options available in their building, at which point you will have to weigh the pros and cons of hardwired and battery-powered air quality monitors to decide which power option you prefer.
Select cellular connectivity if you want an independent network and Wi-Fi/Ethernet if you’re integrating with existing building infrastructure. Before choosing, verify if your building requires a specific connectivity type (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or LoRa) or has strict InfoSec policies that delay IT approval.
Your building may have certain requirements for installation, such as specific device placement rules or only allowing monitors to be attached to walls with tape. However, if you have the option to choose your installation plan, consider these three factors and take them into consideration when you evaluate air quality monitors:
• Location: Whether you want monitors on the walls, tabletops, or even on the ceiling, follow applicable placement guidelines to make sure your monitors are in the breathing zone and not too close to objects that could alter air quality readings.
• Installation method: Do you want to screw your monitors into the wall, or do you prefer peel-and-stick installation?Consider what kind of maintenance schedule is feasible for your project and screen vendors for how easily and efficiently their monitors can be maintained.
Maintenance includes battery replacements for battery-powered monitors and sensor calibrations (required for both hardwired and wireless monitors). WELL and RESET certifications require calibration once per year, making a modular sensor design a more efficient and cost-effective option than standard factory return calibration protocols.
After evaluating the big picture of your project, you should be able to narrow down an ocean of monitoring options to a couple of solutions that can deliver on your goals while satisfying the requirements and preferences of your project.
At this point, you’re ready to officially make your decision about which commercial IAQ monitor you will use for your project. At Kaiterra, we have three best practices for how we recommend our clients make this decision.
| WELL v2 | LEED v5 O+M | Fitwel v3 | |
|
PM2.5 & PM10 |
✅ Required in A01.1 +2 pts in A05 |
🟢 +2 pts for measuring Up to 4 pts for meeting threshold |
✅ Mandatory |
| TVOC | ✅ Required in A01.2 | 🟢 +2 pts for measuring | 🟢 Choose 3 |
|
CO2 |
✅ Required in A03 +2 pts in A06 |
🟢 +2 pts for measuring Up to 4 pts for meeting threshold |
✅ Mandatory |
|
O3 |
✅ Required in A01.3 +2 pts in A05 |
— |
⚪️ Choose 3 (Only testing allowed for now) |
|
CO |
✅ Required in A01.3 +1 pt in A05 (CO & NO2) |
— |
⚪️ Choose 3 (Only testing allowed for now) |
|
NO2 |
🟢 +1 pt in A05 (CO & NO2) |
— |
⚪️ Choose 3 (Only testing allowed for now) |
If you want a more permanent solution that requires little maintenance once installed, a hardwired solution may be ideal. Hardwiring your air quality monitors ensures secure power, connectivity, and data security.
Keep in mind that installation can be more costly and time-intensive than a wireless option because you may have to run new cabling. Because of this, hardwired solutions are often best for new builds or smaller projects with lower installation costs.
If you want more flexibility with your deployment, or if you have a retrofit or larger project, a wireless commercial air quality monitor may be the best choice. These solutions offer a much faster and more cost-effective installation process. It’s as simple as putting the device on the wall and powering it on; no need for specialized labor. These monitors can be easily moved around if your project goals or requirements change.
However, make sure to factor battery replacements into the total project costs. If possible, choose a monitor that offers an extended battery life (the Sensedge Go can reach up to eight years) to minimize the costs and time needed to change batteries.
If you want additional information about which type of solution is best for your project, we’ve written a full comparison between wired and wireless, battery-powered air quality monitors.
3. Choosing the right level of data analytics
Software is crucial because it allows you to make use of your data. Software analytics tools help you collect, analyze, and interpret your data to understand how to make the changes necessary to reach your goals.
However, many projects don’t give software the consideration it deserves and, in many cases, it usually becomes an afterthought. This is dangerous because you may end up buying a solution with software that doesn’t meet your needs, leaving you with tons of data that cannot be put to use.
To help our clients understand what type of dashboard/software solution to look for, we’ve identified four levels of data analysis that an IAQ solution can provide. The right level for your project depends on the scope of your deployment, what you want to achieve with your data, and what in-house resources and expertise you have available.
If you manage a commercial project with specific goals for IAQ, or if you need more than a handful of devices, we recommend choosing a software solution that can at least provide level-3 analytics. For projects with large-scale deployments that collect millions of data points each day, a level-4 dashboard will be ideal to help maximize the value from IAQ data and remove workload for internal teams.
Want a quick recap? Here’s a cheat sheet with our best practices for choosing a commercial IAQ sensor.
Talk to an IAQ monitoring expert on the Kaiterra team to learn more about which commercial air quality monitor is best suited for your project.