Do You Need to Test Air Quality Every Year for WELL Certification?

If you’re working on a WELL project, then you know that you’re required to test your air quality for initial WELL certification. That means taking measurements of each parameter listed in precondition A01: PM2.5, PM10, CO2, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), carbon monoxide, and ozone. 

However, we’ve had many WELL APs and projects reach out asking if this is a one-time requirement or if they have to keep testing their air quality every year — and the answer isn’t as straightforward as you might expect.

Understanding Testing Frequency in WELL Air Quality Requirements

The short answer is yes; you need to measure all of the parameters in A01 throughout your building and submit your data every year. You can find this requirement under Feature A01, Part 5: Measure Air Parameters — this is a fixed requirement for all WELL building projects.

However, unlike for initial certification, you don’t have to meet any specific thresholds for your annual tests. All you have to do is measure your air quality and submit the data. When the IWBI goes in to review your annual air quality testing report, they’re not going to comb through your readings and revoke your certification because your PM2.5 levels are slightly elevated — this would only happen at your re-certification at the three-year mark.

If you do find that certain parameters are too high during your annual test, that’s a great opportunity to figure out where your building operations are going wrong and make the necessary improvements to get those parameters under control before you go in for re-certification.

How Continuous IAQ Monitoring Can Help You Stay Compliant With WELL

If you have continuous indoor air quality (IAQ) monitors installed for your project, then performing your annual air quality tests for WELL becomes as simple as clicking a few buttons and submitting your data. Because you’re monitoring air quality around the clock, you already have all of the data you need to comply with WELL’s annual testing requirements.

This is far simpler and more cost-effective than the traditional performance testing method, where you have to pay a testing agent to come to your building(s) once a year and take dozens of measurements.

On top of the additional costs and disruptions to your building operations, performance testing only provides a single measurement for air quality parameters each year — this significantly limits visibility into your building performance and can make it challenging to identify and evaluate IAQ optimizations.

With continuous monitors, you can leverage real-time data, recorded every day, to gain deeper insights into how well each space within your project manages and optimizes air quality.

Simplify Annual Air Quality Testing for WELL With Kaiterra

Kaiterra’s portfolio of WELL-compliant air quality monitors makes air quality testing hassle-free and cost-effective by continuously measuring every required parameter and compiling the data in a WELL-friendly, ready-to-submit format. To learn more about how Kaiterra can help support your WELL project, reach out to our team today!