We've known for years that high concentrations of CO2, cause drowsiness and comfort and an inability to think, reason, retain information and respond.

In short, when CO2, levels go up, the productivity in your office, restaurant, factory or conference room goes down. Today's buildings are better insulated, but often more poorly ventilated.

During these past twenty years, our efforts to save energy by trapping heat and air conditioning may have backfired. In our zeal to seal out the outside world to button down, insulated and make our buildings "airtight" we've made many of them "ventilation tight" devoid of fresh air contributing to what's often called "sick building syndrome(SBS)." In the process, we've forgotten just how important adequate ventilation can be. Good ventilation depends on the crowd.

What may be good Ventilation for a few could be terrible ventilation for a few more. The fact is, as occupancy levels rise, so do the inevitable levels of CO2. And many areas of many buildings see occupancy rise regularly ... without any corresponding increase in ventilation. That's productivity lost.

1,001 is too many parts

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has a solemn recommendation.

Keep the CO2, levels in your building, office or restaurant room no higher than 1,000 parts per million of CO2. This is the essence 'of the ASHRAE Standard 62-1999 recommendation.' When ventilation is monitored and controlled automatically, based on prevailing CO2, levels at changing levels of occupancy ... energy savings can be as high as 50%! But there's more. Good ventilation saves in other ways, too. Not only is lost productivity found, and unnecessary energy costs saved, but direct health costs and downtime due to sickness can also be decreased.

Good ventilation clears the air ... reducing the sometimes deleterious effects of floating toxins and organic compounds that hang in the air. And reducing the spread of common viruses and bacteria that lead to temporary sickness, downtime and more lost productivity.

The real value of CO2, in Indoor Air Quality control is a very good indicator of ventilation rates within a space.

The time it takes for a room to reach equilibrium is dependent on the number of people in a room or building zone, the volume of the space and the ventilation rate within the space. If the room is poorly ventilated and has very low occupant densities, it may take a number of hours before the equilibrium level is reached. However, once concentrations inside exceeds a certain inside outside differential,(such as 700 ppm differential equal to 15 cfm per person) one can conclude that the ventilation rate is probably below acceptable levels.

1050 CO2 Monitor - To diagnose IAQ inefficiencies

The 1050 CO2 monitor is used for diagnosing ventilation inefficiences or distribution problems using CO2 as the surrogate index. As the number of people in the space increase the level of activity increases so will the CO2 concentration. Increased concentrations of CO2 in a space have also been linked to discomfort and increased perception of odour.

However, Indoor pollution sources and other indoor air quality (IAQ) proberns might exist even when indoor CO2 levels are measured below 1000 ppm.

Product Description

The carbon dioxide monitor uses state-of-the-art non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology to measure carbon dioxide levels in parts-per-million (ppm). The unit may be used as a hand-held portable for up to ninety minutes or may be mounted for continuous monitoring. This award-winning product features a unique membrane-covered waveguide and sample chamber resulting in a stable, reliable and
highly accurate carbon dioxide sensor.

Features / Benefits
• Non-Dispersive Infrared Technology

Provides stable, highly accurate highly accurate CO2 measurements

• Easy-to-read LCD Display
Continuously displays measured CO2, levels from 0-1,999 ppm

• Rechargeable, Internal Battery.
May be used as hand held portable and up to 90 minutes without recharging

• Fast response time of 20 seconds
carbon dioxide levels within space can be quickly determined

Applications

Some applications of CO2 measurement include the ability to measure:

• The need for ventilation in a office or building.
• Whether poor ventilation is contributing to an indoor air quality problem.
• How tight a building is under specific climatic conditions.
• Fresh air distribution of ventilation systems to ensure ventilated air is getting to the areas of building where it is needed.
• The natural air change rate of a building.
• The amount of ventilation actually provided by a mechanical ventilation system.
• To size ventilation properly to ensure excess outside air is not causing energy waste.