Smoke Season: How HVAC Automation Keeps Your Building’s Occupants Happy and Healthy

Building automation—especially when it comes to your HVAC system—is key to a healthy indoor environment when the smoke rolls in. 

When air quality outdoors goes down, it’s important to be able to provide a safe, comfortable space indoors. That’s where HVAC automation and expertise come in. 

Cleaner air spaces

The Government of Canada points to public spaces like libraries, community centres and schools as “cleaner air spaces,” meaning spaces where people can get a breath of clean air when smoke rolls in.  

Improve air quality indoors

There are multiple ways to improve the air quality in your space—but the best ones start with your HVAC system. 

Fine particulate matter filtration

Being able to filter fine particulate matter is one of the most important ways to improve air quality. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are the invisible particles that can cause harm to human health when inhaled. Filtering these particles is a huge step in keeping indoor air quality high. The right air conditioning systems are able to use filtration to keep these harmful particles out of the air in your building. 

Air quality monitoring 

Building automation makes monitoring air quality a breeze through sensors that search for a variety of harmful pollutants that may make it into your indoor atmosphere. On top of particulate matter and a variety of other compounds, sensors monitor for carbon monoxide (CO), another invisible threat when it comes to smoke and fires. Building automation integration should also include functioning CO alarms.

HVAC automation

When striving to maintain high indoor air quality, it’s important to hit certain targets for things like PM2.5, CO and CO2 levels; relative humidity; and temperature. That’s a lot to keep track of! Building automation systems remove the guesswork from monitoring levels, and also automatically adjust systems accordingly, so clean air is no sweat. 

Bonus: air purification

Beyond automated ventilation systems and air quality monitoring, it doesn’t hurt to have portable air purifiers on hand for your office space. These portable air filtration systems can give an additional boost to air quality in smaller spaces. 

Work with an automation, HVAC and electrical company in the Thompson-Okanagan that knows how to keep your occupants safe. See how Kimco can help you today.