The Challenge

Good air quality is crucial for our health and wellbeing. The importance of good indoor air quality has been tragically brought to the fore by COVID-19. Simply increasing ventilation to improve indoor air quality can have the unintended consequence of leading to less energy efficient buildings at a time when achieving net-zero carbon buildings has never been more urgent. NAQTS believes that we must embrace a holistic and balanced approach to the built environment that balances indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and the potential for airborne transmission of viruses [1]. It is in this space that NAQTS has been undertaking some exciting new research and development to create new technologies and testing services.

“NAQTS has significant experience and expertise in the development and use of high-end air quality monitoring systems for research purposes. It is clear from the current situation that more widespread measurements of indoor air quality are both needed now, and moving forwards to make sure that buildings are providing a good environment for its occupants.

We are excited to embark upon this next step in our journey to provide reliable and holistic air quality information. We will be furthering our collaborations with Lancaster University to take all that we have learned in the development of high- end air quality instruments, and put them into a scalable, lower-cost device.”

Douglas Booker | Co-Founder & CEO of NAQTS

Researching The Solution

Collaborating with the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation and the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, our goal is to gain a much better understanding of how affordable indoor air quality sensors can help simultaneously decarbonise the UK building stock, promote good indoor air quality, and reduce the likelihood of airborne virus transmission. NAQTS is working with Adrian Friday, Professor of Computing and Sustainability at Lancaster University, and an expert in developing and studying infrastructure for real world ubiquitous systems.

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“I’m really excited to embark on this new collaboration with NAQTS. There’s huge potential for how these new sensorplatforms can help stakeholders better understand and manage the air quality in the environments we’re providing in our schools and workplaces. This could really transform these spaces for their occupants and help provide new insights on the energy air quality dichotomy.”

Professor Adrian Friday | Professor of Computing and Sustainability at Lancaster University

Together with Professor Adrian Friday, NAQTS have recruited a new PhD Researcher, Iman Hussain, to help design, test, and validate an Internet of Things (IoT) mesh network of indoor air quality sensors that can be used to:

• Improve indoor air quality
• Reduce the energy demand of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)
• Improve our understanding and control of airflow to reduce the risk of airbornetransmission of SARS-CoV-2 (and other viruses)
• Work with stakeholders to address their information needs

Iman has a background in IoT and data analytics – including a recent award for his team’s entry into IBM’s ‘Call for Code Hackathon’ which involved using a networked system to redistribute food locally – and looks to bring his passion for using technology for good to help to further our understanding of localised atmospheric conditions in buildings and public spaces.

“COVID-19 and its subsequent lockdowns have offered us a unique opportunity to step back and really think about the air we breathe and its longstanding effects on our health and wellbeing. The research I will do with NAQTS will help to refine our understanding of how we design and use buildings for the better.”

Iman Hussain | PhD Researcher at Lancaster University

Outcomes

With a rapid transformation of the UK’s building stock required to decarbonise, a radical shift in building use resulting from a post-COVID world, and the need to adapt to respond to an increasingly dynamic climate, the new indoor air quality monitoring technologies and testing services that are developed as part of this project should be impactful for a wide range of stakeholders.

[1] You can read more about how we manage these dichotomies with indoor air quality monitoring on other blogposts detailing our work with the University of Chester, and measuring in 20 schools around the UK.