Indoor Air Quality
How Indoor Air Quality Affects the Tenant Experience
With contributions from indoor air quality experts from across the globe For several years NAFA and BOMA have collaborated to educate building owners and operators on the benefits of clean air. At BOMA’s request and for this article the question of how indoor air quality affects the tenant experience was posed to a group of subject matter experts with experience in the United States, Mexico and Australia, including those from the business side of the filtration industry and those in filtration research. The following are their responses, which offer some insight on how filtration could transform building IAQ in a post-pandemic world.
Nathan Wittman, CAFS, NCT President, National Air Filtration Association Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Filter Technology Company, Inc.
has prompted questions to property management specifically relating to facility maintenance practices, filtration levels, and most importantly demonstratable documentation regarding IAQ.
Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, tenants of commercial facilities operated under the assumption that the supplied air to their workspace and the general indoor air quality within a facility was “good” or “acceptable” for occupancy. Few occupants questioned property management and overall, the level of IAQ within a facility was taken for granted. A small percentage of commercial facilities pursued improvements in HVAC filtration and general IAQ. These investments were mainly focused on new equipment requirements, facility energy benefits, or longer service life products that may concurrently include higher levels of particulate capture efficiency. Additionally, many of these investments in improved filtration and IAQ were prompted by property ownership or management pursing larger certifications resulting in facility recognition. Generally, IAQ was a small portion of the larger plan. Overall occupants were unaware of the role filtration and IAQ impacts their experience within the workplace.
The tenants and occupants within workspaces are increasingly aware and knowledgeable regarding IAQ. Previously, perceived differences in IAQ only occurred in response to occupant comfort changes. Individual occupant experiences, some resulting from seasonal allergies, unfamiliar odors, or humidity and temperature changes generated IAQ complaints that were addressed by management on a case-by-case basis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many areas of life, increased awareness and interest in indoor air quality is one of the primary items on that list. Tenants and occupants have increasingly sought out education regarding IAQ topics and the potential impact of how inadequate levels of both ventilation and filtration can negatively affect their comfort and perceived safety. Occupant awareness and knowledge
Today, due to higher levels of occupant education on these topics, the filtration industry, has seen both facility ownership demand improvements in filtration levels and a greater overall public demand for superior indoor air quality within the workplace. A larger percentage of tenants are now concerned about the air they breathe during the workday. They are also aware and understand there may be imperceivable differences between acceptable or unacceptable levels of IAQ unrelated to their comfort. These new concerns directly impact occupant satisfaction regarding their job, employer, and the facilities that maintain the indoor air quality in their workspace. Property management and ownership will need to proactively, rather than reactively, address tenant IAQ concerns from the overall facility operations level, rather than just a singular localized concern or complaint. Superior filtration, and high levels of indoor air quality are required moving forward, our occupants and tenants now demand it.
Nathaniel Nance Vice President of Global Research and Development-HVAC AAF Flanders
Michael Corbat NAFA BOD & Treasurer, Vice President of Engineering RENSA Filtration
Air quality has profound health implications in indoor environments where the US population normally spends most of their time. Indoor air, in particular, can expose tenants to noxious chemicals, particulates, and a variety of infectious agents as well as pollen and other allergens. Emerging pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi have also been detected in indoor air, with a strong potential for airborne dissemination and contamination. The quality of indoor air is, therefore, a prominent public health concern in residential environments as more and more clients work from home.
Indoor Air Quality impacts on the general tenant is just coming into focus due to lessons learned from the Coronavirus pandemic. For a long time, researchers believed that pollutants in the air could significantly affect the mortality of a human over an extended period of time. However due to new understandings through research of common air pollutants combined with a better understanding of how virus behave, we now see that indoor air quality has a dramatic acute effect on the inhabitant.
There have been significant trends in both industry recommendations and standards in which the general public are educating themselves and demanding better filtration for improved health. This progression is following the trend of tap water a few decades prior where the more educated the consumer, the more the consumer wants to mitigate risk. Filtration companies are providing more options and advancing offerings for the tenant space to support this change in customer preference and regulation.
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Tenant Experience Guide | October 2021
Some examples of a reduction in indoor air pollutants have shown up in the reduction and in some localities, removal of all natural gas devices, especially stoves that cause a very large amount of both gaseous and particulate contaminants. These types of contaminants have begun to show the ability to highly effect a tenant’s ability to focus and work while also affecting mood. This is not dissimilar from previous finding surrounding the effects of lighting in a facility. Combined this with the global pandemic which brought the importance of air cleaning to the forefront of many building owners, there has been a surge in lost time and lost productivity due to poor indoor air quality. The good news for most owners is that it is often an easy fix through ventilation and filtration.
