Back to the office: This is how you create a safe environment

Dutch society is slowly opening up again, which means that employees can go back to the office. Companies are busy with return plans after the corona pandemic in which a different way of working emerged. In many sectors, most people want to keep the option to work from home after the crisis. Creating a healthy and safe working environment is important to attract employees back to the office. IoT offers opportunities here.

With IoT, you can significantly improve the quality and safety of an office building. Rooms that are poorly ventilated can lead to concentration problems, headaches, and reduced energy. By improving the climate, you ensure higher productivity. Sufficient fresh air makes it more difficult for germs, such as corona, to spread. In addition to humidity and temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is an important indicator of the risk of contamination in a particular area. You can monitor these parameters with sensors and control the building management system in such a way that rooms stay well-ventilated.

Stand-alone solution Metior

Metior, is an example of an IoT solution that can help with this. This solution is a stand-alone multi-sensor that measures seven environmental parameters: temperature, light intensity, humidity, CO2, VOC (volatile organic compounds), noise, and the presence of people. It is a plug-and-play solution that communicates with the building management system via Modbus. Metior uses Bluetooth, which makes it easy to commission the system. Setpoints can be set via the building management system, such as the maximum temperature at which the system will automatically ventilate. Because Metior provides insight into the indoor climate, building managers can ensure that rooms remain well ventilated, guaranteeing the health and safety of visitors.

Number of people in a room

The number of people in a room affects the indoor climate. The more people in a room, the higher the CO2 concentration. With occupancy sensors, you can detect the number of people in a room. In addition, visitors often know how to find the meeting rooms that are best ventilated and offer the most comfort. With sensors, you get insight into the unused spaces and know that they need to be improved to attract visitors. For this information, you do not have to integrate a large-scale smart building solution. You can also achieve many benefits with IoT with fewer interventions.

In addition to office buildings, these sensors can also be installed in schools, swimming pools, and other public areas. By collecting real-time data, accurately monitoring spaces, and deploying automation, you can improve air quality and ensure a safe environment for visitors.