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Green Building Blog

Breathe Deeply, or Don’t: Why IAQ Matters Today

Thu, Mar 19, 2020 @ 01:28 / by Jim Newman posted in IAQ, Green Design, sick building syndrome, Building Energy Management Systems, indoor air qulity, BEMIS, Internet of Things

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When giving a talk on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in 1991, I was discussing one of the consequences of poor IAQ – Sick Building Syndrome. A woman raised her hand and said, “I have that.” The room went silent. She continued, “I was teaching at school and they started painting. By the time I left that first day I had tingling in my fingers. The second day I had tingling all the way up to my elbows. On the third day I went home very sick. I went to several doctors in the area who weren’t able to diagnose it – they all said it was in my head. I finally found a holistic doctor who diagnosed it as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).”

With the proper diagnosis, she could finally start treatment. To this day she is still hyper-sensitive to the VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) such as the odors from fresh paint, carpet and glue found in many buildings.   

VOCs. Viruses. Stale air. Mold

sick and smelly

They spread through the air and can lead to Sick Building Syndrome. Left unchecked, they can cause serious health issues.

Sometimes the underlying source is easily seen, detected and mitigated. Sometimes exposure causes long-term health issues for those exposed.

Most often, especially in flu season or as a result of adverse events such as flooding or an epidemic like COVID 19, it pays to monitor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

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Coronavirus and Building Wellness – What You Need to Do NOW

Tue, Mar 17, 2020 @ 11:57 / by Guest Post by Jeff Seippel posted in HVAC, IAQ, Green Design, Sustainability, indoor air qulity, Sustainable Design, resilience, Energy

4 Comments

Having worked in the HVAC optimization and wellness field for the last 15 years, I have never seen a better opportunity to have a long overdue discussion about how our mechanical systems direct and drive building wellness. The current worldwide focus on halting the spread of COVID-19 has brought this topic to a level of urgent action.

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Advances in BEMIS Make Being Energy Efficient Easier and Smarter

Tue, Apr 17, 2018 @ 12:42 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, energy efficiency, Energy Use Index, energy management system, Building Energy Management Systems, indoor air qulity, Energy Management Strategies, BEMIS, Cloud Based BAS, energy conservation

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Energy Efficient. Cost Effective. That’s the goal of the building engineer or facility manager. Today’s building energy management information systems (BEMIS), combined with IoT (Internet of Things), makes being both energy efficient and cost effective not only possible, but so much easier – and smarter.

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