Carbon dioxide can present several hazards if an environment is over saturated with it. On average in an outside environment the background CO2 level will be around 400ppm. The average person will exhale around 4.5% CO2, roughly 100 times more than the average background level. This means that 30 people in a classroom without forced ventilation, relying on natural ventilation from windows can very quickly see a very high CO2 level develop. So CO2 can be a very good indicator for how well a room is ventilated and therefore also an indicator on the likelihood of the Covid-19 virus mixing in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide monitors are a good way to monitor constantly busy rooms and can help in increasing air ventilation to reduce the impacts of COVID-19. It is also vital to monitor CO2 levels to ensure compliance to government notice BB101.Â
But how do you know if you need a fixed, desktop or portable carbon dioxide monitor? Not to worry, International Gas Detector’s article discusses this in depth to help you with deciding what carbon dioxide monitor you require.
UK Government Advice on Carbon Dioxide Monitor
The UK government is becoming increasingly concerned and vigilant surrounding the airflow within various Industries and educational settings. A recent press release from the UK government discussed the implementation of portable carbon dioxide monitors into classrooms. This investment will see around 300,000 monitors being applied into classrooms to help with air ventilation and hopefully reduce the spread of COVID-19 within schools. This will also help in providing children with more freedom around their schools and colleges and provide the best possible, uninterrupted education. The spin off here being that well ventilated rooms with levels meeting the requirements of BB101 are also better learning environments. High CO2 levels contribute to ‘stuffiness’, headaches and what is known as bad building syndrome resulting in poor attention spans.
Carbon dioxide monitors can also be applied into other busy, public areas such as restaurants and shopping centres. Again, monitoring the CO2 levels in these environments can potentially help in reducing the spread of COVID-19 as it can monitor the area and alarm when the air is too CO2 saturated.
To read more about the UK governments plans, click this link.
