IoT Solutions for Allergy Management: Improving Indoor Air Quality
One in every three adults in the United States battles allergies. Perhaps you're one of them. If so, you understand that sometimes all the Benadryl or vitamin C in the world won't improve your quality of life. But medication isn't your only option for preventing allergic reactions.
The most effective modern allergy management uses IoT technology for monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ). IoT provides data-driven insights about the exact allergens in the atmosphere. It can even be integrated into smart home technology, to create an automated allergy-fighting defense system.
Understanding the Importance of Indoor Air Quality
Indoor spaces equal bad news for those with strong allergies. The nature of enclosed spaces means that air circulates less, if at all. Studies even show that indoor air, on average, has levels of dangerous pollutants 2–5 times higher than outdoor air.
Nobody wants a runny, itchy nose, but that's just one symptom of a sinister reality: Many allergens pose undeniable long-term threats to human health.
Smaller effects of less-dangerous allergens include throat, nose, and eye irritation, inability to focus, or fatigue. However, inhaling certain allergen pollutants over the long term can result in respiratory diseases, extreme asthma attacks, and even cancer of the lungs and heart.
Common Indoor Pollutants and Their Sources
Indoor air pollution is a blanket term for a whole host of individual offenders. While the goal is to bring overall pollution to healthy levels, it's crucial to understand each type. To paraphrase Sun Tzu, to beat your enemy, you must know your enemy.
Organic Compounds and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Some of the most dangerous pollutants originate from items you interact with every day. VOCs are chemicals released from objects like carpeting, cleaners, furniture, building materials, toys, deodorants, and fabric. They leak chemicals slowly into the air and prolonged exposure to pollutants can have disastrous effects and pose health risks like heart and kidney failure, central nervous system deterioration, and lung cancer.
Below is a list of the most common VOCs typically found in residential and commercial environments.
Butane: Gas that vaporizes during heating and cooking
Formaldehyde: Chemical found in some shampoo, paint, and furniture
Ethanol: An organic compound that is an ingredient in many laundry detergents and sanitizing products
Acetone: Chemical used in nail polish remover, cleaning products, and glue
Vinyl Chloride: A chemical used to make many flooring and plumbing materials
Carbon Dioxide Levels and Their Effects
When you hear that old adage "You can't have too much of a good thing," think of carbon dioxide. Yes, CO2 is essential for human and plant life. However, excessive levels yield poor IAQ, resulting in symptoms like drowsiness, inability to concentrate, dangerously high heart rates, and difficulty breathing.
Monitoring CO2 levels is crucial to maintaining healthy indoor environments. Poor ventilation is usually the prime culprit for dangerous CO2 levels, and always check to ensure it's below 1000 PPM, ideally between 250–600 PPM.
Real-Time Monitoring of Indoor Air Quality
You now know the causes of indoor air pollution. Knowing the enemy is a great first step but when it comes to IAQ monitoring and allergy management, you have to watch it like a hawk on a prairie mouse.
This stage is where indoor air quality monitors come into play. You must understand how to integrate the technology with homes, offices, or commercial buildings to get the best insights possible.
The Need for Immediate Data Collection
Capturing real-time data is a revolutionary development for indoor air quality monitoring. These monitors collect and visualize IAQ data with the help of Wi-Fi–powered sensors, removing any guesswork, to figure out your pollution concentration. Allergen data is directly on a mobile dashboard app, so building managers can easily track IAQ right down to the types of pollutants.
Automated Systems for Proactive Allergy Management
High-powered sensors provide the best monitoring of air quality because they have rapid response times. When paired with IoT systems, the sensors can detect poor air quality throughout massive complexes and issue alerts in seconds. They can even be programmed to make mission-critical decisions on their own. For example, during peak allergy seasons, building managers can program filtration and purification to activate once pollen counts cross a specified threshold.
Smart Air Purifiers
Investing in smart air purifiers is a great way to double down on anti-allergy efforts. The best purifiers use HEPA filters to remove 99.97% of particles smaller than .3 micrometers. Particles of this size cause the most severe allergies. On top of outstanding filtration, they also connect to IoT systems through mobile interfaces, allowing managers to monitor and view data reports and discover any maintenance needs like filter changes or cleanings.
Integration With Smart Home Ecosystems
You live in an age of integration, meaning you have the power to scale IAQ monitoring systems with ease across entire homes and building ecosystems. Connecting all IAQ appliances, like HVACs, ventilators, purifiers, and dehumidifiers, is like wearing a whole suit of armor instead of just a helmet and chain-link boots.
Start Using IoT for Allergy Management
Poor indoor air quality is a growing issue. However, just because you live in an allergen-rich environment doesn't mean you have to suffer every allergy season.
Investing in an IAQ monitoring system, such as Attune's end-to-end package, immediately connects you with the market's fastest and most accurate allergy monitoring solution. Our air quality sensors track up to 50 data points, providing sleek visuals and immediate alerts so you know exactly when and where allergens cause problems. Eliminate that dreaded feeling when allergy season comes knocking.
If you want to learn more about how to manage allergies and discover how we can put your data to work to reduce airborne pollutants, schedule a free demo today.
FAQs
How can allergies be managed?
The best way to successfully reduce indoor allergens is by automating filtration and ventilation systems.
What is allergen management?
Allergies management is a process that starts with identifying the sources of allergens through real-time data sensors. Once identified, the process requires upgrading filtration and ventilation to bring pollutant concentration down to a healthy level.
