The seven essentials of healthy indoor air for the buildings
On average, we spend about 90% of our lives indoors and breathe approximately 12,000 liters of air every day. We assume that the air inside buildings is “clean” and harmless to health. Therefore, it is astonishing how little occupants and operators actually know about the indoor air quality at their facilities. Essential parameters such as air humidity, CO2 content, or VOC concentrations are almost never measured, and even less frequently displayed. According to an interview conducted by Belimo with consulting engineers and ventilation experts worldwide to identify priorities towards creating a healthy indoor air environment in buildings. In this process, seven essential factors for ensuring healthy indoor air in non-residential buildings were distilled.
1. Continuous measurement, display, and monitoring of air quality
Why is it important? What cannot be measured cannot be controlled. Concentrations of pollutants such as CO2 or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated from human activities or building materials need to be continuously monitored.
How to implement: Use high-precision, low-drift room or duct sensors to measure parameters like temperature, humidity, CO2, and VOCs. This data helps the system automatically initiate timely mitigation measures, such as increasing ventilation or air filtration.
2. Accurate fresh air volume supply and polluted exhaust air control
Why is it important? A building typically has multiple departments with varying occupant densities. Each space must be supplied with the correct amount of required fresh air. At the same time, polluted stale air must be thoroughly removed to prevent the accumulation of toxins or cross-contamination.
How to implement: Apply Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems combined with intelligent controllers and damper actuators to automatically adjust the supply and exhaust air volumes according to the actual demand of each room.
3. Proper airflow design and air distribution modeling
Why is it important? The way air moves within a room determines cleaning efficiency. If improperly designed, stale air can recirculate within the room multiple times or get trapped in dead corners (stagnant zones).
How to implement: The airflow must be optimally designed, ideally with fresh air moving from the bottom up through the breathing zone of occupants, and then being exhausted directly out from the top.
4. Active space pressure control (Negative/Positive pressure)
Why is it important? Pressure imbalances between areas will cause polluted air streams from the outside (such as street dust and smoke) or from specific rooms (such as kitchens, restrooms, and cafeterias) to spill into other working spaces.
How to implement: Use VAV controllers for both supply and exhaust air paths, coordinated with differential pressure sensors to maintain pressure at an ideal equilibrium state, preventing unwanted air streams from infiltrating.
5. Precise temperature and humidity conditioning
Why is it important? Moving beyond just cool temperatures, maintaining relative humidity between 40% and 50% is mandatory to ensure respiratory safety and inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses.
How to implement: Use high-quality zone control components (such as the Belimo Energy Valve intelligent energy valve series) to precisely optimize cooling/heating performance while eliminating low Delta T syndrome for maximum energy savings.
6. Effective air filtration systems
Why is it important? To prevent fine dust and pathogens from entering via outdoor air or recirculated air, appropriate filters (such as HEPA filters) must be integrated into the air handling units (AHUs).
How to implement: Install differential pressure sensors for continuous filter monitoring. Instead of replacing filters on a fixed schedule (which is wasteful when filters are not yet dirty), replacing filters based on actual measured loading levels helps maximize savings on material costs and operating energy.
7. Provision of appropriate outdoor air (Fresh air) volume
Why is it important? The building needs to supply a sufficient volume of fresh air according to international standards (e.g., ASHRAE 62.1 standard) depending on the building type and the number of indoor occupants.
How to implement: An intelligent automated system can flexibly increase the fresh air volume when outdoor pollution levels are low (leveraging clean ambient air) and automatically return to the safe minimum level when outdoor pollution rises to protect the indoor space.
Comprehensive Solution System From NTK Helps Meet 7 IAQ Requirements
NTK is proud to provide a comprehensive HVAC product ecosystem from leading global brands Belimo and local brand such as Starduct, B&A, helping your system perfectly meet the 7 core requirements for indoor air quality:
1. Smart Measurement & Monitoring Solution Group (Belimo Sensors): NTK provides a full suite of room, duct, and water pipe sensors from Belimo to accurately measure Temperature, Humidity, Pressure, Differential Pressure, CO2, and VOC concentrations. The devices feature low drift, fast response, and easy parameter configuration via smartphone using convenient NFC scanning technology.
2. Accurate Air Supply – Exhaust Solution Group (Belimo VAV Controller & Starduct VAV Box): The coordination between Belimo’s VAV Controller and the Starduct VAV Box (which achieved AHRI 880 and Intertek international quality certifications) helps precisely distribute fresh air volume to each zone according to demand and actively remove polluted exhaust air.
3. Optimal Airflow Distribution Solution Group (Starduct Air Outlets): NTK offers various types of Starduct Air Outlets (slot, linear bar, louver, diffusers…) rigorously tested under the ASHRAE 70-2006 standard at Intertek. This solution helps the airflow circulate accurately from the bottom up, cleaning the human breathing zone and completely eliminating “dead air zones” in the room.
4. Space Pressure Control Solution Group (Belimo Differential Pressure): Applies Belimo duct-mounted differential pressure sensors combined with flow controllers to actively maintain ideal negative or positive pressure between rooms. The system thoroughly prevents polluted air streams, street dust, or odors from auxiliary areas (cafeterias, toilets) from spilling into the working space.
5. Advanced Temperature & Humidity Conditioning Solution Group (B&A AHU & Belimo Energy Valve): NTK delivers the B&A AHU air handling unit series – the only manufacturer in Vietnam to achieve the global AHRI 1350 standard and CE safety certification. The AHU models integrate electric heating tracks (EHT), hot water coils (WHC), or desiccant dehumidification wheels (DHU/DDHU), allowing absolute precise humidity control from 0% to 70% RH depending on cleanroom or commercial applications. Concurrently, the Belimo Energy Valve smart valve helps resolve low Delta T syndrome, optimizing cooling and heating capacities.
6. Efficient & Energy-Saving Air Filtration Solution Group: Fine dust and bacterial filters (HEPA) integrated into the air handling system are continuously monitored by Belimo differential pressure sensors. Thanks to this, building management can schedule maintenance and filter replacements based on actual loading levels instead of periodic time intervals, optimizing material costs and reducing operating energy consumption.
7. Automatic Outdoor Air Supply Solution Group (Belimo Actuators & Starduct Dampers): Starduct dampers (manufactured from Z18 galvanized steel meeting the ASTM A653 standard) combined with Belimo damper actuators feature Failsafe capabilities and smart communication. The system automatically regulates the outdoor air intake ratio according to strict standards, optimizing the oxygen volume inside the building.
Added value from NTK: All of the above technology solutions from NTK support high-level communication protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and MP-Bus, ready to seamlessly connect into the Building Management System (BMS) and IoT Cloud platforms. Accompanying this are in-depth consulting services, on-site technical support, and professional after-sales care, bringing absolute peace of mind to every investor.
