Several pivotal moments throughout history have made the construction sector and citizens more concerned with air quality. Whether it be widespread illness or worsening pollution, the industry has more ways than ever to facilitate clean air. Engineer and design quality spaces with these innovations in smart building design, including eco-friendly retaining walls, biophilic design, predictive modelling and more.
Advanced Filtration Systems With Predictive Maintenance
Activated carbon and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are the industry’s go-to options because they capture many contaminants. You can embed them with sensor-based technologies to enable predictive maintenance.
Manufacturing facilities are experimenting with this in local exhaust ventilation systems, and which produces more advantages than better air. Implementation delivered 30% energy savings in air handling. The insights let companies automate filter monitoring and better decision-making. Visualisations of the filters’ health prevent breakdown and more targeted maintenance and replacement timelines.
Dynamic Ventilation Control With the Internet of Things (IoT)
The IoT has even more versatility throughout a building. You can place air-quality sensors throughout a building, checking for various influences, including but not limited to:
- Radon
- Carbon dioxide
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Particulate matter (PM)
- Ozone
- Ammonia
Data feeds into a centralised platform for building operators to view the air quality status in real time. Then, adjust ventilation levels, and note anomalous behaviour before the system allows too many pollutants to enter the space. You can also automate the machinery’s responses to preassigned levels of contaminants or occupancy levels. Once a metric is reached, performance will be adjusted accordingly.
Worldwide, studies demonstrate that dynamic ventilation systems with sensors provide more specific awareness than traditional monitoring, including improved spatiotemporal resolution and more specific source identification.
Additionally, the research showed PM2.5 was the most tested contaminant, showing global concern for this contaminant. Data suggests it could contribute to 6.7 million annual deaths, calling for construction professionals to safeguard homes with more advanced air quality strategies.
Smart Material Selection and Off-Gassing Management
Many building components are treated with finishes containing VOCs and other materials that off-gas. Your company must minimise or ban the use of these products and implement stronger screening policies for selection. Additionally, pre-occupancy off-gassing protocols can test the space for residual influences on air quality before residents move in.
Several off-gassing management techniques include deploying scrubbers. Some tower scrubbers have a contaminant-removal efficiency of over 90%, though some combinations can be as high as 99.9%. Teams may also do a building flush-out, incorporating immense amounts of fresh air to replace anything contaminated. Photoelectrochemical oxidation tools are also ideal for eliminating VOCs.
Biophilic Design Integration With Automated Irrigation
Several plant species have air-cleaning qualities built into their biology. This is why many construction experts are incorporating green walls and hanging plants throughout structures. They can purify the air while adding aesthetic value.
However, upkeep is a barrier for many building owners and operators, so automated irrigation is crucial for keeping them healthy. Residents get the most benefits from their plants if they are at peak health for most of their lifespan, and smart irrigation systems can observe soil and water quality for any adverse influences that poor air conditions may have introduced.
Eco-Friendly Retaining Wall With Integrated Air Purification
The outside of a building is just as important for preserving air quality as internal fixtures. Retaining walls often contain energy- and resource-intensive materials like concrete, but an eco-friendly retaining wall incorporates renewable and organic features to enable biofiltration. They are multipurpose because they aid water management and purification alongside the air.
Air passes through the wall, and the plants filter or process pollution, preventing it from entering the building or being released back into the environment. These are ideal near highways or in urban spaces where high amounts of ground-level pollution can seep into building foundations and unsealed cracks.
Air Quality Modelling and Control
Construction teams can use assets like digital twins and computational fluid dynamics to create virtual models of building ventilation and air systems before breaking ground. The programs can then simulate the equipment’s efficacy while considering the structure’s other elements, like materials and floor plan.
Modelling could have artificial intelligence (AI) integrations to observe local weather patterns and blueprints of similar constructions. It can weigh historical data with incoming information to determine the future of its air quality. Teams need to use these tools to prevent unnecessary retrofits and renovations later in the building’s life cycle.
How Eco-Friendly Retaining Walls, Ventilation and AI Relate
You may install new filters or sensors and get a few indoor plants. Both enhance a building’s chances of maintaining crisp, breathable air with minimal pollution. A structure’s ability to maintain internal conditions is rooted in its design choices, which construction professionals can engineer into any building as early as the brainstorming phase. Teams must do this to preserve public and environmental health, especially in new construction.
