An average person spends 2,000 hours a year in the workplace, which equates to 80 days. During this time, the detrimental impact of a negative microclimate affects health and productivity. Also, it significantly slows down business processes and increases company’s expenses. For example, a working meeting in a stuffy room tends to be longer than one in a well-ventilated space. Even an extra minute of work time, multiplied by the number of staff involved, can cost the company a lot of money.

We’ve faced this problem at one of Ajax Systems offices in Kyiv. We wondered whether our devices could increase team productivity and optimize business processes. What we found was that LifeQuality smart air quality monitors can help us save over $1 million. And that’s just in the first months.

Problem

Working meetings are very important in the Ajax Systems team’s routine. Strategic and operational issues are being solved in the meeting rooms. That’s why we started researching how different workplace conditions can affect productivity a few years ago. And one of the determining factors is the carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration.

Air is a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and other components, including carbon dioxide. The last one is measured in parts per million (ppm). Exceeding the CO₂ level impairs attention and mental activity and reduces work capacity and productivity.

CO₂ concentration increases when there are ten or more people in the room. Under such conditions, employees cannot process their thoughts; they yawn and feel tired. People want to get out into the fresh air and drink more coffee. Also, they get easily distracted by сhats.

We’ve noticed signs of increased CO₂ concentration in the Ajax Systems office. This problem was most evident in the meeting rooms. As a result, work meetings and brainstorming sessions became longer and less productive.

To solve this problem, offices use air conditioning. AC units don’t bring fresh air; they take air from the room and return the same air, now at a cooler temperature. Feeling cold can boost energy but only temporarily.

AC units do not use air from outside. Ventilation systems bring in air from the outside to keep the air fresh and healthy indoors.

In the Ajax Systems office, the ventilation system used to operate on a timer. It turned on automatically for 30 minutes every hour. Air quality data has become especially essential. So, we’ve started to design a detector to evaluate air quality dynamics.

This resulted in LifeQuality, the innovative air quality monitor with temperature, humidity, and CO₂ sensors. Long before the release day, we tested the detector in our office. Before LifeQuality, the CO₂ concentration in our meeting rooms ranged from 1200 to 2500 ppm, and even higher.

Location

Ajax Systems production premises, laboratory, and several large open spaces are located on the territory of the former sewing factory. It’s the office center now. This is the place where our engineers simulate weather conditions like wind, rain, snow, extreme temperatures, fires, and floods to test Ajax devices.

The office accommodates approximately 800 employees, and the total building area spans 8,000 m². There are 18 meeting rooms, from 1 to 4 on each floor.

The building is rented, so we cannot change the architecture and engineering infrastructure. In fact, some rooms even didn’t have windows to provide natural ventilation. When Ajax Systems moved to this office, we needed to upgrade the AC units.

Previously, the Ajax Systems staff manually controlled the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The automation needed to be improved. So, we’ve started looking for an effective solution to evaluate the air quality and increase team productivity.

We’ve installed several dozen LifeQuality in our office and integrated them with the WallSwitch and Relay relays and Button. CO₂ concentration, temperature, and humidity level are displayed in the Rooms tab in the Ajax app.

Each meeting room has at least one LifeQuality. Ten LifeQuality devices are installed in the open space. Department offices and kitchens are now also equipped with air quality monitors.

If the CO₂ level exceeds the set value, the office manager gets a notification in the Ajax app. The automation devices are activated and launch the ventilation system.

Automation scenarios

LifeQuality supports the following scenario types: by temperature, humidity, and CO₂ concentration.

The user can configure air quality indicators with scenarios according to the situation. The remote power control device runs the HVAC system when a certain indicator reaches a critical level. This helps to get rid of stale air.

The supply ventilation system starts to provide oxygen-rich air if any monitor displays a CO₂ level over 1000 ppm. The ventilation system is turned off automatically if the readings on all monitors are lower than 800 ppm.

Using scenarios, you can integrate various household devices into the system to control the microclimate. For example, you can connect the humidifier to the smart Socket and run it by scenario.

Charts

Charts and history in the Ajax app help to understand air quality dynamics. They show the trend of the selected air quality value over the last hour, day, week, month, or year. The Ajax system stores this data on the Ajax Cloud server for up to 2 years.

Charts help visually compare the data. If the air quality has improved in the evening compared to the morning, it will be presented in a handy infographic.

Result

Automated air quality control helps to speed up the company’s decision-making process.

Ajax Systems managed to save over $1 million due to optimizing work processes with LifeQuality.

Our employees’ productivity has increased. Now we can manage dozens of additional working hours every month. The staff has time to process more issues at meetings and brainstorming sessions.

Every employee can now check the air quality without even accessing the app — just by touching the logo on the monitor. The LED indicator instantly reports the air quality level in the room:

• green LED lights up — 0-1000 ppm
• yellow LED lights up — 1001-1399 ppm

Now, seeing a red or purple LED indication in the Ajax Systems office is almost impossible. The average air quality level does not go beyond the green zone. The ventilation system is activated when the CO₂ concentration reaches a critical level during lunchtime. The air is quickly saturated with oxygen, and the LED indicator turns green again.

We solved several problems at once:

• have implemented real-time CO₂ concentration monitoring in the office;
• have organized the system for maintaining optimal CO₂ concentration;
• have optimized business processes and increased team productivity;
• have provided a high-performance work team through faster decision-making.

Bacteria and viruses cannot stay alive in the air, which is constantly renewed. An internal survey found that employees install smart air quality monitors at home for personal use.

Respiratory infections are transmitted through droplets <5 μm in diameter, formed during breathing. These droplets do not settle on surfaces quickly, like during sneezing or coughing. They remain in the air longer. The ventilation system provides constant air movement and air exchange in the room. This prevents the accumulation of aerosols with pathogenic organisms in the air.

Where to use LifeQuality:

• office and co-working spaces, business centers;
• educational institutions, technology parks, museums, and other infrastructure facilities;
• entertainment facilities, sports clubs, beauty salons, restaurants, etc;
• various public areas.