Monitor and improve air quality

Although air quality should play a role not only in times of acute threats caused by highly infectious viruses, it is then that particular attention is paid to it.

According to current understanding a significant fraction of coronavirus infections is caused by aerosols, tiny drops of liquid. These microparticles are given off to our surroundings when we breathe, laugh, speak and of course cough. Because of their very light weight they can remain suspended in room air for long periods of time and contain potentially infectious viruses. Top-ranking virologists assert that just as many infections are caused by aerosols as by droplet transmission.

The risk of infection from aerosols is especially great wherever many people are in the same room and exhaling - an estimated eight liters of air per nose per minute is the estimate. Contained in the exhaled air is CO₂, carbon dioxide. And wherever a large quantity of exhaled CO₂ is present in the air, many aerosols are also present.

Regular and intensive ventilation is therefore an important component in fighting the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. But especially in the cold season it is difficult to achieve an evenly effective and acceptable ventilation rhythm.

The timeair from Wiesemann & Theis measures the CO₂ concentration in the room air and determines the time remaining until the next air exchange. In contrast to simple CO₂ sensors the timeair indicates not only the actual carbon dioxide concentration of the ambient air, but also uses 12 LEDs to represent the remaining time until a critical limit is reached. Users can then better plan their response and don’t get an alarm only when it is actually too late.

The Web Thermometers from Wiesemann & Theis monitor both the inside air CO₂ and VOC values and make them available in the network. The devices feature an integrated data logger and numerous Web and network services.