[Note: This article was originally published in German and has been translated due to high international demand. The Aranet discount code LUFTSPRUNG (-5%) is valid internationally - where Aranet Ships directly - for all Aranet4 CO2 monitors and many other Aranet Devices .]

Poor indoor air quality leads to two critical business challenges:

• very high sick leave rates and
• declining productivity.

Scientific studies prove that poor indoor air quality alone reduces cognitive performance by up to 15% - independent of illness.

Creativity, concentration, and decision-making abilities decline at CO2 levels above 800 ppm. Moreover, indoor air pollution leads to staff shortages due to respiratory infections through airborne deseases or Sick Building Syndrome symptoms - affecting both employees and customer service capabilities - ultimately impacting your company, your business sucess and profitability.

Simple CO2 monitoring - as a reliable indicator of indoor air quality (IAQ)- combined with targeted optimization can effectively reduce these issues.

While clean drinking water is taken for granted, indoor air quality is rarely measured and even more rarely actively improved.

The consequences of poor indoor air quality are severe, affecting all of us:

• as individuals
• individual businesses
• the entire economy and
• the whole society.

Poor indoor air quality leads to consistently high sick leave rates throughout the year. Staff absences, particularly due to long-term effects of infectious diseases, create additional significant operational challenges. Reduced performance capability directly affects your bottom line.

These factors lead to increased operational costs while creating an environment that impacts both customer experience and buying behavior. Clean, hygienic indoor air creates a pleasant atmosphere that encourages longer customer stays and higher purchase readiness, while simultaneously protecting both customers and employees.

Implementing proper air quality management in companies delivers multiple competitive advantages.

• Enhanced productivity through better concentration leads to measurable performance improvements.
• By reducing sick days and staff absences, you maintain operational continuity.
• Your employees benefit from improved well-being, resulting in higher satisfaction and stronger retention rates. #employerbranding
• This commitment to air quality strengthens your image as a responsible employer .
• Additionally, clean, hygienic indoor air creates a pleasant atmosphere that encourages longer customer stays and higher purchase readiness, while protecting both customers and employees.

• Target Carbon Dioxide levels below 800 ppm
• Establish regular monitoring of your indoor air quality by professional carbon dioxide monitors
  
• The Aranet4 HOME  offers precise CO2 measurements as a perfect starter device. Ideal for air quality monitoring anywhere. For multi-room monitoring, the Aranet4 PRO provides the same mobility plus IoT connectivity for up to 100 devices.

>>>Exclusive: 5% off with Coupon Code LUFTSPRUNG on all Aranet4 devices <<<

The Aranet4 series delivers professional-grade accuracy in an ultra-compact design. Both HOME and PRO versions offer identical measurement precision and mobility: At just 104g - about half the weight of a typical smartphone - and roughly 40% of a smartphone's size (with slightly increased depth), these lightweight air quality monitors provide laboratory-grade measurements with maximum portability.

Both Aranet4 versions operate as standalone devices. They become essential companions for monitoring air quality in all areas of life and work: in hotels, on airplanes, in public transport, at restaurants, fitness studios, medical practices, care facilities, educational institutions, schools, or daycare centers. While the HOME version excels at individual measurements and single-room monitoring, the PRO version additionally enables comprehensive network monitoring when needed.

Both Aranet4 HOME and Aranet4 PRO connect easily to the convenient App.

• Develop differentiated ventilation strategies that meet the individual requirements and usage patterns of your various business spaces
• Prefer continuous ventilation methods for consistently high air quality - especially in rooms with high occupancy
• Consider the installation of automatic ventilation systems and air handling units for optimal efficiency and effectiveness

• Deploy high-quality air purifiers with HEPA filters to remove pollutants, pollen, and especially virus-laden aerosols that can transmit infectious diseases
• Select devices according to room size and usage intensity to ensure optimal cleaning performance
• Use air purifiers particularly in situations where adequate fresh air supply is not always guaranteed or difficult to achieve, such as during cold weather, ambient noise, or high room occupancy
• Maintain your air purifiers regularly to sustain their efficiency long-term

 The best air purifier* for smaller offices and households:

Trotec AirgoClean 250e

For healthcare, care and nursing facilities, and areas where particularly large numbers of people gather simultaneously, this device is recommended*.

Trotec AirgoClean 350e

The economic consequences of ignored, poor indoor air quality [1] are massive: A single sick day costs your company an average of 200 EUR/USD - this in times of historically high baseline levels of staff absences and an already existing workforce shortage. With an average sick leave rate of 10% over several months, enormous economic losses occur. For Austria alone, annual economic damage of around 4 billion euros has been calculated - excluding the follow-up costs of Long Covid and other post-infectious conditions.

The good news:

These costs are largely preventable. Through targeted air quality management, companies not only save direct costs but additionally increase their productivity. The solutions are available, extensively tested, and researched. The benefits significantly outweigh the costs of actively managing air quality.

In the following sections, you will learn:

• How to measure and monitor indoor air quality using simple tools
• Which concrete measures you can take
• What foundations and studies support these measures 

Clean, healthy indoor air guarantees:

• Better thinking,
• concentration, and
• performance capabilities as well as
• increased mental and physical well-being.

In concrete numbers: Improved indoor air increases cognitive performance by up to 15%

In a further study, the handling of typical management tasks under various air quality scenarios (between 600 ppm and 2500 ppm CO2) was examined.

The results show significantly better completion of:

• Basic tasks - routine work
• Focused Work
• Taking initiative
• Strategic work
• Goal-oriented working

Only in information searching were no significant differences found. [5]

These proven benefits alone show: It pays off to monitor, improve, and thus actively manage the air quality in the office, at workplaces, and in customer areas.

The provision of clean indoor air leads to a significant reduction in the probability of transmission of airborne infectious diseases such as Influenza, RSV, or SARS CoV2.

Sick leave rates in Winter 2023/24 reached new peaks due to recurring respiratory infections. This elevated level of staff absences now continues throughout the entire year - even outside the formerly "classic" times for respiratory infections in autumn/winter.

Without appropriate preventive measures, this trend will continue to intensify. The solutions are known and should be urgently implemented, also in terms of workplace health promotion.

Many companies, public institutions, and infrastructure operators can hardly manage their daily business when an average of 10% of their staff is absent over several months - further aggravated by necessary care leave due to sick children and relatives.

Which organization/employer can and wants to afford this permanently?

All of this - which would be significantly preventable - costs enormous amounts of money: the companies, the economy, and thus all taxpayers.

Less profit, less economic output, less purchasing power.

💸💸💸 Case Study Austria

E.g. for Austria - a small country in the Middle Europe with about 9,1 Mio. Inhabitants -  alone, annual economic damage because of sick leave due to infectious diseases to around 4 billion euros has been calculated. The follow-up costs for necessary treatments or longer work absences due to post-infectious conditions are not even included in this calculation.[6]

The actual costs per sick day are underestimated by many companies: A single day of absence costs the organization an average of 200 euros.

Additional hidden costs arise through reduced performance capacity when employees work despite feeling ill or due to poor indoor air quality.

Another often overlooked problem:

Sick Building Syndrome leads to additional performance limitations and staff absences. The typical symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome – irritated mucous membranes, headaches, concentration problems, and even dizziness - can be significantly reduced through healthy indoor air quality.

Studies prove: Already at CO2 values below 800 ppm, well-being improves significantly.

The quality of indoor air in public facilities can now be tracked transparently: From supermarkets, restaurants, and fitness studios to hospitals and healthcare facilities, measurements are recorded on platforms like the Indoor CO2 Map. This data is generated through crowdsourcing - users share their measurements via App and connected CO2 measuring device.

Most companies have no overview of the actual air quality in their premises.

However, indoor air quality can be easily measured and improved.

Do you know the air values in your business premises? A first step toward improvement is regular measurement of CO2 concentration.

Clean air protects vulnerable people with pre-existing conditions, including some of your employees, customers, and business partners. Vulnerability is not always directly visible. In fact, around 30% of the working population lives with chronic conditions. These people particularly depend on good air quality and should be exposed to the lowest possible infection risk.

The benefits of clean indoor air are becoming an important factor in Employer Branding. Future-oriented employees and applicants increasingly value healthy working conditions - even without existing legal requirements. In times of acute skilled labor shortage, workplace quality determines your success in recruitment and retention.

Active air quality management demonstrates genuine responsibility: While most companies still ignore the indoor air issue, you gain multiple steps ahead of the competition through continuous CO2 monitoring and optimization of indoor air. This builds trust among existing and future employees. In times of flexible working models, office quality becomes a decisive factor: Many employees partly decide for themselves whether to work from home or in the office. A workplace with good air quality will be used more frequently and preferentially. The scientifically proven productivity increase of up to 15% through good indoor air is another strong argument.

Some countries like France, Belgium, and Ireland already have binding workplace air quality requirements, some don't have them like the german speaking countries Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

A truly healthy workplace today goes far beyond typical New Work basics like ergonomic furniture, fruit baskets, or team events.

Clean indoor air is just as essential as clean drinking water - though this basic requirement is rarely implemented in practice.

The crucial question for you: Are you already actively measuring and optimizing air quality in your business premises?

Clean indoor air is not just a basic quality factor like clean drinking water, but is increasingly becoming a success factor in customer relationships.

Clean air is a crucial factor for increasing customer satisfaction and higher revenue. It not only demonstrates appreciation for your customers, but directly influences buying behavior: Good air quality increases length of stay and thus shopping pleasure. Air quality is increasingly becoming a measurable quality characteristic and differentiating factor.

In Japan, this is already a reality: Before visiting restaurants or shops, customers can check live air quality via Google Maps or displays at the entrance.

This transparency creates trust and will become a strategic competitive advantage. While retail benefits from longer dwell times and consequently potentially higher revenues, in the hospitality industry, well-being is directly revenue-relevant.

For healthcare facilities and fitness studios, clean indoor air is part of their professional duty of care.

A significant trend is already emerging: Through crowdsourcing, current indoor air quality maps like the CO2 Indoor Map are being created. They provide comprehensive insights into the air quality of supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, bars, healthcare facilities, medical practices, museums, theaters, public authorities etc. across Europe and worldwide.

The consequence for businesses is clear:

Air quality measurement is becoming the norm - either you take active control, or your customers will measure and publicly share the air quality in your business premises, your restaurant, your practice using their own CO2 measuring devices.

The consumer trend towards personal CO2 measuring devices is growing steadily. More and more people want to be able to assess for themselves how good the air quality is in public spaces. For businesses, this means: Transparency becomes mandatory.

Clean indoor air is now a basic need like clean drinking water. Companies that implement active air quality management and communicate this transparently will gain their customers' trust in the long term, have high chances of increased revenue and profit, and stand out from the competition.

The active improvement of indoor air quality supports companies in achieving multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CSR managers and Sustainability Managers will find important input here for their ESG reporting and sustainability documentation. Through targeted air quality measures, you make a documentable contribution to three important sustainability goals:

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Through optimized indoor air quality, you achieve measurable improvement in health. The frequency of respiratory diseases demonstrably decreases. Symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome are significantly reduced. The well-being of employees, customers, and business partners noticeably increases.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Clean indoor air increases workplace productivity by up to 15%. Illness-related absences are significantly reduced. The improved workplace quality creates a healthier, more humane working environment for all employees. At the same time, it supports sustainable economic growth and creates measurable competitive advantages.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Continuous CO2 monitoring forms the cost-effective basis for healthy, hygienic indoor air. Smart, energy-efficient, and durable CO2 sensors enable uncomplicated air quality management. High-quality, mobile HEPA air purifiers support as bridge technology in optimizing air quality. Ventilation systems (HVAC systems) are a long-term investment with high ROI for continuous fresh air supply.

This combination and the gradual integration of various technologies demonstrates your commitment to effective and responsible indoor air optimization - an important contribution to your sustainability balance. 

The most important and simultaneously easy-to-measure indicator for indoor air quality is the CO2 level. The lower the CO2 value, the less previously exhaled air is present in the room.

A vivid comparison makes this clear: High CO2 levels mean that you are breathing in air that other people have already exhaled - similar to drinking from a glass of water that someone else has already drunk from.

The quality of indoor air - often abbreviated in expert articles as IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) - can be well assessed through the CO2 level. This is measured in ppm (parts per million).

Exhaled air contains not only CO2 but also aerosols that may be contaminated with pathogens such as viruses. Airborne infections (airborne diseases) are an important reason why the CO2 concentration should be kept as low as possible. Because the higher the CO2 content, the more previously exhaled air - and thus potentially infectious, virus-laden aerosols - are present in the room.

High CO2 levels also have additional effects:

• Concentration and performance ability noticeably decrease
• General well-being deteriorates
• Headaches occur more frequently
• Productivity demonstrably drops

Three factors determine the CO2 content of indoor air:

1. The number of people in the room
2. The room size
3. The type of activity (from quiet sitting to physical work)

Practical Tip: 👉 With this CO2 calculator, you can determine the expected indoor air quality for your specific situation: https://www.innenraumanalytik.at/files/CO2_SIM5.4.xlsx

Correlation between CO2 and Indoor Air Quality 

The even more memorable scale:

The higher the CO2 value, the more previously exhaled air (also from other people) you breathe in. It's like drinking from a glass of water where part of the water has already been in someone else's mouth.

Who would want that?

Correlation between CO2 content of air and amount of inhaled air that has already been exhaled/used. Source: [13] You can perform/find your own calculations on the proportion of used air here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iGpS3zacl79GuPduH7QHjBWQisT8nHlxFLgXPE1Xh0U/edit#gid=165893547

Modern CO2 measuring devices make continuous monitoring of air quality child's play. They show at a glance whether the indoor air is okay or requires action. Depending on make, manufacturer, and model, most devices offer colored displays in traffic light colors and/or warning tones that automatically inform when the air quality deteriorates, e.g., in the office.

The handling of most devices is remarkably simple:

• Unpack device (charge if necessary or insert battery) and switch on
• Place in suitable location
• Immediately read measurements
• Additional useful features - such as Smart Home integration - depending on manufacturer and model
• Periodic calibration is necessary for all CO2 measuring devices and is generally easy to perform

he Aranet CO2 sensors measure and monitor indoor air quality using the following components:

• CO2 content of the air
• relative humidity
• temperature and
• atmospheric pressure

Benefits:

• Ultra-lightweight, handy devices suitable for mobile use, as they are wireless and standalone
• High-quality NDIR sensor (current industry gold standard - stands for non dispersive infrared)
• Energy-saving display, resulting in approximately 4 years of battery life
• Manufactured in the EU
• Access to 90-day measurement history via Aranet Home APP & Bluetooth
• Customizable alert tones via APP when CO2 thresholds are exceeded

Sources for this text (some are in German)

[1] https://zenodo.org/records/7586167#.ZDwbSHZByUk and

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132322005996 andhttps://academic.oup.com/cid/article/75/1/e174/6498295?login=false und https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.23.22280263v1 sowie viele weitere Studien

[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132311002617

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21204989/

[4] https://office-roxx.de/primabueroklima/fraunhofer-studie-luftqualitaet-beeinflusst-produktivitaet/or https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c10372?pci=CACSR000006772665

[5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231176310_Is_CO2_an_Indoor_Pollutant_Direct_Effects_of_Low-to-Moderate_CO2_Concentrations_on_Human_Decision-Making_Performance

[6] e.g. https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Studie-Rekord-Krankenstand-fuehrte-zur-Rezession-article24690123.html and IHS Wien Czypionka et al https://irihs.ihs.ac.at/id/eprint/6837/1/czpyionka-eisenberg-et-al-2023-lufthygiene-wirtschaftlicher-impact.pdf

[7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018312807?via%3Dihub und https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/sick-building-syndrome

[8] https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/de/home/gesund-leben/umwelt-und-gesundheit/wohngifte/wohngifte-und-gesundheitliche-beschwerden/befindlichkeitsstoerungen.html

[9] International Benchmark on Indoor Air Quallity and Renewal Guidance and Regulations: Overview www.nousaerons.fr/benchmark, also this document https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1I5slGR5S__B8SKvKf1cWGpIXGFfQUnKM4aTNbK9LUnQ/edit?gid=0#gid=0

[10] NDIR = Non dispersive infrared sensor

[11] http://www.innenraumanalytik.at/pdfs/co2.pdf S 32

[12] Table on the base of: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:27662232 unand d https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/pdfs/kohlendioxid_2008.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj20tm92Y-GAxXPwAIHHVNaAH0QFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw35Np6LwHccwZ1Q3TED2vVm

[13] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12950586/ try some own calculations on rebreathed air: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iGpS3zacl79GuPduH7QHjBWQisT8nHlxFLgXPE1Xh0U/edit#gid=165893547

[14] https://www.baua.de/DE/Themen/Arbeitsgestaltung/Physikalische-Faktoren/Klima-am-Arbeitsplatz/Kenngroessen.html und https://futureoperations.at/fileadmin/user_upload/k_future_operations/Leitfaden-CO2-Sensoren_2022-11-02_Final.pdf

[15] https://www.tugraz.at/institute/ibpsc/forschung/forschungsprojekte/laufende-projekte/impaqs/lueftung

[16 ]https://www.wienerzeitung.at/a/saubere-luft-als-wirtschaftsmotor and the Paper "Can ventilation combat airborne infection risks in schools? The REHVA European HVAC Journal — October 2023:  https://www.rehva.eu/rehva-journal/chapter/can-ventilation-combat-airborne-infection-risks-in-schools and https://www.arbeitsinspektion.gv.at/Arbeitsstaetten-_Arbeitsplaetze/Arbeitsraeume/Raumklima_in_Arbeitsraeumen.html und https://www.mpic.de/5150447/mpic_l_ftungsvergleich_v2.pdf and https://t.ly/DW_Qz

[17] Shiraiwa, M., Ueda, K., Pozzer, A., Lammel, G., Kampf, C.J., Fushimi, A., Enami, S., Arangio, A.M., Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J., Fujitani, Y., Furuyama, A., Lakey, P.S.J., Lelieveld, J., Lucas, K., Morino, Y., Pöschl, U., Takahama, S., Takami, A., Tong, H., Weber, B., Yoshino, A., and Sato, K. (2017). Aerosol Health Effects from Molecular to Global Scales. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51 (23):13545–13567. doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b04417.

[18] Vgl. https://zenodo.org/records/7586167/files/MPIC_L%C3%BCftungsvergleich_V3_20230130.pdf?download=1

[19] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ina.13029 und Kähler, C.J., Fuchs, T., and Hain, R. (2020). Können mobile Raumluftreiniger eine indirekte SARS-CoV-2 Infektionsgefahr durch Aerosole wirksam reduzieren. Hg V Univ. Bundeswehr Münch. Strömungsmechanik Aerodyn und Curtius, J., Granzin, M., and Schrod, J. (2021). Testing mobile air purifiers in a school classroom: Reducing the airborne transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2. Aerosol Sci. Technol. 55 (5):586–599.

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