Can You Afford to Have Poor Indoor Air Quality at Your Business?
Hot, stuffy, smelly, uncomfortable environments are not conducive to good business.
Contrary to what you might think, cutting your HVAC budget won’t necessarily save you money. This is due to the fact that running old, inadequate, or poorly maintained equipment can result in poor indoor air quality in your business. Your employees, your customers, and your colleagues will notice, and it can hurt your bottom line.
What is Poor Indoor Air Quality?
Poor indoor air quality encompasses a variety of different factors that make indoor environments uncomfortable:
- Overly dry air
- Excess humidity
- Uncomfortable temperatures
- Odors
- Allergens
- VOCs
How Does Poor Indoor Air Quality Affect Your Business?
- Impaired Employee Performance: When employees are distracted by or upset about indoor air quality issues, they won’t perform as well. This isn’t just a morale problem—some types of indoor air pollutants can actually cause physical reactions that interfere with work. For example, if there is a high concentration of mold spores or VOCs in the workspace, employees may develop sick building syndrome. Another concern is that elevated carbon dioxide levels in an unventilated space may impair decision-making processes. In one Berkeley Lab study, this effect was seen when carbon dioxide levels jumped from 380ppm to 2500ppm in a classroom-like space.
- Unhappy Customers: If you have a retail, restaurant, or hospitality business, your success depends upon the customer experience. If the indoor environment is uncomfortable, customers will not want to linger and you will have less opportunity to upsell them on items. Repeat transactions are also likely to suffer.
- Unimpressed Business Associates: If you invite vendors, contractors, colleagues, or other business associates to your building for a meeting and the indoor air quality is poor, this will reflect badly on your company image. You may not get taken seriously. For example, people may assume you approach your work as shoddily as you approach your HVAC care or you’re so desperate for business that they can offer whatever terms they want for your business contracts.
Solving Commercial IAQ Problems
In many cases, the main culprit behind the problem is poor ventilation. Simply adding more fresh airflow to a building along with adequate filtration to prevent outside allergens and odors from entering can help tremendously. Getting the commercial HVAC system cleaned and inspected can also help with airflow and temperature control. If you would like to learn more about what can be done to solve your property’s specific indoor air quality problems, contact the commercial HVAC experts at General Heating & Air Conditioning.