P-Blocks Monitor Testing:
A key component of the project is to measure indoor air quality. This data will be ingested by the AI model to manage the building, ensuring efficient performance while communicating seamlessly with the building management system (BMS). The data will also inform building managers and its occupants. In order to achieve these aims, it is imperative to ensure that reliable data is being collected from the real-time monitoring network of over 200 monitors across P-Block.
Currently, we are in the process of a critical phase: testing the monitors. This week, the focus is on the Monitoring Team as they put the shortlisted air quality monitors through a series of laboratory and real-world tests in order to evaluate their performance.
High-Quality Data:
A key determinant of good data is the accuracy of the readings reported by the monitors. The team has shortlisted four IAQ monitors to be tested. They have placed triplicates of each monitor in an experimental chamber where they are subjected to a series of tests by exposing them to various concentrations of real-world pollutant mixes, including PM2.5, CO2 and CO.
These tests include:
- Aerosols generated from burning activities (to simulate smoke from sources such as bushfires)
- Varied concentrations of office air (to simulate high CO2 concentrations)
- Motor vehicle exhaust emissions (containing CO2, PM2.5 and CO).
This allows us to study how the devices perform compared to a ‘gold standard’ reference instrument and against each other, while also testing how easily data is transferred through our systems.
Why Lab Validation?
A key complexity in managing indoor air and enforcing standards is having certainty around the data obtained. We cannot manage what we cannot accurately measure.
By comparing the devices to reference instruments and using robust statistical tests, we can identify which monitor most closely aligns with international guidelines (such as US-EPA and WELL standards). This ensures that the proper management protocols are actioned when needed, providing building managers and occupants with a true reflection of what they are being exposed to.
The Monitoring Team is also developing a standardised testing protocol to provide a pathway for the P-Block Model to be adopted globally.