Air pollution is a significant environmental factor affecting human health and wellbeing globally. Pollutants contribute to lung disease as well as other chronic health conditions associated with toxins in the air.
While ambient (outdoor) air quality is regulated by government, the importance of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is only now becoming fully understood. It is now realised, for example, that poor indoor air quality may be linked to asthma and allergies, chronic lung disease, reduced productivity and impaired cognitive abilities.
NICE, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, noted in their Guidance on Indoor Air Quality that people who may be particularly vulnerable to ill health as a result of exposure to poor indoor air quality include:
- People with a pre‑existing health condition such as asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease
- Pregnant women and their unborn babies
- Pre-school children
- Older people
- People who live in poor-quality housing
- People exposed to tobacco smoke in their homes.
Raising awareness of poor indoor air quality in the home and addressing poor indoor environments in the social housing sector are specific objectives of the NICE Guidance for Local Authorities.
As a response to the current situation where people are largely ‘in the dark’ about the quality of the air in their home, Sensyqo is developing a consumer environmental IoT specifically to monitor IAQ in people’s homes, and also provide outdoor air quality data, all in one place.
Sensyqo’s solution is called Air365. It provides users with helpful information about their home environment and air they breathe and also, importantly, provides targeted guidance and calls to actions.
In this way it allows people to monitor, control and improve their indoor environment – and thus help protect the health and well-being of everybody in their home.
Air365 belongs to the Internet of Things (IoT) category of products that contain sensors, are connected to internet and transmit data. By definition, then, it comprises hardware, software and connectivity.
The embedded environmental sensors measure temperature, humidity, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inhalable dust particles (PM2.5) in your indoor environment and collect and send data to the Cloud for analysis.
If you already have previous experience with smart devices, or if you have never used them before, you can easily set up Air365 using your smart phone or tablet and start collecting IAQ data which the Air365 mobile application will help you to interpret.
A user-friendly and intuitive mobile application interface will allow you to see your current and historical indoor and outdoor air quality data, receive alerts, notifications, analysis and advice.
Sensyqo have just opened their seed funding round on SeedLegals in order to raise finance for their first mass production round.
Air365 will be available via monthly subscription and our most likely users will be people with asthma and COPD as well as families with young kids with allergies.