The Airthings Virus Risk Indicator combines data from Airthings sensors that monitor CO2, humidity, and temperature into a proprietary algorithm, calculating the risk level of virus transmission in a building.
It evaluates four risk factors that correlate with airborne virus spread: virus survival rate, the body's natural defence, room occupancy, and ventilation rate. It promotes indoor environments where people thrive, but viruses don’t.
The Virus Risk Indicator operates through a custom-developed algorithm that uses some of these sensors to analyze the relationship between the device’s indoor air quality readings and the most common factors that contribute to airborne virus spread in an indoor space, such as a school, office, or place of business.
Which risk factors does the Virus Risk Indicator use to calculate the risk of virus transmission?
Virus Survival Rate: How long the virus can survive in the air.
Body's Natural Defences: How receptive/vulnerable the human body and immune system is to virus infection. Based on research of humidity levels, low humidity levels impair the body’s immune system, making people more vulnerable to airborne viruses.
Occupancy: In classrooms or meeting rooms with elevated CO2 levels the air exhaled by one person is inhaled by another as the air is not changing quick enough. Reducing the occupancy in closed spaces and giving the room time to “breathe” between use can help.
Ventilation Rate: How much fresh air is being brought into a space, a key factor for curbing indoor spread.