“We no longer get an after­noon slump,” Delia Batt sums up her expe­ri­ence working every day in the new office, laughing. Batt is an asso­ciate at the British real estate consul­tancy Gerald Eve, and is a member of the compa­nies ESG steering group. Since June 2022, she and 400 of her colleagues have been working in new accom­mo­da­tion in the chic heart of the London West End. Open-plan offices, meeting rooms, a library and client lounge are spread over two floors. Good air rounds off the broad-minded, modern ambiance and has contributed to a reduc­tion in employees after­noon fatigue.

Three ques­tions about air quality

Before moving to the newly reno­vated space in the pioneering building One Fitzroy, built in 2015, the company had three ques­tions on its agenda, which were also linked to the quality of the air in the rooms.

400 colleagues are working in the new accom­mo­da­tion in the chic heart of the London West End. (Photo | Andrea Artz)

Delia Batt appre­ci­ates the good, produc­tive working atmos­phere. (Photo: Andrea Artz | Fotogloria)

Tom Marshall (left) leads the sustain­ability strategy at Gerald Eve - and sees air quality as a key factor for satis­fied employees. Tony Wright from ebm-papst neo imple­mented the RESET certi­fi­ca­tion in Gerald Eve's chic new London office. (Photo: Andrea Artz | Fotogloria)

How can I get my work­force back into the office to work together after working from home during the pandemic? How can the climate of the new office also promote health and well-being in general? And how do I monitor the air quality to meet the require­ments of the BREEAM and Fitwel sustain­ability certifi­cates?

From order to certi­fi­ca­tion in no time at all

Tony Wright, Divi­sional Director & Head of UK Sales – Digital Solu­tions ebm-papst, was asked for advice and provided answers to these ques­tions: “We suggested certi­fi­ca­tion by RESET.” This inter­na­tional air quality stan­dard involves contin­uous real-time measure­ment of the air. Wright and his team studied the building plans, iden­ti­fied the optimum posi­tions for the sensors and agreed the plan with RESET. Nine sensors across both floors now contin­u­ously measure CO2 content, temper­a­ture, rela­tive humidity, total volatile organic compounds and partic­u­late matter (PM2.5). The data is deliv­ered to a plat­form, which forwards it to RESET.

“It’s simply a good feeling to know that you are breathing in good air throughout the day!” Tom Marshall – Partner at Gerald Eve

“Since we imple­mented the plan during the reno­va­tion, we were able to simply lay Ethernet cables to the sensors, which also take care of the power supply,” explains Wright. This was an ideal solu­tion in three ways: Only one cable is required for data and power. Unlike a USB-C supply, which is commonly used, employees are not tempted to quickly charge their cell phones, which deac­ti­vates the sensors. And finally, the inte­grated cables are also the most visu­ally clean imple­men­ta­tion. They simply look like stylish, unob­tru­sive light switches on the wall.

Find the sensor! The incon­spic­uous air meters blend into the inte­rior like a light switch. (Photo: Andrea Arzt | Fotogloria)

Always knowing what's going on in the air: Tony Wright and Delia Batt take a look at the sensor data. (Photo: Andrea Artz | Fotogloria)

The data from the IAQ sensors can also be easily accessed via smart­phone. (Photo: Andrea Artz | Fotogloria)

After the sensors were approved, the three-month certi­fi­ca­tion process began in June 2022, during which time the system detects whether the IAQ para­me­ters were perma­nently within a defined range. In total, the project took just four and a half months from receiving the order to certi­fi­ca­tion. “Intro­ducing RESET is one of the simplest and most cost-effec­tive ways to increase air quality in rooms,” says Tony Wright with confi­dence. If the sensors register the dete­ri­o­ra­tion of a para­meter, Facility Manage­ment is respon­sible for reme­dying the problem. Deborah McVerry, who leads the FM team comments: “Short-term devi­a­tions may indi­cate that a venti­lation unit has failed. A long-term down­ward trend can be attrib­uted to main­te­nance, clean­li­ness or filter prob­lems. We are then able to raise issues with the building manage­ment team for reso­lu­tion in a timely manner.”

Good air makes a good impres­sion

Gerald Eve can tell the work­force about the measured values. “It’s simply a good feeling to know that you are breathing in good air throughout the day,” says Tom Marshall, who leads the envi­ron­mental strategy at Gerald Eve. “The well-being and health of our employees is key to Gerald Eve. A healthy envi­ron­ment not only avoids fatigue and other direct prob­lems, but it also prevents long-term illnesses.” Having reli­able data with RESET to achieve this objec­tive not only brings advan­tages for Gerald Eve in house: “As a real estate consul­tant it is impor­tant that we really live the values that we promote and repre­sent. Good air makes good sense for our colleagues, clients and visi­tors.”