Smart building IoT technologies have radically altered the way today’s facility managers approach HVAC and air quality management. Rather than planning around presumed conditions and weather reports, or relying on outdated mechanical schedules, today’s advanced buildings are outfitted with internet-connected sensors and controls. This network of sophisticated IoT sensors makes it possible to automate setpoints with real-time insights. The constant feed of precise data on various building systems drives more energy-efficient decisions while boosting air quality and comfort.

Software, of course, plays a central role in making the information collected by your IoT devices useful. A cloud-based platform like ODIN can connect to a wide range of BACnet building sensors and automation systems to give users mobile-friendly access to real-time data, alerts, and schedules.

What IoT Devices Support Air Quality Monitoring?

IoT air quality solutions can include any smart, connected device that measures or controls indoor environmental conditions. For air quality, some of the most common include:

• IAQ sensors: Think detectors for CO, CO₂, VOC, PM2.5, humidity, and temperature.
• Smart thermostats: These might include temp/humidity sensors, but they’re also used to schedule temperature changes or adjust setpoints remotely.
• Airflow and pressure sensors: A great way to save energy! Monitor air exchange and room pressurization, then optimize it.
• Smart electrical meters: Track energy use and system performance, then adjust your energy strategy around trends in the data.
• Occupancy sensors: Detect when rooms are in use and improve your demand-driven ventilation capabilities.

Each of these components generates valuable data on their own, but without a system like ODIN to collect and organize that data, most of it goes underused. The biggest gains come from uniting them all in a comprehensive and user-friendly interface that’s accessible wherever you are (or, as we like to say, “put your building in your pocket”).

Better IAQ and No More Energy Waste

Smart building technologies shine most when IAQ monitoring is combined with control. With ODIN, facilities personnel can easily schedule and manage HVAC runtimes around real usage. On-demand insights and control, right on the smartphones your techs already carry, will lead to more fresh air when people are actually in the building and no unnecessary conditioning when they’re not.

For example, a school wing that sits empty during the summer break doesn’t need the same ventilation schedule as the admin offices or summer classrooms. However, there might be summer school…week-long subject-specific camps…continuing education courses…sports events in the gymnasium…and other intermittent reasons that ventilation and cooling become temporarily important in the offseason. ODIN gives facility teams the flexibility to scale back temperature and humidity control in unused zones, saving energy while keeping active zones comfortable.

The same principle applies in museums, where certain exhibit rooms may be sealed off or open to the public on limited hours. Smart scheduling ensures the right IAQ levels during visiting hours and reduces load when the space is dormant.

Centralized Access to Your Building’s Smart Devices

The core benefit of ODIN is the ease of access. Building automation systems may already be collecting IAQ data in your native BMS, but ODIN brings that information to the surface in a single, intuitive dashboard you can access from any internet-connected device.

Want to adjust a setpoint? Review an alert? Schedule a ventilation boost in a zone that just hit a CO₂ threshold? You don’t have to log in through a VPN or be on the local network. ODIN works from your phone or tablet, so you can manage IAQ performance remotely, whether you’re on-site or not.

Multi-building campuses find special value in this capability. Walking to a local panel every time you need to make a change is time-consuming and inefficient. It’s far faster to access the whole portfolio of buildings from a single interface.

Healthier Buildings, Smarter Compliance

The health benefits of smarter air quality control are clear: in healthcare settings, CO₂ spikes or stagnant air can impact vulnerable patients. In schools, meanwhile, poor IAQ has been linked to decreased concentration and increased absenteeism. In museums, high humidity or particulate levels can damage artwork and archives.

Smart building IoT devices, integrated through a platform like ODIN, gives facilities the control and responsiveness they need to keep IAQ within standards and avoid over-conditioning. Better compliance becomes easier with trend tracking and data exports that support internal QA protocols or regulatory reporting.

Because all changes and sensor readings are logged, ODIN also gives you the historical data needed to track performance over time or benchmark against other buildings.

Get Started With Smart Building IoT Control

Avoid the patchwork of separate apps or panel logins. Smart building automation should be straightforward and unified. ODIN is a cloud-based, BACnet-compatible platform that gathers the outputs of all your IoT air quality devices into one remote interface. Get started today to stay ahead of comfort complaints, energy waste, and compliance risks.

We already help schools, museums, grocery stores, assisted living facilities, and many other commercial and public organizations to regain control of their IAQ and energy usage. Put your IAQ sensors to work and make better decisions, faster.