Smarter, healthier workplaces could lure us back to the office

Smart systems to keep us happier and healthier while we are at work are promising to transform the world’s offices, just as some company leaders are wondering how best to tempt employees back to the workplace after the pandemic.

The latest generation of air conditioning and lighting systems use tiny sensors to monitor and control the office environment. The technology is greener and it gives companies the chance to re-think their ideas about their offices at a time when home working as a result of COVID-19 remains popular in some sectors.

Three in four IT workers in India are coming into the office less than once a week according to a survey by HR firm CEIL, reported in The Economic Times. In the US, the app Yelp is closing its offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The company said that average weekly workspace utilization was less than 2%, according to CBS News.

Those employees returning to their offices could notice big changes, as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) tackle age-old office gripes like problems with air conditioning. SP Digital’s GET Control, for example, uses real-time weather data, and tracks the number of people in the building to deliver a comfortable, consistent temperature.

The system divides the office into micro-zones and monitors the heat levels across them to make sure the entire building is at the required temperature, without cold or hot spots building up through the working day.

This means that instead of workers having to ask for air conditioning to be turned up or down, the system should make any changes needed based on the data its sensors have collected from around the office.

Clement Cheong, SP Digital’s vice president of sales and customer operations, told Eco-business.com that since the pandemic, workers are more concerned about indoor air quality (IAQ):

“They want to have visibility into IAQ and the building’s measures to monitor and improve IAQ. Even though occupants may spend less time in the office, they want a better, healthier indoor experience.”

If office working is to stage a comeback, it will need to boost its environmental credentials too. Buildings are among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, according to the European Climate Foundation.

More targeted, AI-driven air conditioning and lighting systems can gather data about where and when different parts of an office building are being used. This enables managers to make sure workspaces and energy are being used as efficiently as possible, reducing emissions.

Scientists have also developed a new type of sustainable cooling technology that uses ultrafine nickel-titanium alloy wires. The wires have a “shape memory” which means they can tense and relax like artificial muscles. When they do this, they transport heat and can be used to control air temperature.

Professor Stefan Seelecke of Saarland University and the Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology says: “Our process is energy efficient and doesn’t require the use of refrigerants that are harmful to the climate… our technology is up to 15 times more efficient than systems based on conventional refrigerants.”

Another breakthrough has the potential to make office workers safer from COVID-19 - and other viruses - while they are at work. A new type of ultraviolet light has been shown to make indoor air as safe as being outdoors, by reducing the level of airborne microbes by more than 98% in less than five minutes.

The light - known as far-UVC - can be beamed from ceiling lights, killing the bugs that can spread around an office. Unlike conventional UVC, far-UVC isn’t harmful to human skin or eyes.

It could also have a protective function, according to David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and co-author of a study on far-UVC. “Using this technology in locations where people gather indoors could prevent the next potential pandemic,” he says.