READ TIME: 5min
The invisible culprit holding back ‘smart’ infrastructure
AUDIO
O ver the past two decades in South Africa’s air-treatment sector, I have seen too many projects overlook IAQ until it becomes an expensive retrofit. Research in South Africa’s Green Star-rated buildings also showed that occupants were dissatisfied with ventilation, and reported symptoms directly linked to IAQ, such as fatigue, headaches and colds. According to Dr Stephanie Taylor , Infection Control Consultant at Harvard Medical School, there is also overwhelming scientific
evidence that a mid-range air humidity of 40 – 60% Relative Humidity (RH) has significant benefits for human health – in turn having an impact on staff productivity and absenteeism. Where air fits in the green equation Across commercial and mixed-use projects, developers are measured against green standards such as EDGE, LEED and Green Star SA. These tools increasingly reward strategies that treat air as a designed
Air treatment should be seen as part of the smart-infrastructure toolkit.
In many ‘smart’ buildings, energy, water and waste are carefully accounted for. But talk to the people inside and you hear a different story: heavy air, humidity complaints, stuffy meetings, even equipment sweating in server and plant rooms. People spend up to 90% of their time indoors, yet air is often treated as an afterthought. If the air is wrong, the building is wrong. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is not a nice-to-have. It belongs on the drawing board from day one, alongside the structure and the services.
By Wynand Deyzel: Commercial Sales Manager at Solenco
October 2025 | Issue 141 | Asset Magazine 85
84 Asset Magazine | Issue 141 | October 2025
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