Most people spend the vast majority of their days indoors. Indoor air quality is therefore a very important part of our daily lives. If the indoor environment is not carefully controlled, stressors can build up creating uncomfortable or even unhealthy conditions. In some instances poor environmental conditions can lead to sick building syndrome or other building related illnesses. Physical discomfort can result from improperly controlled temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels as well as from poor hygiene, unpleasant odors, moisture problems, airborne particulates, bioaerosols, etc.

Indoor air quality surveys generally include conducting a site visit to inspect the areas of concern and talk to building occupants to get a consensus on indoor environmental complaints. Common physical stressors such as temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are also generally measured as a standard preliminary assessment and can be used to identify common problems with the HVAC system and to verify that sufficient outside air is being brought into the building. More difficult problems that may need to be assessed could include obnoxious odors, airborne particulates, chemicals off-gassing from interior fabrics, microbial contamination, etc. TPT has conducted numerous indoor air quality surveys to assess building air quality as well as other indoor environmental concerns.

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