Lumalier in Your Office

Cleaner air, healthier employees, higher productivity

Sick building syndrome. The term (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.

To save on rising energy costs, new buildings are tightly sealed and modern ventilation systems recycle a large portion of inside air. Whether a building is old or new, the same recirculated air is breathed again and again by the people working in these buildings. The problem is made worse by pollutants from furnishings, modern office equipment and supplies, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and secondhand tobacco smoke. In fact, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease poorly ventilated office spaces aid in the transmission of pneumonia to three million people annually.*

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), improving buildings and indoor environments could reduce healthcare costs and sick leave and increase worker performance, resulting in an estimated productivity gain of $30 billion to $150 billion annually. The DOE further estimated the potential decrease in adverse health effects from improvements in indoor environments to be 10 percent to 30 percent for infectious lung disease, allergies and asthma; and 20 percent to 50 percent for Sick Building Syndrome symptoms. For the United States, the corresponding annual healthcare savings plus productivity gains are:

• $6 billion to $19 billion from reduced lung disease,
• $1 billion to $4 billion from reduced allergies and asthma,
• $10 billion to $20 billion from reduced Sick Building Syndrome symptoms,
• $12 billion to $125 billion from direct improvements in worker performance unrelated to health.*

UVGI units from Lumalier can significantly reduce the effects of SBS by removing biological contaminants and volatile organic compounds from the air. Learn more about our products for individual offices or entire office buildings.