While the majority of businesses, large and small, have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants in particular have suffered greatly. Dining indoors was and is still considered a risk by most people due to close proximity with maskless individuals from varying households. The focus is on restaurant indoor air quality for reopening plans that benefit customers, employees, and businesses alike.

The US Environmental Protection Agency says “there is growing evidence that the novel coronavirus remains airborne in indoor environments for hours, potentially increasing in concentration over time,” and has recommended increasing building ventilation and air filtration as a part of a larger strategy.

Improving Ventilation in the Restaurant

There are a multitude of steps can take to ensure that the restaurant is properly ventilated at all times.

1. Regularly change the air filtersto prevent dust and debris from circulating.
2. Ensure that the HVAC system is inspected and maintained on an annual basis.
3. Invest in VOC-free cleaning products as they reduce chemical pollution.
4. Clean equipment and surfaces to prevent a buildup of dust and debris from entering the HVAC system.
5. Invest in a whole-building mechanical ventilation system.
6. Utilize natural ventilation when appropriate by opening windows and doors.

How to Assess IAQ of Restaurant

Assess the restaurant’s air quality by checking temperature and humidity levels to ensure they are ideal. Indoor humidity should fall within the 40% to 60% range in order to maintain a healthy and comfortable atmosphere. Also consider hiring an experienced local IAQ expert to evaluate the business space and suggest the best personalized IAQ recommendations, or just adding an indoor air quality monitoring sensor to notice air quality trends and monitor in real-time.

Milesight IAQ Improvement Solution

Milesight AM300 Series is a LoRaWAN® sensor device designed for indoor ambient condition measurement, especially for indoor air quality monitoring.

The AM300 Series Ambience Monitoring Sensor built-in 9 high accuracy sensors to measure various ambient conditions including carbon dioxide (CO2), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone (O3), temperature, humidity, motion, light, and barometric pressure. The bright spot of AM300 series is it presents the indoor comfort level and air quality on the screen with vivid emoticon. It makes the indoor air quality is visible to both restaurant’s owners and guests. That reassures guests to eat and drink in restaurant confidently, and is also enabled restaurant owner to adjust ventilation timely and properly.

Based on LoRaWAN® technology, all of AM300 series sensors in the restaurant could be covered by just one UG65 LoRaWAN gateway, the collecting data could be sent to Milesight IoT Cloud and then visualized on the Mobile App or Web. This out of box solution would be the best investment for helping restaurant owners to improve the ventilation and reopening restaurant with confidence.