Office Air Quality Monitoring During Haze in Malaysia PM2.5 and CO Monitoring Solutions Introduction When haze affects Malaysia, office employees may spend most of the working day indoors. Windows may remain closed. Air conditioning may operate continuously. Air purifiers may be switched on. But an important question remains: What is the actual air quality inside the office? Outdoor AQI or API provides useful information about general ambient air conditions, but it does not directly measure the air: At an employee's desk Inside a meeting room At reception Near the main entrance On different floors For offices in Malaysia, monitoring PM2.5 and CO can provide useful information about both particulate pollution and occupied-space ventilation conditions. Why Offices Should Monitor Indoor Air During Haze Office buildings can be affected by outdoor haze through: Main entrances Frequently opened doors Building leakage Outdoor air intakes Mechanical ventilation Loading areas Nearby roads At the same time, keeping a building closed can affect ventilation conditions in occupied rooms. This creates a balancing challenge between: Outdoor particulate pollution and Indoor ventilation. Outdoor AQI Is Not Your Office Reading Suppose an outdoor air quality service reports elevated pollution in: Puchong, Selangor. That tells you about outdoor conditions in the area. It does not tell you the PM2.5 concentration: inside your meeting room. Two offices in the same building can even show different results depending on: Location Occupancy HVAC Doors Filtration Air purifier use Indoor measurement is therefore important. PM2.5 Monitoring in Offices During haze, PM2.5 is one of the important parameters to monitor. Potential office monitoring locations include: Reception Main entrance Open office Meeting rooms Training rooms Management rooms Pantry Different floors Portable monitoring can help identify which areas have higher particulate levels. CO Monitoring in Offices CO is useful for a different reason. In occupied indoor environments, CO can provide useful information related to occupancy and ventilation. This is particularly relevant for: Meeting rooms Conference rooms Training rooms Small offices Enclosed workspaces A room can have relatively low PM2.5 while CO is increasing. Meeting Rooms Are Especially Important Meeting rooms are often: Enclosed Air-conditioned Highly occupied Used for long periods Imagine: Meeting begins ↓ 8 people enter ↓ Doors remain closed ↓ Meeting continues for one hour ↓ CO increases Without monitoring, employees may simply describe the room as: “Stuffy.” A CO monitor provides measurable information. PM2.5 and CO Tell Different Stories During haze: PM2.5 Helps assess fine particulate conditions. CO Provides useful information related to occupied-space ventilation. This means an office can experience four different situations: PM2.5COPossible SituationLowerLowerBetter controlled conditionHigherLowerOutdoor particulate infiltration may require investigationLowerHigherVentilation / occupancy may require investigationHigherHigherBoth particulate and ventilation conditions may require attention The readings should always be interpreted in the context of the building. Closing Windows Is Not the Whole Solution During haze, offices may close windows to reduce outdoor pollution entering. This may help in some buildings. But if ventilation becomes insufficient for occupancy, CO may increase. Therefore: Close windows + ignore CO is not a complete indoor air quality strategy. Opening Windows Is Not Always the Answer Either If outdoor particulate pollution is elevated, opening windows may introduce more PM2.5. This is why office IAQ management during haze should be based on: Outdoor conditions Indoor PM2.5 Indoor CO HVAC design Filtration Occupancy rather than one simple rule. Air Conditioning Does Not Automatically Mean Good IAQ Employees often associate a cool office with good air. But air conditioning primarily addresses thermal conditions. Depending on the system design, it may involve different levels of: Recirculation Outdoor air Filtration Ventilation A comfortable temperature does not automatically mean low PM2.5 or appropriate CO conditions. Test Office Air Purifiers Some offices install portable air purifiers during haze. A PM2.5 monitor can help evaluate their effect. For example: Record PM2.5 ↓ Turn On Air Purifier ↓ Continue Monitoring ↓ Observe PM2.5 Trend ↓ Compare Before and After This provides actual evidence of how particulate conditions are changing. Compare Different Locations A portable Temtop monitor can also be used for an office survey. For example: Reception ↓ Open Office ↓ Meeting Room ↓ Training Room ↓ Management Office ↓ Area Near Entrance This may reveal environmental differences that employees cannot see. Temtop M100 for Office Haze Monitoring The Temtop M100 can be considered for office monitoring involving: PM2.5 PM10 CO AQI This combination is particularly useful during haze because users can observe both particulate conditions and CO. Potential applications include: Office desks Meeting rooms Reception areas Training rooms Building surveys Why M100 Is Useful for Office Facility Teams A facility manager can move the M100 between locations and ask: Is PM2.5 higher near the entrance? Is CO higher in meeting rooms? Does the air purifier reduce PM2.5? Are different floors behaving differently? This turns the instrument into an investigation tool rather than simply a display. Temtop M10 for Connected Office Monitoring The Temtop M10 can be considered where users want monitoring involving: PM2.5 CO VOC Temperature Relative humidity with supported app connectivity. This is useful where users want to observe indoor conditions over time. VOC Monitoring in Offices VOC monitoring may become relevant after: Renovation Painting New furniture installation New flooring Office fit-out General VOC monitoring can support screening. However, a general VOC sensor should not automatically be treated as a specific chemical analyser. Temperature and Humidity Temperature and humidity provide additional context. For example, employees may complain that an office is: Too warm Too cold Too dry Too humid Combining thermal parameters with PM2.5 and CO provides a broader picture of the indoor environment. A practical office survey can begin with: Step 1 Reception Measure PM2.5 and CO. Step 2 Open Office Compare readings. Step 3 Meeting Rooms Observe CO during occupancy. Step 4 Areas Near Entrances Check particulate conditions. Step 5 Air Purifier Areas Compare PM2.5 before and after operation. Step 6 Review Patterns Identify locations that may need further monitoring. From Complaint to Measurement Instead of receiving complaints such as: “The office air is bad.” facility teams can ask: Which room? What time? How many occupants? What was PM2.5? What was CO? Was the HVAC operating? Was haze occurring outside? This makes investigations more structured. When One Portable Monitor Is Not Enough A portable instrument works well for surveys. But imagine an office with: 8 floors 20 meeting rooms 300 employees Moving one monitor around cannot provide continuous information from all areas. At this point, multi-point monitoring becomes more useful. Continuous Office IAQ Monitoring A continuous system may monitor: Reception PM2.5 + CO Open Office Level 1 PM2.5 + CO Open Office Level 2 PM2.5 + CO Meeting Room 1 PM2.5 + CO Training Room PM2.5 + CO ↓ Central Dashboard This allows facility teams to view multiple areas simultaneously. Historical Data Continuous monitoring provides trends. Facility teams can investigate: Morning conditions Peak occupancy Meeting periods Lunch periods Evening Overnight Haze events This helps identify recurring patterns. Example: Meeting Room CO Pattern Historical data might show: 9:00 AM Room empty ↓ 9:30 AM Meeting begins ↓ 10:00 AM CO rising ↓ 10:30 AM Higher CO ↓ 11:00 AM Meeting ends ↓ Room recovers This information can help facility teams investigate ventilation performance. Example: Haze PM2.5 Pattern Historical monitoring may show: Outdoor haze worsens ↓ Indoor PM2.5 begins increasing ↓ Air purifier activated ↓ Indoor PM2.5 decreases ↓ Outdoor conditions improve This creates a useful record of how the building responds. Central Dashboard For larger offices, a dashboard may display: PM2.5 CO Temperature Humidity Monitoring location Historical trends Sensor status Alerts This moves IAQ management beyond individual portable instruments. Multi-Branch Office Monitoring Companies with several offices may also require: Kuala Lumpur Office Selangor Office Penang Office Johor Office ↓ Central Monitoring Platform This allows facility teams to compare environmental conditions across different locations. Haze Monitoring for Corporate Offices A company may develop a haze monitoring programme involving: Outdoor Air Quality Review ↓ Indoor PM2.5 Monitoring ↓ CO Monitoring ↓ Filtration Review ↓ Historical Data ↓ Facility Response This creates a more structured approach than simply waiting for employee complaints. Portable Monitor vs Continuous System RequirementPortable Temtop MonitorContinuous MonitoringSpot CheckExcellentGoodRoom ComparisonExcellentExcellentAir Purifier TestingExcellentExcellentMeeting Room CO InvestigationExcellentExcellent24/7 DataLimitedExcellentMultiple Rooms SimultaneouslyLimitedExcellentHistorical DashboardLimitedExcellentMulti-Building MonitoringLimitedExcellent Many organisations can begin with portable monitoring and expand later. A Practical Office IAQ Development Strategy The project can develop in stages: Stage 1 Portable Temtop Monitor ↓ Stage 2 Office IAQ Survey ↓ Stage 3 Identify Problem Areas ↓ Stage 4 Monitor Key Rooms ↓ Stage 5 Install Fixed Sensors ↓ Stage 6 Central Dashboard ↓ Stage 7 Multi-Floor Monitoring ↓ Stage 8 Multi-Building Monitoring This allows the solution to grow according to actual requirements. Example Office Project Enquiry A useful enquiry could be: Application: Corporate Office Location: Selangor, Malaysia Floors: 6 Employees: Approximately 250 Meeting Rooms: 12 Parameters: PM2.5 + CO + Temperature + Humidity Monitoring: 24/7 Historical Data: Required Dashboard: Required Alerts: Required Future Expansion: Additional Branch Offices This immediately identifies a larger IAQ monitoring opportunity. Information Needed for an Office IAQ Proposal Customers can provide: Office location Number of floors Approximate floor area Number of employees Number of meeting rooms Required parameters PM2.5 / PM10 requirement CO requirement VOC requirement Portable or fixed monitoring Number of monitoring points Historical data requirement Dashboard requirement Alert requirement Number of office locations Floor plan if available This helps determine whether portable instruments or a continuous monitoring system is more appropriate. From Temtop Monitor to Corporate IAQ Monitoring The development path can be: Temtop M100 / M10 ↓ Office Air Quality Survey ↓ PM2.5 + CO Investigation ↓ Meeting Room Monitoring ↓ Multi-Point Sensors ↓ 24/7 Monitoring ↓ Central Dashboard ↓ Multi-Floor Monitoring ↓ Multi-Branch Corporate IAQ Monitoring System The first sale may be one monitor. The long-term opportunity can be an entire building. Why Choose MTM Precision? MTM Precision Sdn. Bhd. supplies Temtop air quality monitors and professional environmental monitoring solutions throughout Malaysia. We support office applications involving: PM2.5 monitoring PM10 monitoring CO monitoring VOC screening Temperature and humidity monitoring Haze monitoring Meeting room monitoring Office IAQ surveys Multi-point monitoring Historical data Continuous monitoring Central dashboards Multi-building environmental monitoring For office projects, customers can provide their building layout, occupancy, required parameters and monitoring objectives for evaluation. Contact MTM Precision MTM Precision Sdn. Bhd. Showroom & Service Centre No. 29-1 & 29-2, Jalan Bandar 18, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47160 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia 🌐 Website: www.mtmpre.com.my 📧 Email: mtmpre@yahoo.com 📱 WhatsApp: +6016-660 7346 Copy Link