'Double digit' growth is forecast in shipments of air quality and gas sensors used for demand based ventilation within buildings over the next five years, according to new research.
IMS Research's latest report, The EMEA and Americas Markets for Building Automation Controllers, Software and Sensors - 2011 Edition considers emerging trends on how buildings, which are increasingly air tight, tackle the problems associated with a reduction in air quality.

Higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) can cause drowsiness and create an inefficient working environment. Most traditional ventilation systems ventilate for the maximum capacity of the room whether occupied or not. By using gas sensors to determine the number of people in the room, the ventilation system can ventilate appropriately and efficiently.

IMS Research market analyst William Rhodes said: 'Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) is not a new phenomenon but has certainly seen a substantial increase in usage over the past 18 months. As governments and businesses look to generate energy savings, it is likely that DCV will continue to gain traction in the coming years and become the de facto standard for ventilation systems.'

The most common building automation sensor used for DCV is CO₂. IMS Research estimates that over 850,000 CO₂ sensors were used in building automation systems across EMEA and the Americas in 2010. The use of CO₂ building automation sensors for DCV is forecast to see double digit growth over the coming five years. However, some vendors have started to advocate the use of volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors as an alternative to CO₂ as an efficient method of DCV.

Mr Rhodes added: 'There are definite advantages of using VOC sensors for DCV. VOC sensors can pick up odours and smells that CO₂ would have otherwise missed. However, following extensive research, the general industry consensus is that VOC is an expensive solution and that it is not as effective as CO₂ for DCV. VOC sensors are likely to be increasingly used for DCV, but mainly installed in kitchens and within or around toilets where they can detect organic compounds, including odours and smells.'

Research shows that although steady growth is forecast for building automation temperature, humidity, pressure and occupancy sensors, growth from air quality sensors will be much faster over the coming years.