PID Instrument Used to Monitor VOCs During Construction of Properties for People with Chemical Sensitivities

California-based design-build group, pH Living, is using an Ion Science (UK) Tiger hand held photoionisation (PID) detector to monitor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the construction of its bespoke residential and commercial properties for people with chemical sensitivities. This is in line with the new Healthy Home Standard developed by the International Institute for the Building Biology and Ecology (IBE).

pH Living is a design-build group and think tank specialising in healthy, sustainable, transparent and affordable residential and commercial property solutions worldwide. The company designs, manufactures and installs custom homes that are certified by an independent third party assessor as meeting the Healthy Homes Standard for Conventional Construction.

Larry Gust from PH Living comments: “Our goal is to become the leading home provider to the some seven million people in America suffering with chemical sensitivity and environmental allergies or people who just want a healthier home for themselves and their children. We recognise the growing need for these people to have access to homes consciously produced without harmful toxins.

Larry continues: “As a result, our properties need to have the lowest possible level of contamination from VOCs. Whilst we select building materials, finishes and furnishings that have either very low or no VOC emissions, we use the Ion Science Tiger to guarantee that we do not exceed the minimum accepted levels as required by the Healthy Home Standard.”

VOCs are found in natural woods, NAUF plywood, NAUF oriented strandboard, sealants, paint, mould release compounds and modified mortars.

A robust hand held VOC detector, Tiger provides a dynamic detection range of 1 parts per billion (ppb) to 20,000 parts per million (ppm), offering the widest measurement range of any other VOC instrument on the market.

Larry adds: “The Tiger is used to check incoming material samples and during the construction of modules before they leave the factory. We chose this particular model because it is self-stabilising, allows instantaneous readings and incorporates data logging. We also upgraded to an 11.7 Argon lamp for maximum ionisation and to ensure the detection of substances like formaldehyde which is commonly found in many building materials. It is very easy to use and calibrate and we have been pleased with the overall service.”

The Tiger handheld VOC detector leads the way with its humidity and contamination resistant PID technology, proven to be the best performing against competing instruments when operating in humid and contaminated environments where it provides the most stable, repeatable readings.

Ready to use, straight out of the box, the Tiger requires no complex set up procedures via a PC to perform basic functions and provides the best available VOC detection and software features available.

Ion Science’s Tiger also has the fastest response time on the market of just two seconds and can be connected directly to a PC via the USB offering extremely fast data download capabilities.

It has been designed for the safe replacement of batteries in hazardous environments and is intrinsically safe (IS) - meeting ATEX, IECEx, UL and CSA standards.