Case study: CrossFit gym. How one gym used natural ventilation to improve air quality.

There are over 14,000 independently owned CrossFit gyms. All are unique in design, size, and construction. With such a large footprint and variability in design, how can CrossFit gyms implement simple strategies to provide good indoor air quality for their members, employees, and visitors?  We spoke with Synergy John’s Creek, a CrossFit Affiliate in the USA to find out!

Background

Synergy Johns Creek - a Fitness Community serving Johns Creek, Suwanee, and South Forsyth wanted to ensure they were putting the health and wellbeing of their clients and staff first. There, the community provides expert functional fitness training and coaching to help people be fit and strong, and air quality is of course a huge part of this. In fact, when exercising, your breathing increases from 15 times per minute to 40-60 times a minute!¹ With this extra air consumption, making sure the air in gyms is healthy should be a priority for all fitness facilities.

Challenge

Finding the right solution, not only the problem, is a key challenge for many gyms who look to improve the air quality in their facilities. Concerns over increased costs and complicated solutions can make some draw pause, often resulting in continued poor air quality for visitors and employees. Luckily, this case study highlights the positive impact natural ventilation, i.e. opening a door or window, can have on indoor air quality, so long as you have the necessary data to make the decisions.  

Solution and results 

After installing an Airthings for Business solution throughout the CrossFit gym, they found that small changes could considerably improve their air quality. 

• Reduction in carbon dioxide

  The CO₂ levels were higher than average in the morning classes, due to the doors being closed during those classes. The simple solution was to open doors during classes to let fresh air in before members arrived, ensuring healthy CO₂ levels within the gym.

• Revised cleaning schedule

  Higher levels of airborne chemicals (VOCs) were recorded when the floors and equipment was being cleaned.The staff therefore introduced a new cleaning schedule to reduce employees, members, and visitors exposure to VOCs.

• Considering COVID risk

  In response to COVID-19 the CDC suggests a potential target benchmark for good ventilation is CO₂ readings below 800 ppm². With the Airthings for Business solution, the gym is able to monitor CO₂ levels accurately and make simple changes to stay below the recommended levels.

Since installation, Synergy Johns Creek has had an average of 571 ppm CO₂ levels, 47% relative humidity, and 145 ppb airborne chemicals (VOCs) well within the recommendations from Center for Disease Control, Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, and ANSI/ASHRAE³. The correct use of natural ventilation can resolve many air quality issues. The trick is, knowing when to open and letting fresh air in. 

Talk to one of our experts to find out about the CrossFit Bundle & how Airthings for Business can help your gym. Get in touch →

Sources:

1. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818249
2. .cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ventilation.html
3. Anonymous data collected with permission between March and April 2021.