RESET^® Air Accredited Monitor Process

1. Registration

To start the registration process, you will need to prepare to submit the:

• Application Form
• Data Access Documentation
• Two Week Monitor Self-Test

a. Application Form

Registration is required for monitor testing. Registration consists of completing the RESET Air Accredited Monitor Application document, available at the bottom of this page.

Note that manufacturers only need to fill in information applicable to their monitor(s). If a section is not applicable, indicate ‘N/A’.

Below is a list of information the application document will require you to fill in:

1. Company Information
2. Monitor - Basic Information
3. Monitor - Documentation for Usage
4. Monitor - Product Specification
5. Monitor - Sensor Information - PM2.5 (ug/m3)
6. Monitor - Sensor Information - CO2 (ppm)
7. Monitor - Sensor Information - TVOC (mg/m3 or ppb)
8. Monitor - Sensor Information - Temperature (°C or °F)
9. Monitor - Sensor Information - Relative Humidity (%RH)

b. Data Access Documentation

Documentation that explains how the raw data from the monitors will be accessed, including:

• Instructions to download the data
• Sample file of what the downloaded data will look like

c. Two Week Monitor Self-Test

All air quality monitors will be required to do a 2-week self-test before RESET will move forward with invoicing and payment.

The 2-week self-test consists of placing 5 monitors of the same brand and make next to each other in an office-like environment. The graph of the collected data should show that there is very little intra-variability between the 5 monitors. Intra-variability is part of the accreditation requirement. A self-test is used as a sanity check to make sure that the monitors are calibrated well enough to pass this requirement before sending it to RESET for testing and accreditation.

For instructions on setup, please refer to the Setup section below. A reference monitor is not needed.

The following need to be submitted for the Monitor Self-Test:

• A picture of the monitor testing setup
• Graph - for each parameter, there should be 5 lines representing the 5 monitors over the 2-week period
• Raw data that made up the graphs

2. Invoice and Payment

Once the registration is completed, an invoice will be sent along with the agreement/contract. A sample contract can be found in the downloadable section at the bottom of this page.

The testing phase can start upon receipt of payment and the monitors needed for testing. View the Pricing section for the monitor testing and accreditation fee.

3. Testing Phase

The testing phase is approximately a 2 month long process involving five of the monitoring devices. The five monitors will be placed next to each other in an active office environment and continuously monitor the indoor air quality for a month and a report will be generated based on the data acquired.

For more details on testing procedure and details, please go to Testing Details.

Following the completion of the tests, monitoring devices can be returned to the inquiring party with costs paid for by said party. The results of the test will be collected into a report that will be sent to the inquiring party.

4. Monitor Accreditation

Upon passing the RESET Air Accredited Monitor Testing, the monitor will receive RESET Air Accredited Monitor status and be published on the RESET website in the Monitors Directory. A digitally signed certificate will be sent to the submitting party.

In the event that the submitted monitor fails part of or all of the RESET Air Accredited Monitor Test and requirements, the RESET team offers support and resolution services for the submitting party and offers a second test at no extra cost.

Purpose

The purpose of the RESET Air Accredited Monitor test is to make sure that air quality monitors can perform to Grade B requirements and provide relevant and actionable data for indoor environments. The testing expectation is for the monitors of a certain make and model to perform accurately over time. In regards to accuracy, the most important metric is intra-variability, or the accuracy and difference in readings between the monitors being tested.

The main reason we go for relative accuracy rather than exact accuracy is due to the state of PM2.5 and TVOC sensors.

• PM2.5, the readings might be different depending on where the calibration was initially performed. PM2.5 calibration consists of converting particle counts to ug/m3, which needs to take into consideration the average weight of particulates in the air, therefore, a region with more manufacturing will typically have a larger k-factor for conversion.
• For TVOC, different sensors from different manufacturers react to specific VOCs differently, but the same make and brand should be consistent.

For the other 3 parameters of CO2, Temperature, and Relative Humidity, these sensors are mature enough for absolute accuracy.

In other words, the most important aspect of the testing is to make sure that a specific brand and make can be consistent against other units of the same brand and make. Reference monitors are used to verify that the peaks and troughs generally match and accuracy of the readings against the reference are not critical for passing. Lack of accuracy against the reference often can be fixed with a k-factor.

Process

The monitors will remain in the same location and run for one month. As an actively used office space:

• PM2.5 levels will fluctuate due to outdoor air, filtration, and human activity.
• CO2 levels will fluctuate due to the human activity during weekdays.
• TVOC levels will fluctuate due to the cleaning of the espresso coffee machine in the reception area.
• Temperature and Relative Humidity will fluctuate due to the heating or cooling of the office during work days.

Results

Data is collected and averaged to 30 minute averages to even out the readings a bit, which is then used to determine the final results.

In the report, we select a couple peaks and troughs and add them into a calculator that looks at the difference between the readings compared to the average of the 5 monitors. If it is within accuracy requirements and follows the trend of the reference, then that parameter will likely pass.

Typically, a simple visual eye test of the one month long graph will already a very good determinant of whether or not a specific parameter will pass.