The average person spends 90% of their time breathing indoor air.

For that reason alone, indoor air quality (IAQ) is a major concern for all businesses, students, building managers, tenants, and employees because it can impact occupant health, comfort, well-being, and productivity.

That’s where Rhombus smart sensor, the E2, comes in.

The E2 Air Quality Sensor is part of Rhombus’ suite of IoT smart sensors. It's a plug-and-play sensor that lets you continuously monitor air quality and receive sensor-based alerts in real-time.

With the E2, you can:

• Detect smoke, vape, and unhealthy particulates in real-time
• Protect against unsafe levels of airborne chemicals, including CO2, TVOC, and ethanol
• Monitor harsh, remote, or submerged environments for temperature and humidity
• Track environmental conditions with synchronized video evidence in the Rhombus Console or Mobile App

Like all Rhombus IoT sensors, the E2 communicates seamlessly with the rest of the Rhombus platform. This means you can pair it with Rhombus’ smart security cameras to capture synchronized video clips of sensor events and layer E2 functionality with other devices and integrations.

The E2 Air Quality Sensor has major benefits for any environment in which people spend most of their time indoors. Here are the top ways you can use the sensor to create healthier, happier, and more productive spaces.

1. Detect vape and smoke

Rhombus’ E2 sensor is uniquely suited to detect vaping in schools and workplace environments. With it, you can accurately detect when and where vaping occurs and obtain synchronized video evidence of any incidents.

Here’s how the E2 helps you create healthier, vape-free environments:

1. Install the E2 anywhere, including common vaping locations like restrooms and stairwells. Because the sensor doesn't record video or sound, privacy rights are not infringed.
2. When vape or THC is detected, the E2 reacts in real-time. It records the incident, including the amount of substance detected, and sends an alert directly to administrators.
3. Once vape is detected, you decide what to do with that information. You can pair the E2 with a nearby camera to capture video evidence of who triggered the sensor. The unified Rhombus Platform and its many integrations give you the flexibility to respond how you need to.

Who can benefit from vape and smoke detection?

• Schools: K-12 schools today struggle with what’s been called a youth vaping epidemic. The E2 combats this with reliable smoke, vape, and THC detection with synchronized security footage. You can place the sensor inside common vaping areas like restrooms and pair it with an exterior camera to obtain video evidence without infringing on student privacy.
• Hotels:  In areas where smoking is prohibited, sensors can help you hold parties responsible for damages and cleaning fees.
• Healthcare: In environments where second-hand smoke or vape is a pronounced health risk, the E2 can help you quickly take action when smoking occurs.

2. Protect health and improve productivity

Air quality has huge implications not just for health but for absenteeism, decision-making, and productivity. Better ventilation reduces the transmission risk of airborne viruses, and a recent study found that higher air quality more than doubles cognitive performance in workers.  

With the E2, you can immediately identify when the air quality drops below a certain threshold. Armed with this information, you can take the necessary action to improve ventilation and air quality levels. This may mean changing the physical environment, such as adding air purifiers to locations that are determined to be high-risk, or automatically trigger building HVAC systems as needed.   

Here's how the E2 can help monitor and improve air quality within a space:

1. The E2 continuously monitors the building for air quality markers (VOC, CO2 levels, level of particulates in the air, and more). You can set custom thresholds for each marker.
2. When the E2 detects poor air quality, it sends an alert and communicates with the Rhombus Platform in real-time.
3. Because Rhombus is a unified solution, you can set up the E2 to automatically trigger connected building systems, such as HVAC, to turn on, off, or increase ventilation and filtration as needed.

Who can benefit from better air quality?

The E2 and the associated health and cognitive benefits from better air quality can aid any organization in which people spend a lot of time indoors.

• All indoor workplaces: Better air quality improves health, quality of life, and productivity. Offices can reduce absenteeism due to ill health and fatigue and improve productivity and decision-making across the board.
• Healthcare: Better air quality improves crisis response by 97-131%, meaning it’s especially beneficial in high-stakes environments such as healthcare and in hospitals.
• Schools: Better air quality reduces the spread of illness through the student body and faculty, and the increase in cognitive function stands to improve student learning.

3. Protect against toxic chemicals and gases

With the E2, you can continually monitor an area for hazardous airborne chemicals. Once a threat is detected, you can then automatically trigger the necessary emergency protocols.

Here’s how the E2 can protect your organization from toxic fumes and gases:

1. The E2 continuously monitors the building for toxic chemicals and gases, such as TVOC and ethanol.  This includes sensing unsafe oxygen levels and the presence of unhealthy particulate matter.
2. When the E2 detects an airborne toxin, it immediately sends an alert. You choose who receives these alerts—onsite security, managers on the clock, or even all employees.  
3. Because Rhombus is a unified solution, you can take emergency response a step further and set up the E2 to automatically trigger the emergency action you need. If a safety threshold is passed, you can have the Rhombus system activate the HVAC system to increase ventilation or broadcast an alarm or audio message prompting workers to evacuate.

Who can benefit from toxic gas detection?

• Industrial environments, chemical plants, manufacturers, factories, warehouses: To keep workers safe, it's essential that an organization actively monitors for unsafe gases in real-time. The E2 makes it easier to detect dangerous airborne conditions at scale without any manual work and accelerate emergency action plans.

4. Maintain safe temperature & humidity levels

The E2 sensor monitors temperature and humidity levels in real-time. It also supports an optional external temperature probe that makes it simple to monitor harsh temperatures in industrial environments, submerged spaces, and cold storage units.

Here’s how it works:

1. Deploy the E2 in a space where the temperature, humidity, or both must be controlled. Set the acceptable temperature and humidity ranges for the area. These thresholds are fully customizable and go from -40°F to 185°F.
2. If the temperature or humidity go above or below your established range, the E2 will trigger an alert in real-time. If you’ve paired the sensor with a camera, a synchronized clip of the incident will be automatically captured.
3. Use the temperature/humidity alert to take informed action. You can customize who receives the alert to notify the right person of the situation immediately. In some cases, you may also be able to use the E2 to trigger the necessary building system to correct the temperature automatically.

Who can benefit from temperature and humidity management?

• Healthcare: Protect temperature-sensitive medications (including vaccines) in labs, pharmacies, and other healthcare environments. 
• Restaurants, cafeterias, & kitchens: Monitor refrigerators and freezers for food storage safety.
• Agriculture: Ensure that product is stored at a safe temperature. Comply with regulations regarding the monitoring of food and other consumables.
• Industrial: Maintain the required environment in cold storage and other temperature-sensitive locations. The optional external probe allows for temperature measurement in extreme or submerged conditions.

The E2 Air Quality Sensor is a powerful tool that nearly every organization can use to make their spaces safer, healthier, and more productive. If you have questions or would like to demo or trial the E2, reach out to the Rhombus Team at sales@rhombusssytems.com.