Protecting Indoor Air Quality with Environmental Control & Monitoring

As winter closes in, keeping windows tightly shut in commercial buildings becomes essential. However, sealing our spaces can compromise indoor air quality (IAQ) by fostering the accumulation of pollutants and allergens, posing health risks for occupants.

In this post, we’ll look at the role Environmental Control Systems (ECS) play in bolstering air quality within commercial buildings. We’ll shed light on specific benefits these systems offer over the winter season.
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Environmental Systems: An Overview

Environmental control systems help protect commercial buildings from floods, hazardous materials, and toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. They also monitor temperature changes and keep facilities within optimal ranges for the preservation of products and the safety of employees.

These systems vary in size and complexity depending on the size and nature of the facility where they are implemented. For instance, a hospital or factory would have a much more extensive and elaborate system than a small office space or a small-scale retail location. These systems are important to detect hazardous conditions within a building.
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Shoveling show in front of a business, winter safety tips

Winter Safety: How to Fortify Your Business for Low Temperatures

Temperature fluctuations and extreme weather can affect your business in various ways. Slippery conditions can lead to slip and fall incidents, and inclement weather could prevent your employees or customers from reaching your premises. Extreme cold may cause power outages, burst pipes, and other maintenance issues that could affect your property and inventory. Here are our top winter safety tips for fortifying your business against the challenges brought on by low temperatures.

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Snow covered Boston Public Garden.

Winter Safety Topics for Your Next Workplace Meeting

Snow covered Boston Public Garden.The holidays are behind us but winter is here for a little longer. As your company progresses through the new year, it is important to include winter safety topics as part of your next workplace meeting. Certain health and safety risks are elevated in winter and your team needs to be informed about what you are doing – and what they can do – to avoid illness and injury.

Take a look at these four major winter safety topics you should bring up at your next meeting. A little time spent in these areas now can pay off big time in terms of employee health and happiness.

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CCTV Security monitoring student in classroom at school.Security camera surveillance for watching and protect group of children while studying.

A Great Time for School Security System Upgrades

CCTV Security monitoring student in classroom at school.Security camera surveillance for watching and protect group of children while studying.Upgrading School Security Systems

As a school administrator, are you wondering how to respond to new threats such as COVID-19 when you reopen your facilities? Besides the usual risks (vandals, thieves, intruders and potential shooters), administrators must now factor in hygiene and cleanliness protections (surveillance and monitoring may assist with these efforts).

The upside is that school buildings are less occupied and quieter than usual because of the pandemic. This provides the opportunity to get large projects done with less disruption, including bigger and more ambitious security infrastructure upgrades than would be possible during a normal summer season.

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Never Let Hurricane Season Catch You Unprepared

September marks the peak of hurricane season, a time when New England property is at risk, even without a direct hit.  Unfortunately, as this past season demonstrated, despite all the computers, instruments and software models, it’s impossible to make exact storm strike predictions.

Just last month, the tail end of Hurricane Florence was still strong enough to pummel New England — particularly coastal Massachusetts — as noted by a Boston Globe article. Florence brought a “deluge” of rain that flooded sections of the state, causing road closures and power outages. It hit the town of Saugus especially hard — hammering the area with winds exceeding 70 miles per hour and leaving a “mile-long path of destruction.” Read more

Protecting Seasonal Homes and Businesses

Columbus Day came and went, and winter is coming soon. Seasonal businesses are closing, and part-time residents will be returning to their winter homes. Everyone hopes to return next May to find their work or living quarters in the same conditions as they left them. Read more

When Waters Rise: Get Flood Warnings via Alarm Solutions

As Labor Day rolls around and autumn winds pick up, the Atlantic Coast reaches peak hurricane and thunderstorm season. These sudden and powerful weather events can bring a flash flood and storm surges that can wreak havoc on low-lying areas or overloaded drainage systems.

While no one can control the weather or completely avoid household accidents, homeowners can take proactive steps to avoid or minimize damage. Just as with fire or intrusion systems, American Alarm can install sophisticated water and environmental alarm systems to give timely warning of flooding, gas leaks and dangerously high or low temperatures. We also can deploy robust backup communications solutions, in case the main landline and cell grid goes offline. Read more

How to Unfreeze Pipes and Prevent Commercial and Residential Water Hazards

The blizzard pummelling parts of the country from the Carolinas to Maine this month may be over. However, the coldest temperatures of the year are still to come in the Northeast.

Frozen or cracked pipes, broken radiators, malfunctioning furnaces, flooding and leaks are just a few of the many unwanted plumbing issues brought on by this frigid arctic air.
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