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How Many WELL Points Will Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Help You Earn

August 25, 2022 | Tony Kolotov, Business Development Manager, ATMO
5 min read
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The WELL Building Standard is a rating system that assesses a building’s impact on human health and well-being, and "Air" is one of the ten concepts included in a building’s WELL score. When you decide to adopt the WELL Building Standard in your design, construction, or facility management business, you’ll have to make some important decisions about air quality monitoring in your building.

Below are a few strategies for getting the most WELL points out of your indoor air monitoring system, including how often you should collect air quality data and how to choose the right IAQ monitoring device.


Air Quality Monitoring Score in WELL

WELL features are categorized into two groups: preconditions and optimizations. Preconditions are the mandatory components of every WELL-certified space. Optimizations are optional enhancements that add points towards achieving an advanced certification: Bronze (40 pts), Silver (50 pts), Gold (60 pts), or Platinum (80 pts).

Overall, projects may accumulate up to 100 points across the ten concepts with no more than 12 points per concept: Air, Water, Nourishment, Light, Movement, Thermal Comfort, Sound, Materials, Mind, Community, and Innovation.


The Air concept contains four preconditions and ten available optimizations to help you achieve the standard (outlined below). Please note that both may differ depending on the project type, and we recommend following the project-specific guidelines outlined in the feature description.


Air Preconditions

  1. A01 Air Quality
  2. A02 Smoke-Free Environment
  3. A03 Ventilation Design
  4. A04 Construction Pollution Management

Air Optimizations

  1. A05 Enhanced Air Quality - 4 pts
  2. A06 Enhanced Ventilation Design - 3 pts
  3. A07 Operable Windows - 2 pts
  4. A08 Air Quality Monitoring and Awareness - 2 pts
  5. A09 Pollution Infiltration Management - 2 pts
  6. A10 Combustion Minimization - 1 pt
  7. A11 Source Separation - 1 pt
  8. A12 Air Filtration - 1 pt
  9. A13 Enhanced Supply Air - 1 pt
  10. A14 Microbe and Mold Control - 1 pt

An air quality monitor can help you comply with the A01 precondition and a few optimizations, particularly A05 and A08, which together make up .


Advanced IAQ monitors like Atmocube will also help you meet the requirements of the Thermal Comfort concept, namely parts of the T01 precondition (Thermal Performance), T06 (Thermal Comfort Monitoring), and T07 (Humidity Control), earning you additional 2 points.


How Often Should You Monitor the Air Quality Inside Your Building?

To ensure your building maintains ideal performance metrics, you should consider implementing continuous indoor air quality monitoring per A08.


Alternatively, you can conduct spot checks once a year by utilizing the services of indoor air quality professionals.


We advise combining both approaches for maximum compliance with the WELL v2 because:

  • Yearly spot checks with special sensors can give you better insights into specific chemicals that standard building sensors may not capture. However, they only show the air quality of your building at one particular point in time.
  • Unlike periodic spot checks, continuous monitoring provides historical data to study trends and improvements. IAQ monitors provide more actionable data than spot checks because they can notify you about air quality deviations in real time.
  • Continuous monitoring also gives you the complete health map of your building at your fingertips. You can also access your IAQ monitor’s dashboard and enable display mode to increase visitors’ air quality awareness.

Choose the Right Air Quality Monitor

Once you have decided to implement continuous monitoring, it is time to choose the right air quality monitor. Among your options is the latest RESET-certified device from ATMO - Atmocube.


  1. With 12 Sensirion sensors, Atmocube helps building owners increase their ROI and earn additional optimization points by tracking multiple WELL features.

  2. The device helps buildings comply with parts of the A08 optimization, which defines the sensor requirements and maintenance, result reporting, and awareness raising. According to A08, monitor sensors should measure at least three of the following parameters with the accuracy defined in the Continuous Monitoring Protocols of the Performance Verification Guidebook:

    • PM2.5 or PM10 (± 5 µg/m3 + 20 % at 1-100 µg/m3)
    • Carbon dioxide (± 50 ppm + 5 % at 500-2000 ppm)
    • Carbon monoxide (± 1 ppm at 0-10 ppm)
    • Ozone (± 10 ppb at 0-100 ppb)
    • Nitrogen dioxide (± 20 ppb at 0-100 ppb)
    • Total VOCs (± 20 µg/m3 + 15% at 1-500 µg/m3)
    • Formaldehyde (± 20 ppb at 0-100 ppb)

    Atmocube sensors meet the accuracy standard for 4 out of the 7 parameters, and we’re developing new sensor technology to monitor the remaining parameters.

  3. It monitors human activity levels to provide accurate air-usage data. This opens up opportunities for energy usage optimization by decreasing HVAC system operation during times of low-occupancy.

  4. With Atmocube, you do not have to worry about manual support as its sensors have automatic self-calibration, cleaning, and data normalization algorithms. To ensure compliance with the A08 requirement on sensor recalibration, the monitor supports yearly sensor replacement and maintenance.

  5. Most buildings need one device per floor or 3500 ft² (325 m²). If you would like to customize your IAQ monitor, you can request a custom-designed or co-branded option of Atmocube.


Raising Awareness About IAQ With Atmocube

Atmocube gives you several options to educate your occupants on the building’s indoor air quality and earn +1 optimization point:

  • You can enable the display mode in your admin dashboard and broadcast the air quality score on the e-ink display. The display has a 3-year battery life and automatically connects to the closest monitor without needing installation.
  • You can encourage your space users to download the user app to access the data wherever they are.
  • You can also print out the unique QR code for users to scan and check the building’s real-time air quality score on the web from any device.

Get the IAQ Under Control with Atmocube

With the monitor, you will have access to historical IAQ data of your building in a dedicated admin dashboard that automatically identifies trends needed to maintain a healthy air quality score. If any deviations arise, the device will send you prompt notifications via the app and email so you can take action as soon as possible.


Make the first step towards people-first space design.


Tony Kolotov, Business Development Manager, ATMO
Tony Kolotov is a seasoned Business Development Manager with a demonstrated history of solving complex business problems with innovative technology. Tony started his career at ATMO in 2021 and has been helping architects, construction companies and facility managers to comply with healthy building standards ever since.

This Week’s Sponsor

ATMO® is a San-Francisco-based developer of portable and stationary air quality monitoring devices. The company provides environmental sensing technology with custom functionality to construction companies, MEP engineering firms, manufacturers, and public research organizations. For more information, please visit their website.