Introducing AQM: Air Quality Management for Healthier Homes
After a year in development and 20 years of watching the building industry evolve, I’m excited to launch AQM—an innovative indoor air quality platform designed specifically for high-performance homes.
High performance homes often don’t work
As a building energy consultant for two decades and HERS Rater for 15 years, I’ve been inside thousands of homes. I’ve watched Massachusetts lead the charge in high-performance building, transforming from an industry where hitting 5 ACH50 airtightness seemed challenging to one where targeting 1 ACH50 is commonplace among builders of all backgrounds, using typical building materials.
We’ve figured out how to build “zero energy ready” homes. Building enclosure details, windows, and heat pumps have evolved by leaps and bounds. Massachusetts code now requires balanced ventilation, and proper heat loss calculations are becoming more common for low-load homes.
But here’s what I’ve discovered: we have a critical gap in systems integration. The mechanical systems are working to meet the enclosure and occupant lifestyles.
These homes are designed beautifully on paper with all the right thermal enclosure details, latest heatpump technology, perhaps windows optimized for solar heat gain, and well distributed ventilation systems. In MA, most dwelling units have HERS Ratings completed, providing crucial verification of the as-built conditions. Yet something essential is still missing—ensuring the home systems actually work together to meet the real needs of the people living inside.
Enter Indoor Air quality monitoring, and occupant knowledge and empowerment to improve the health and quality of their home. Enter the AQM Platform.
Where Most Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Monitors Fall Short
Current indoor air quality monitors will alert you when CO2 levels are high and suggest opening windows. That’s helpful, but it’s not enough.
The AQM platform goes deeper. When our linked open source AirGradient monitor detects high CO2, we don’t just tell you to open a window. We reference your actual home systems—like that Broan ERV set to 50 CFM continuous that was documented in your HERS rating. Our custom reports will provide specific recommendations to adjust your ventilation rate, complete with resources and links showing you exactly how to do it. This is IAQ monitoring designed for the actual house, the actual mechanical systems, and actual occupant behavior.
Real Solutions for Real Homes
AQM provides month-over-month tracking of indoor air quality data while empowering occupants or building owners, to learn and adjust mechanical equipment and energy-related behaviors. We combine real-time monitoring with building science expertise to deliver customized recommendations that actually work.
For homeowners, builders, developers
We designed the platform to be of high value to homeowners, builders, and multi family property owners alike. Builders and developers can receive alerts and reports, to catch any failures or ill adjusted ventilation equipment , before unhappy customers or warranty claims come knocking. AQM is the link between the future hyper-connected smart home, occupant behavior, and current typical home scale systems and technologies.
Join Our Pilot Program
We’re looking for our first 10 clients—homeowners passionate about building performance who live in recently built high-performance homes, preferably in Western Massachusetts with a Stretch Code compliant home with a HERS Rating below 45.
Early adopters will receive high-level, personalized IAQ consulting directly from me! I’ll visit your home to set up your AQM monitor, review your systems, and do a deep dive on indoor air quality specifically for your situation. Interested? Apply here
The Journey Ahead…what’s next for AQM
Someone smart once said about software companies: “If your first version is perfect, you waited too long to launch.” We’ve got some good polish thanks to our amazing local development team at Nubbernaut Studios and designer Seth Gregory, but we’re just getting started.
Next up: mobile app development, website resource expansion through a MassCEC-funded internship program, and AI analysis integration. We’re also exploring strategic partnerships to accelerate our growth. But right now, we’re 110% focused on customer experience and proving this concept works.
Want to see our app in action beyond the sexy screen shots on our homepage? Email me to setup a short demo.
Clanking some champagne and ready to dig in,
Adin Maynard, Founder