Office pod ventilation: fresh air, CO2 levels and comfort
Office pods are ventilated by built-in fans that continuously swap the air inside for air from the surrounding office. Judge them against office guidance: Approved Document F sets 10 litres of outdoor air per second per person for offices, and the HSE says CO2 readings consistently above 1,500 ppm indicate poor ventilation.
Key takeaways
- A pod does not create fresh air. It exchanges air with the office, so the building’s own ventilation has to be adequate where the pod stands.
- For offices, Approved Document F sets a minimum of 10 litres per second per person; the HSE says rates should not normally fall below 5 to 8 litres per second per occupant.
- A CO2 monitor is a simple way to check a pod in use: readings consistently above 1,500 ppm call for action.
- Ask suppliers for fan airflow at each speed, fan noise, run-on behaviour and where air enters and leaves the pod.
How ventilation in an office pod works
Most office pods use small fans in the roof to extract air from the cabin, while replacement air is drawn in from the office through low-level gaps or grilles. The pod swaps its air with the room around it rather than generating fresh air of its own.
An acoustic pod is designed to be as airtight as possible, because every gap that lets air through also lets sound through. Manufacturers deal with this by routing air through lined, baffled paths so it can move but sound is softened on the way. The fans then provide the push that natural air movement cannot.
A typical arrangement includes:
- One or more extract fans in the roof, often behind a ceiling grille.
- An inlet path near the floor or at the base of the door, so fresh air sweeps through the occupied zone.
- A switch or occupancy sensor that starts the fans and lights when someone enters.
- In some models, speed control and a run-on timer that keeps the fans going after the occupant leaves.
Because the pod borrows air from the office, it is only as good as the office air it draws in. Before you choose a location, check that the area is properly served by the building’s ventilation system and is not a stuffy corner.
What UK guidance says about fresh air at work
UK law requires enclosed workplaces to have a sufficient supply of fresh or purified air, and official guidance puts numbers on what sufficient means. These figures apply to the office as a whole, and they are a sensible benchmark for a pod inside it.
Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 says that effective and suitable provision shall be made to ensure every enclosed workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air (legislation.gov.uk). It also asks for a warning device where a failure of ventilation plant would matter for health or safety.
| Guidance | What it says | How it applies to pods |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace Regulations 1992, regulation 6 | Every enclosed workplace must be ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air. | The legal duty sits with the employer for the whole workplace, pods included. |
| HSE, assessing the risk of poor ventilation | Fresh-air supply should not normally fall below 5 to 8 litres per second per occupant. | A minimum floor for any occupied space. |
| Approved Document F, Volume 2, paragraph 1.32 | Offices: 10 litres per second per person or 1 litre per second per m² of floor area, whichever is greater. | For a pod, the per-person figure is always the larger one. |
| Approved Document F, Volume 2, Appendix C | CO2 consistently below 800 ppm is likely to indicate good ventilation; act if readings are consistently above 1,500 ppm. | Practical thresholds for checking a pod in use. |
The HSE says fresh-air supply rates should not normally fall below 5 to 8 litres per second per occupant, and notes that some building guides recommend 10 litres per second per person for most commercial buildings (Health and Safety Executive). Approved Document F, which covers new building work in England, sets the office rate at 10 litres per second per person or 1 litre per second per square metre, whichever is greater (Approved Document F, Volume 2, paragraph 1.32).
A freestanding pod is furniture rather than building work in most cases, so Approved Document F is not usually a formal requirement for it. It is still the most useful yardstick, because it describes the air an office occupant is expected to receive.
How to check a pod with a CO2 monitor
A carbon dioxide monitor is the simplest practical check on whether a pod is getting enough air. People exhale CO2, so when ventilation falls short the level inside climbs.
The HSE states that CO2 levels consistently higher than 1,500 ppm in an occupied room indicate poor ventilation, and that 1,000 ppm is equivalent to about 10 litres per second per person (Health and Safety Executive). Approved Document F adds that a consistent reading below 800 ppm is likely to indicate a space is well ventilated.
To test a pod fairly, follow the HSE’s advice on placement:
- Place the monitor at head height, away from the fan grille and the door.
- Keep it more than 50 cm from the occupant, because exhaled breath gives falsely high readings.
- Take readings several times during real use, such as a 45-minute video call, rather than relying on a single snapshot.
- Repeat the test with the maximum number of people the pod is designed for.
The HSE also cautions that CO2 is a broad guide to ventilation rather than proof of safe levels. Treat a good result as reassurance, and a poor one as a reason to check fan settings, filters and the air around the pod.
Why air quality matters for the people inside
Stale air does more than feel stuffy: controlled research links higher CO2 and pollutant levels with lower scores on decision-making tests. That is directly relevant to pods used for calls, interviews and focus work.
In a study led by Harvard researchers, 24 office workers spent six days in a controlled office environment where ventilation, CO2 and volatile organic compounds were varied between days. Cognitive scores were 61% higher on the green building day and 101% higher on the two enhanced “Green+” days than on the conventional day (Allen et al., Environmental Health Perspectives, 2016). Compared with the Green+ days, scores were 15% lower on a day with CO2 around 945 ppm and 50% lower on a day with CO2 around 1,400 ppm.
The study was small and run in a laboratory, so the exact percentages should not be applied to any one office. The direction of the finding is consistent with the guidance above, though: a closed pod with weak airflow is the wrong place for someone to make a careful decision or run an important client call.
Sizing airflow to the number of occupants
The required airflow rises in step with the number of people a pod is designed for. A single phone booth and an eight-person meeting pod need very different fan capacity.
At 10 litres per second per person, a one-person booth needs at least 10 l/s (36 m³/h), a four-person pod 40 l/s (144 m³/h) and an eight-person pod 80 l/s (288 m³/h). The floor-area alternative in Approved Document F is far lower for pods: a four-person Quad pod measuring W2200 × D1250 mm covers 2.75 m², which would give just 2.75 l/s.
Air changes per hour are sometimes quoted instead. They depend on the volume of the pod, so they can mislead. Using external dimensions as a rough guide:
- A booth of about W1000 × D1000 × H2250 mm encloses about 2.25 m³. At 36 m³/h that is about 16 air changes per hour.
- An M focus pod at W1500 × D1250 × H2250 mm encloses about 4.2 m³. The same 36 m³/h gives about 8.5 air changes per hour, yet the occupant receives exactly the same fresh air.
- A Quad pod at W2200 × D1250 × H2250 mm encloses about 6.2 m³. At 144 m³/h for four people that is about 23 air changes per hour.
Internal volumes are smaller than these figures, so real air change rates are higher. The point is that the airflow per person is the number to compare between suppliers, not air changes alone. When you review our meeting pods or the four-person Quad pod, ask for the rated fan airflow at the setting you plan to use.
Fan noise, heat and comfort
Good pod ventilation is a balance between enough airflow and low fan noise. A fan that roars defeats the purpose of an acoustic pod, while a fan turned down to silence can leave the air stale.
Approved Document F asks for mechanical ventilation to be designed and installed to minimise noise, and for fans to be sized so they are not overly noisy in normal background mode, which may mean not running them near maximum capacity (paragraphs 1.5 and 1.6). The same logic suits pods: a larger, slower fan is usually quieter than a small fan working hard.
Heat is the other comfort factor. People, laptops and screens all give off heat, and a closed acoustic box holds on to it. The HSE notes there is no legal maximum working temperature but says employers must keep temperatures at a comfortable level and provide clean, fresh air; indoors, the minimum should normally be at least 16°C (Health and Safety Executive). In practice, the same airflow that clears CO2 also carries heat away, which is another reason to size fans generously and let users raise the speed.
Useful comfort features to look for include adjustable fan speed, occupancy sensing so fans start immediately, a run-on period after people leave, and lighting that does not add much heat. If acoustic performance is your priority, our guide to how soundproof office pods are explains how ventilation paths affect sound reduction.
What to ask your pod supplier
The quickest way to compare pods is to ask every supplier the same ventilation questions in writing. Vague answers such as “whisper-quiet ventilation” are not enough for a workplace purchase.
- How many fans are fitted, and what is the rated airflow of each, in m³/h, at each speed setting?
- What is the airflow per occupant at the normal operating setting?
- Where does air enter and leave the pod, and what clearance is needed around the roof and base?
- How loud are the fans at each setting, and how was this measured?
- Are the fans controlled by an occupancy sensor, and is there a run-on timer?
- How are filters or grilles accessed and cleaned?
- How does the pod work with the building’s smoke detection and sprinklers? Our article on office pod fire safety covers this in detail.
Our quality control page sets out the checks made before shipment, and we can send the fan specification for any model you shortlist. Fan power also needs planning alongside sockets and lighting, which our guide to office pod power and data sets out.
Frequently asked questions
Do office pods need to be connected to the building’s air conditioning?
Usually not. Most freestanding pods use their own fans to exchange air with the surrounding office. What matters is that the office area around the pod is well ventilated and that the pod’s inlets and roof outlet are not blocked.
How much fresh air does a phone booth need?
Using the office rate in Approved Document F, at least 10 litres per second for one person, which is 36 m³/h. The HSE says rates should not normally fall below 5 to 8 litres per second per occupant.
What CO2 level is acceptable in a meeting pod?
Approved Document F says a consistent reading below 800 ppm is likely to indicate good ventilation, and both it and the HSE advise action if readings are consistently above 1,500 ppm.
Why does my pod feel warm after a long call?
People and devices give off heat that a closed pod retains. Check that the fans are running at a suitable speed, that grilles are clean and unobstructed, and that the pod is not placed in a warm, poorly ventilated part of the office.
Conclusion
Good office pod ventilation means enough airflow per person, quiet fans and a location with healthy office air. Use 10 litres per second per person as your benchmark and a CO2 monitor to check it in use. To compare models on airflow and fan specifications, request a quote with your planned occupancy and our team will send the data for each option.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk – The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, regulation 6 (accessed October 2026)
- Health and Safety Executive – Assessing the risk of poor ventilation (accessed October 2026)
- Health and Safety Executive – Using CO2 monitors (accessed October 2026)
- GOV.UK – Approved Document F: Ventilation, Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellings (accessed October 2026)
- Environmental Health Perspectives – Associations of cognitive function scores with carbon dioxide, ventilation, and volatile organic compound exposures in office workers (accessed October 2026)
- Health and Safety Executive – Temperature in the workplace (accessed October 2026)