PEW hears from Vent-Axia on how demand for air purification can help create healthier spaces in buildings this winter.
During the pandemic COVID has raised the profile of the quality of the air we breathe in our buildings. As winter approaches the combination of the weather cooling, so we are spending more time indoors, and a drive for employees to return to the workplace means that extra air purification is in now in demand. Employers are increasingly looking to air purification in addition to effective ventilation to help ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ) and a healthier environment.
Indoor air quality
The need for air purification is especially warranted in schools because of the extensive disruption to education caused by lockdowns. Many schools are now using CO2 monitors, and the Government is running air purifier trials to help improve IAQ and reduce COVID transmission. However, hotels and offices can benefit from the same technology to tackle indoor air pollution. Indoor air can contain over 900 chemicals, particulates, biological materials, viruses and bacteria. It is therefore vital to reduce indoor air pollution to create healthy spaces to live and work in.
“Since COVID began, everybody has become more aware of the importance of good indoor air quality and how it affects inhabitants. In response there has been a growing demand for added air purification”, explains Tom Wodcke, Product Manager at Vent-Axia. “To improve IAQ there are three main actions: Reduce the number of pollutants introduced into the air; dilute the pollutants in the air by ensuring there is adequate ventilation introducing fresh clean air inside; purify by adding an air purifier to remove the remaining pollutants from the air. The Vent-Axia PureAir Room is the ideal solution to achieve this and is now available via electrical wholesalers for commercial customers.”
Indoor air pollution impacts lung health and causes a range of health issues ranging from cardiac disease to dementia. While the importance of good IAQ is hitting the headlines in relation to COVID, it’s clear that the same principles to reduce airborne COVID transmission can and should be used going forward to reduce indoor air pollution. Patrick Vallance, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, commissioned The Royal Academy of Engineering to review how we design, manage, and operate buildings and how we can make infrastructure more resilient to infection both now and going forward. The initial report, ‘Infection Resilient Environments: Buildings that keep us healthy and safe’, highlights the importance of achieving good IAQ as well as reducing transmission of COVID and other infectious diseases meaning many of the suggested changes have relevance well beyond COVID-19.
Offering advanced air purification, the Vent-Axia PureAir Room is ideal for a wide range of environments including hotels, offices, school applications or homes. Designed with an advanced 6-stage filtration system, the PureAir Room air purifier filters out mould, dust, viruses, PM2.5, VOCs, pet allergens and odours with its High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter removing 99.9% of particles. Working automatically, the Vent-Axia PureAir Room senses the air quality and delivers increased filtration when it is needed to protect health. The unit can also be set manually and has a timer that can run the unit for a specified number of hours before turning off.
The PureAir Room features an air quality display that shows the levels of PM2.5 from the integral air quality sensor with a traffic light system telling the user if the air is good, bad or needs improving. The PureAir Room has a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) of 260m3 and is suitable for any habitable room. Lightweight and portable, it can easily be moved to where it’s needed and only uses as much energy as a light bulb.
Filtration
The Vent-Axia PureAir Room features an advanced 6-stage filtration system to purify the air, tackling unpleasant and unhealthy airborne matter. These filtration stages include: 1. Washable Pre-Filter that captures the coarse particles from the air flowing through it protecting the vital HEPA Filter. 2. HEPA Filter removes 99.9% of particles in the air including diesel, pet allergens, pollen, viruses, mould and bacteria by trapping them inside the filter material. 3. Activated Carbon Filter removes VOCs, odours and gaseous pollutants from the air trapping the gas molecules in the charcoal. 4. A Cold Catalyst Filter speeds up the decomposition of organic compounds breaking them down to harmless molecules, such as H2O and CO2. 5. Ultraviolet Light is used as a disinfection method helping keep the internal workings of the unit clean by inactivating bacteria and viruses. 6. Ionizer is the last stage of the filtration process, generating negatively charged ions which adhere to small particles so they attract other particles creating larger clusters than can be absorbed from the filter at the start of the cycle.
To help ensure good IAQ is maintained, the Vent-Axia PureAir Room features a handy filter replacement reminder and displays how much life is left before the filter needs to be changed. The unit’s fan has three speeds which can be automatically or manually controlled to meet the needs of the room and protect inhabitant health. For hotels, the PureAir Room’s sleep mode is a useful feature as it can cleanse the air in a room while guests sleep without disturbing them. The sleep mode turns off the display removing any light pollution from the unit.
To find out more about Vent-Axia air purifiers click here
