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August 25, 2021

Healthy Air Episode #18

Episode #18
AI, Sensors, and Building Performance Data | Adam Taylor


In this episode, Adam talks about the clean air options for office buildings and the clean air concerns in schools. He also discusses two exciting emerging IAQ technologies, sharing his opinion on the use of bipolar ionization.

Adam Taylor is the CEO of ARM Environments and the Chief Innovation Officer for AirRated. Since completing his Mechanical Engineering degree, Adam has spent 17 years working in the HVAC industry. Early in his career, he worked as a mechanical design engineer, designing domestic heating systems and bespoke air distribution systems for high-profile projects such as venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games and preserving the Mary Rose Tudor warship. In 2016 he began promoting the adoption of the soon-to-be-released Building Bulletin (BB) 101 guidelines, a revolutionary standard designed to improve air quality and thermal comfort in schools by implementing demand-controlled heat recovery and natural ventilation solutions. Starting in 2018, Adam has been working internationally in the emerging field of indoor air cleaning technologies.

Keeping air safe has never been more important. Now that we are in the next normal, it is critical that the air we breathe in shared indoor spaces is healthy and safe for continued occupancy. Are we ready to face this challenge and mitigate airborne exposure risk indoors? Welcome to Healthy Air, a podcast that talks about the future of buildings and how to keep air safe and healthy. Keep up with the latest industry trends, latest technologies, and regulatory changes with your host, Erik Malmstrom, industry experts, and the SafeTraces team here on Healthy Air.

SHOW NOTES:

  • An overview of Adam’s background [1:08]
  • Do engineers appreciate the EHS considerations of IQ and vice versa? [5:54]
  • What ARM Environments and AirRated are focused on [7:36]
  • How is IAQ different from other terms used for indoor air quality [10:36]
  • How to achieve the AirRated standard [11:59]
  • Why governments seem reluctant to act in the area of indoor air quality [16:16]
  • Are employers and private entities taking IAQ seriously [19:39]
  • Have we made progress on IAQ since COVID? [21:17]
  • Do lab results equal real-world efficacy? [23:03]
  • Clean air options for office buildings [25:49]
  • Clean air concerns in schools [28:04]
  • Mitigating high-risk parts of a hospital [28:47]
  • Cleaning the air in food processing plants [30:24]
  • Two exciting emerging IAQ technologies [31:42]
  • Bipolar ionization controversy: does it work? [33:48]
  • Lasting impacts from the pandemic [37:32]
  • How Adam stays on top of the market [40:13]

RESOURCES:

QUOTES:

“Air cleaning solutions can be easily tested in a lab. How that translates to a building is far more tricky. Anecdotal evidence is not the same as deployment and real-world testing.”

“Real-world testing is slow. The UK is currently testing indoor infection mitigation in 30 schools with both HEPA and upper room UV systems. In 18 months, we will know the results.”

“Good air changes are very important in an office building with fixed workstations, but also knowing how the air is moving and controlling the air direction within that space.”

“There’s an interesting concept coming out of Europe, which is personal ventilation. You’ve got a nozzle feeding you with the small amount of very clean air that you need to breathe.”

“For healthy schools, we need to reduce levels of CO2 and particulates. Filter the air that’s coming in plus a secondary reduction with local filter units or bipolar ionization.”

“The most exciting IAQ advancements are around sensors and data, bringing AI in to learn how a building performs, how the occupants perform, under different levels of air quality.”

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