acerpure was born out of the company’s concern for the environment and the quality of air people breathe.

Taiwanese ICT giant Acer expanded its product range to include air purifiers under a brand called acerpure.

acerpure was born out of the company’s concern for the environment and the quality of air people breathe. It is finally in the Philippines along with the launching of acerpure cozy, acerpure pro and acerpure cool so Filipinos can live with cleaner air.

“The quality of air that we breathe affects the lives of people, especially these days when most of us are living our lives indoors. At Acer, we have expanded our product range by introducing new technologies and products that ensure the best air quality for everyone,” said Acer Philippines General Manager Sue Ong-Lim.

acerpure cozy features the 3D Airflow Technology where the turbine blade fan, combined with the spiral flow guard creates a powerful 3D airflow so it has a greater and more concentrated range. It projects air up to 15 meters away, completely circulating the air five times per hour so it reaches every corner of the home to deliver maximum comfort. It also has an energy efficient DC motor, so the minimum airflow power consumption is just 1.18W for high-quality air circulation at low energy costs.

acerpure pro has the 4-in-1 HEPA filter for four-layer protection, a smart sensor, and a negative ion generator to eliminate pollutants, germs, bacteria, and other harmful substances in the air The Air Quality and Gas Sensor regulates the purifier speed automatically and the LCD displays real-time air quality data. It eliminates up to 99 percent of airborne bacteria, 99.97 percent of ultrafine dust, PM1.0 and allergies.

acerpure cool has a 4-in-1 HEPA filter, which includes pre-filter, activated carbon filter and HEPA 13 main filter, to remove fine particles and impurities in the air, including pet hair and dander, dust and 99.97 percent of 0.3μm suspended particles and bacteria. It also isolates harmful gases and removes odors. Its Ag+ Silver Coated Filter went through extensive third-party laboratory tests to certify its efficacy in eliminating bacteria and effectiveness against the activity of the H1N1 virus. This is to ensure that the purifier minimizes users’ exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses.

acerpure cool improves indoor air quality by releasing negative ions to help remove harmful gases in the air such as formaldehyde and by capturing solid particles such as dust.

The devices produce low working noises, ensuring they don’t disturb sleep. The displays can also be turned off to ensure sleep isn’t disrupted. The air purifiers are all in white and are beautifully designed, so they fit right into any room.

Both acerpure pro and acerpure cool are supported by an app called acerpure Life, which detects the indoor air quality, and sends automatic notifications of indoor and outdoor air pollution alerts. The mobile app — available on the App Store or Google Play — can control, monitor, and start the air-purifying functions even when you are not home.

This December, the acerpure is available for a discounted price at select Acer concept and online stores.

For more information about Acer and its new line of acerpure products, follow @AcerPH on Facebook, @acerph on Instagram, @acerphils on Twitter, or go to www.acer.com.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

The global pandemic has made us rethink how we work and how we can make our communities feel safe, healthy, and productive. The priority has been to implement a design space that is different and inspires confidence in employees who return to the workspace. What is critical is a transformation that includes the introduction of Healthy spaces, new concepts, innovative business models, new design features, emerging technologies, and digitization.  All this is focused on allowing occupants to operate at the highest possible level of Wellbeing & functionality. Regular measures must be constantly reviewed so that new practices can be taken up if required.

There is also a heightened focus on well-being, and of healthy and safe living and working. Buildings and public spaces are being reimagined and reconfigured with biophilic designs and the right kind of indoor air quality with many organizations commissioning high quality indoor air systems in place.

In addition to focusing on indoor air quality, the built-environment is also witnessing several touch-less technology solutions to enable the least contact and better experiences with touchless solutions such as pre-entry health checks, voice-activated elevators, social distancing sensors, automatic doors, hands-free switches, remote collaboration spaces, network security, and automatic cleaning solutions in bathrooms, etc. Another tool that plays a big part in appealing to a community is art, reflecting a company’s vision in a far more creative way.

It is prudent to mention that workspaces are not just for employees to work at a desk. It is also an environment that facilitates collaboration, influences the mood, and is a safety net. In the post-pandemic world, employees will seek a place that addresses all this. While sustainability and inclusivity continue to be critical factors in design, employee wellness and enabling productivity are now taking centre stage.

Sustainability must be the top priority

The industry needs to constantly adjust to the new policies and regulations that the government brings in to prevent climate change. While developing infrastructure, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, etc. should be increasingly used for all energy needs. The focus should also be on waste reduction, optimum resource management, and energy efficiency. Commercial properties should put in place a charging infrastructure for future electric vehicles as we see rapid shift in demand for electric vehicles rising.

Social responsibility is another aspect that needs to strictly be adhered to. While the WHO and other health authorities have issued a guidance for corporates to make offices safer, it will depend on individual companies to create their own systems based on the guidelines put forward by their local and national authorities.

Fostering corporate culture and practices such as employee training, team building activities will be another challenge. Therefore, it will be increasingly essential for a well-thought-out workspace design, to engender collaboration and nurture brand ambassadors and brand loyalty.

Importance of EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety)

Good design makes business sense because taking care of the health, safety, and well-being of employees will increase productivity and reduce cost by eliminating chances of property and environmental damage at the planning stage, instead of having to fix it later which can be much more expensive and detrimental for the brand image. 

The basic principles of health and safety by design apply to the complete lifecycle – from the structure, materials used, hardware, equipment, technology, etc., to the workers and employees. Designers are in a strong position to implement health and safety guidelines right from the start of the design process.

Sustainability and employee well-being

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030, are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals that are designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. These offer a guideline for companies to align global needs and ambitions across their business value chain. 

With sustainable workplace initiatives real estate players are accelerating social entrepreneurship with impact investments into sustainable solutions that present scalable ideas for technology, urbanization, and public policy to improve workplace conditions focused on the general wellbeing of people; helping them lead safe, productive lives.

While a workspace is designed for optimum productivity, it also reflects the importance that the company places on cultural values. Are employee needs and desires being taken into consideration while designing the physical space? Does the design reflect the company’s long-term core values and culture? According to a recent study by top consulting firm Deloitte, 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.

One of the most powerful learnings is that conscious planning and design are the key pillars for making personalization an essential element of all office spaces. A positive workplace culture enhances employee engagement, hence productivity, leading to increased profitability.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

The Irish SME Association (ISME) has written to An Taoiseach Micheál Martin after new COVID-19 restrictions came into effect on Monday.

ISME called on the Government to implement a strategic approach to the management of the disease, pointing to the impacts that the recurrent lockdown announcements are having on the structure of the SME base in the country.

ISME is encouraging Government to develop a staged approach to the management of further variants, where the public and businesses know in advance what measures will apply when caseloads get too high.

“Many businesses across the retail and hospitality sectors earn a disproportionate amount of their annual revenues in December,” said Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME.

“And many of these businesses are in those sectors worst affected by the pandemic.”

“Given the likelihood that Omicron will not be the last variant of Covid-19 that we will face, we urgently need a coherent Government strategy to enable us to live with this virus (or any future viral pandemic), which includes prearranged public health measures and restrictions once certain infection criteria are reached.”

Mr McDonnell said that we cannot afford a continuation of short-notice, ad hoc measures of the type announced last week in response to disease case numbers.

He said that the reimposition of restrictions on the hospitality sector will have long-term implications for its ability to attract and retain skilled labour, raise capital or acquire property.

Calling for a review of NPHET in early 2022, Neil McDonnell added that NPHET modelling and advice has been less accurate than we would expect from our public health advisors.

“It is just over a year since we wrote to the Tánaiste to ask for an active program of testing workers returning to Ireland post-Christmas, and for assistance with workplace testing of employees, which was not implemented,” he said.

“In addition, the resistance of NPHET to RADT and air purification, and its effective rejection of the Report of the COVID-19 Rapid Testing Group last April, makes a review of the composition of this team imperative early in the New Year.”

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

Baroness Finlay is a Welsh Doctor, Professor of Palliative Medicine, a Crossbench Member of the House of Lords and Chair of the CO Research Trust, a charity dedicated to reducing and preventing deaths caused by carbon monoxide (CO).  

Finlay played an influential role in the Environment Act, where despite rejections from the Commons, the House of Lords were calling for large scale reforms on environmental protection. 

‘What I and others were calling for was a clear recognition that air pollution is damaging our health,’ she tells Air Quality News.  

A key area where Baroness Finlay was calling for change was with the UK’s current monitoring network.  

‘Air quality monitoring in the UK is grossly inadequate,’ says Finlay.  

‘The problem is, the current system is based on sampling and so it has to be sampling at the right place and at the right time in order to generate an accurate picture of the air quality.  

‘Unless you properly monitor air pollution, then you’re not going to know if you’ve got improvements or not.’  

Baroness Finlay was also personally calling for schools to monitor and reduce air pollution.  

‘It’s particularly concerning that some of the places with the most polluted air are places where children are growing up. We know that atmospheric pollution disproportionately affects children. It affects brain development, mental health and can even affect pregnant women through the placenta to then be handed on to the next generation. 

‘At the moment, there is talk about monitoring carbon dioxide in classrooms, but this doesn’t tell you anything about the concentrations of toxic air that is coming through the windows.’

However, like any politician, Baroness Finlay knows that if you want to make changes, you need to know how to pay for them.  

‘It would cost money to install new and better monitors and they have to be maintained and the results analysed and financial considerations will always come into play 

‘Do you put up tax in one area to pay for it? And if you do, which taxes do you put up to pay for it, how do you make the books balance at the end of the day? The government has to balance the books at the end of the day.’ 

But using economic reasons for a lack of inaction on air pollution has been criticised many times over.  

A recent report published by the Clean Air Fund found that reducing pollution to World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended levels could benefit the UK economy by £1.6bn annually by reducing premature deaths, reducing sickness absence and improving productivity at work.  

However, according to Baroness Finlay, governments are too focused on short-term investments, ‘investing in the future is not something that governments tend to be good at,’ she says.  

The government has also come under scrutiny for not using the Environment Act to update the legal air quality limits to comply with WHO guidelines.  

‘The thing is the WHO guidelines will probably tighten up further and to be generous to the government, I would say that they actually want to see what the WHO settles to and then they will go after that level.  

‘The other thing is, if you set a target which is attainable then you stand a chance of meeting it, but if you set a target which really stretches you then you know the media headline will be that you failed. I can see why a government would want to work towards an attainable target and then really tighten it up after that. There is logic to taking action in stages rather than in one fell swoop.’  

With her work at the CO Research Trust, Baroness Finlay is also very involved in highlighting the importance of good indoor air quality.  

In a recent article published in Air Quality News, she was calling for the Building Safety Bill to recognise a healthy, affordable and sustainable indoor environment.  

Baroness Finlay was calling for:  

• Advice to be targeted towards occupants of small flats (especially those adjacent to major roads)  
• Purposed provided ventilation (PPV) to be included  in any refurbishment strategy 
• The continued promotion of advice to owner-occupiers and remind private/social landlords to perform regular boiler and gas cooker servicing to help reduce exposure. 
• Education/promotion should continue to focus on behavioural changes such as smoking outdoors, using extractor fans during cooking and allowing for additional ventilation through window opening. 

‘There are no ‘safe levels’ of air pollution, whether that is indoors or outdoors. Air pollutants are present in every home. However, there are large groups of people who are being put at greater risk due to the current housing policy approach. This has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased requirements for people to remain at home,’ Finlay writes.  

The Building Safety Bill is still in the report stage, but so far, action to improve indoor air quality seems negligible.  

‘The indoor air is seen as your private space, so I think there is a hesitancy by any party to legislate it.’ 

‘I think people also tend to think that pollution is only generated from outside sources and therefore if they’re inside, they’re not breathing in polluted air. But they’re not thinking about sources indoors that may be providing pollution’ 

However, with one in eight households in Great Britain having no access to a private or shared garden, action to improve air quality has never been more important.  

Despite the lack of action in the Environment Act, Baroness Finlay remains optimistic for the future of air quality, ‘We shouldn’t be passively fatalistic, we should say, look, actually we can do something about it if we can act now, we can reverse the trends.  

‘The pandemic has helped many people to be aware of the nature around them and aware of how things can be better, we need to use that as momentum to push for action.’ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

When it comes to our health, there’s quite a lot that we can control. We can control the food that we eat, and the exercise that we do. But we don’t have that kind of control over the air we breathe in. And indoor air pollution can be as high as five times higher than outdoor air pollution. And with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this has never been more important.

Of course, it’s not just dangerous microbes that we need to worry about when we are indoors. One chemical compound that can be frequently found in indoor situations is one known as formaldehyde. This naturally occurring compound is a strong-smelling, colourless gas that’s frequently used in the making of building materials and household products.

And that’s where the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde air purifier comes in. In addition to remove 99.95% of particles as small as PM0.1, it also captures and destroy formaldehyde continuously, something that not many other air purifiers can claim to do.

From Crummy To Clean

Source: Dyson.

As mentioned, formaldehyde can be found in more things than you’d imagine at home. And the compound gets released over time into the air inside your house. That’s where the last of three layers of filters in the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde air purifier springs into action. When formaldehyde molecules pass through the catalytic filter, the manganese in it breaks down the formaldehyde into carbon dioxide and water. The best part is, this new filter never needs replacing.

Of course, this air purifier is not just a specialised formaldehyde destroyer. It has its other two layers of filters – HEPA+Carbon filter to purify the air. Overall, this would remove gases and 99.95% of particles from the air, as small as PM0.1. And while these two filters will need to be replaced every once in a while, you don’t have to keep a schedule just for this if you don’t want to.

Source: Dyson.

Instead, you can let the air purifier tell you when the filters need replacing, via the Dyson Link smartphone app. And it does this thanks to four built in sensors that constantly monitors air quality. This includes a special solid state formaldehyde sensor, which doesn’t degrade overtime like conventional gel-based formaldehyde sensors.

Powerful Circulation To Purify The Whole Room

So what’s the process of actually purifying the air like with the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde? The Air Multiplier technology by Dyson is able to generate powerful air circulation to draw in distant pollutants and project purified air throughout the whole room. This is tested by Dyson’s POLAR test that goes further to measure purification throughout a real-size room of 81m3.

And you can be sure that whatever goes into the filter stays in there. This is because Dyson has sealed the entire purifier to HEPA H13. So whatever goes through the filter doesn’t just escape from the air purifier.

Source: Dyson.

It has probably never been more important to improve the air quality inside your home. And the latest Dyson air purifiers are equipped to keep the air inside clean. You can find out more about them via the product’s web page.

For more of Dyson’s products, you can follow the company via its official Facebook page.

This article is sponsored by Dyson.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

New measures to improve ventilation, indoor air quality (IAQ), and tackle overheating as part of revisions to the Building Regulations are welcomed by BESA

The proposed changes will come in next June and aim to reduce carbon whilst offering improved IAQ in both residential and commercial buildings.

In order to meet the requirements of the revised Part L, there will have to be some significant carbon emission reductions in buildings – 30% in new homes, and 27% in non-domestic buildings.

This is considered the first step towards ensuring that all buildings are ‘net zero ready’ from 2025 because this is when the Future Buildings Standard comes into effect.

Furthermore, under changes to Part F and with the introduction of Part O, all new residential buildings, care and children’s homes, and student accommodation, must include in their designs ways to reduce overheating.

To reduce the spread of airborne viruses, such as coronaviruses, and improve IAQ better ventilation must be introduced.

This includes improved standards for recirculating ventilation systems in new offices and the compulsory installation of CO2 monitors.

Trickle vents will likely be introduced in all replacement windows.

A new method for ensuring that ventilation is not compromised when energy efficiency improvements are carried out in existing buildings is another proposed measure.

‘A good start’ to improving IAQ

BESA’s head of technical Graeme Fox has made the following comments:

“This is a good start on the road to tackling poor indoor air quality.

“Monitoring CO2 levels is a simple, low-cost way to measure ventilation effectiveness, but eventually we will need more comprehensive monitoring of airborne contaminants, including PM2.5 and NO2, to help building managers properly get to grips with the air quality challenge.

“It is very good to see, however, that the government has been clear about the importance of not sacrificing ventilation in a bid to cut carbon.

“There is no point having highly energy efficient buildings that are harmful to occupant health – a mistake that has been made in the past.”

Hazardous substances

The government has also referenced the Guide to Good Practice for Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) produced by BESA in partnership with the Institute of LEV Engineers (ILEVE) in the revised Part F.

Published last year, this guidance has already been widely praised for helping to protect people against exposure to hazardous substances in workplaces.

Fox added:

“Instances of occupational lung diseases, including cancer, caused by dust, fumes and other airborne contaminants in the workplace are still far too high.

“Compliance with TR40 could also help employers save thousands of workers every year from succumbing to industrial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and life limiting respiratory conditions in workplaces subjected to high levels of airborne contaminants.”

Recommended Related Articles

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here

PLEASANTON — SafeTraces hopes to lend an assist to the wide-ranging battle against the coronavirus by deploying aerosol-based technologies to identify risky buildings imperiled by hazardous air circulation.

The biotech company’s liquid aerosol system uses DNA markers and software analysis to help property owners determine whether poor ventilation and air circulation might be allowing virus-like particles to remain in the air inside a building and its rooms.

“This technology is a way to learn if a room or an entire building is safe,” said Erik Malmstrom, chief executive officer of SafeTraces. “That is what everyone wants to know. We provide that answer.”

When the liquid aerosols are sprayed into the air, SafeTraces uses DNA markers in the droplets to track how they are circulating in a room and whether the air is being refreshed — changed — frequently enough to ensure that the building and its rooms are operating safely.

The United States, California and the Bay Area are battling to recover from the economic devastation unleashed by wide-ranging business shutdowns that government agencies imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Among the huge uncertainties that loom over the economy: How safe is it for workers to return to the office, for shoppers to return to malls and movie theaters, for fans to return to concerts and sporting events?

“Polls clearly show widespread public anxiety about facility safety from offices to schools to retail locations,” Malmstrom said.

These are vital questions to answer, said Gary Dillabough, a busy Bay Area developer and commercial property owner who is especially active in downtown San Jose.

“We have to create better and safer environments for people to return to,” said Dillabough, a principal executive with Urban Community, a real estate firm that has teamed up with global developer Westbank on several major projects in downtown San Jose. “SafeTraces has the technology to help bring that about.”

Much of the concern over the coronavirus has been focused on the contamination of surfaces by the pathogen.

Malmstrom and Dillabough point out, however, that a key vector for the spread of the deadly bug is through virus-laced droplets that can remain in the air for hours and travel well beyond six feet.

The anxiety over enclosed spaces is fueled by the reality that the dangerous microorganisms can’t be seen, by definition, and viruses are traveling on paths that also can’t be seen.

“Air is invisible, but we help building owners to see the invisible,” Malmstrom said.

Pleasanton-based SafeTraces says its software-supported and aerosol-based system can provide precise analysis about how air is flowing through a building, whether that air is being changed sufficiently and what might be done to address any hazards within the structure.

During the current holiday shopping season, Eastridge Center in San Jose has turned to SafeTraces to ensure that the shopping mall meets top safety standards for indoor air and ventilation systems.

Eastridge is the first shopping center in the nation to undergo verification and assessment by SafeTraces, according to Pacific Retail Capital Partners, one of the principal owners of Eastridge Center.

“We are solidifying our commitment to ensure that our visitors can have a high degree of trust and confidence in a safe shopping experience at our retail locations,” said Najla Kayyem, senior vice president of marketing with Pacific Retail Capital.

The SafeTraces technology and software analysis is advanced enough that it can analyze a room of 1,000 square feet within two hours, according to the company.

The biotech firm says it can assess the playing surface and the seating areas of the SAP Center in downtown San Jose within a day.

“Companies and real estate operators are going to have to get over that bar to prove that their spaces are safe,” Dillabough said.

[ad_2]

Originally Appeared Here