With the topic of air purifiers and air washers on the rise, especially since the pandemic, FrontRowSociety editor Andreas Conrad conducted an exclusive interview with Jamie Blankert, Sales Director of AirExchange, to find out a little more.
Exclusive interview with Jamie Blankert, Sales Director of AirExchange
Andreas Conrad: What were the main motivations behind the decision to manufacture air purifiers / humidifiers, and how has the company’s vision evolved since then?
Jamie Blankert: We at AirExchange® believe that a clean and healthy indoor climate is one of the most important topics of the future. The worldwide COVID-pandemic has already shaken up the world and everyone now knows how quickly virus particles can spread through the air. The same applies to bacteria, fine dust from cooking and (fine)dust/soot particles from passing traffic.
We spend 90% of our time being indoors and long exposure to these particles can be very harmful. Polluted air and working in unventilated rooms can lead to headaches, tiredness and even sickness. If we look at offices, 30% of all absenteeism due to illness is caused by air pollution.
Our mission is to ensure a healthy indoor climate for everyone by providing well-designed products that are able to effectively purify these particles. Companies that pay attention to air quality have significantly lower absenteeism and healthier, more productive employees. Customers and visitors can also feel safe visiting, knowing that the air is being actively cleaned.
Next to effective purifying, we believe the visual aspect is also very important. Most air purifiers are large and visually not very appealing. We at AirExchange think that a device that you place in your home or office deserves to be well-designed and should fit with your interior.
That is the reason that our systems are available in multiple colors and have a much more elegant look than others. To make sure that they stay elegant, we always use robust materials such as powdercoated steel and anodized aluminum.
In our vision, a healthy indoor air climate is a group effort and with good and clear communication everyone can play a role in making the world a healthier place.
That is the reason why we have a great and transparent network of hundreds of partners throughout Europe. We are currently active in 14 European countries, in Scandinavia and even in the Middle-East. You can find our devices in schools, living rooms, offices and many more!
Andreas Conrad: How have the technology and design of air purifiers / humidifiers evolved over time, and how has your company leveraged these innovations to remain competitive?
Jamie Blankert: There are many ways to purify the air: from generating harmful ozone and using ‘plasma’-technology to using professional medical HEPA-filtration.
With AirExchange, we stand for healthy air. That is why none of our devices generate harmful ozone or other pollutants.
Since our founding in 2016, we have developed our own Air Purification devices by combining HEPA-filtration with UV-C light treatment. With this combination, more than 99.995% of all particles are filtered each time air passes through the system. Additionally, the carbon filter ensures that gasses such as cigarette smoke are also effectively removed from the air.
The UV-C light treatment is the last line of defense: all cell nuclei of remaining micro-organisms are eliminated, without the use of ozone. The UV-C lamp is encapsuled in the filter set, so the user can’t look into it.
Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is the amount of air that an air purifier can effectively clean per hour. The CADR of our systems ranges from 150 m³/h to 1500 m³/h. We pride ourselves in having a wide assortment that can cover even the largest rooms, while still keeping sound levels low.
To improve our coverage, we have invented a technology that we call the ‘VORTEX’. Instead of blowing out the air through the sides and mixing clean air with pollutants, our systems create an upward airflow that results in overpressure of clean air at the top of the room and pushing the contaminants towards the device. The advantage is that the device is able to get to all corners of the room and the users feel no draught at all.
Andreas Conrad: What challenges do you see regarding the sustainability and environmental impact of air purifiers / humidifiers, and what steps is your company taking to address these challenges?
Jamie Blankert: Creating sustainable, energy-efficient products and continuing to innovate are central to our vision. That is why we have our own R&D-department that is constantly working on new innovations. Filtration and purifying the air will always be our main objective, but by combining our knowledge of filtration with the newest energy saving technologies we are creating the systems of the future.
As an example, we have created our own AirExchange Monoblock Heatpump. This 4-in-1 device can cool, heat, purify and dehumidify without using a loud outdoor unit. By exchanging the heat from the outdoor air, it is a gas free solution for heating and due to the heat exchanging technology it uses ~70% less energy than heating on gas.
Next to creating new sustainable, energy-efficient systems, we make sure that the filters we use are always 100% recyclable.
Andreas Conrad: How important is quality assurance and control in the production of air purifiers / humidifiers, and what measures does your company take to ensure that products meet the highest standards?
Jamie Blankert: Safety is our top priority. That is why our systems have been extensively tested by independent, accredited test institutes and live up to the strictest requirements and standards for product safety and the release of harmful by-products, such as ozone gas.
Next to general safety, our devices are mainly used in rooms where silence is very important. That is why we put a lot of effort into ensuring that the sound level is as low as possible.
An interesting fact to know about our company is that before shipping out a device to our customers or partners, each device is tested to make sure that the product is fully living up to our high expectations.
Andreas Conrad: What role does research and development play in your company’s efforts to improve the performance and efficiency of air purifiers / humidifiers, and could you explain some current projects or innovations in this field?
Jamie Blankert: We are living in a time where technology constantly gets ‘smarter’. The same goes for air purifiers, ventilation systems and similar devices. For us, having self-calibrated sensors that are able to detect pollutants in less than a second and immediately result into action is very important. Our R&D-team makes sure that all our devices have a ‘SMART’-mode that ensures that everything functions automatically. When pollutants are detected, the device chooses which fan speed is needed to quickly remove them from the air. Next to this operation mode, you can control and read everything about the air quality in your room on your smartphone. The user can even create a ‘working schedule’ in which they can decide on which time the devices switches on and off.
When looking at the efficiency of our AirExchange-systems, our R&D-team mainly focuses on increasing the coverage and on broadening our assortment so that we are able to offer the solution for every type of room and situation.
Our 1500-T is one of our recent developments and it has some very unique features. It offers a CADR of 1500 m³/h and is able to purify rooms of up to 200 m² multiple times per hour. To achieve this enormous capacity, we use two engines. These engines are encapsuled by filters on both sides, decreasing the sound level to a maximum of 42 dB(A) at the highest fan speed. This device has been created for usage in classrooms, where there are a lot of children in a room and silence is extremely important.
Another project we have recently finished is creating an ERV-system with an integrated HEPA-filter, the AirExchange 150-WTW. This system can supply fresh air (oxygen) and purify at the same time. With this product owners of older homes or buildings can improve their ventilation and air quality for a fraction of the costs of a full (de)central ventilation system.
Andreas Conrad: How does your company respond to the ever-changing needs and demands of consumers regarding air purifiers / humidifiers, and what trends or developments do you see in this market in the near future?
Jamie Blankert: Keeping a ‘young’ and innovative mindset is the most important. We can’t compare the current products to devices that were in the market 15 years ago. Technologies are constantly improving and this will be the same for air purification.
That is why our company will keep innovating and constantly come up with ways to combine technologies and create new ones. We see a lot of trends and developments towards sustainability and devices that have energy recuperation, so that is something we will be keeping an eye on as well.
This ist the way to our articles about the AirExchange 600-T and about the AirExchange 750-T
Further Informations
AirExchange
Am Söterberg 20
Gewerbepark Münzbachtal
66620 Nonnweiler / Otzenhausen
