Delta, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2020) - George Graham, president of ATI AirTest Technologies (TSXV: AAT) is pleased to announce that, in the preparation for the opening of buildings that have been closed during the current COVID-19 crisis, various products from AirTest traditionally used to reduce energy and increase sustainability, are being applied to ensure that buildings are operated to minimize the chance of spread of viruses (as recommended by the American Society of Heating Cooling And Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE)). AirTest is currently working with many building contractors and design engineers who are starting up, re-commissioning and upgrading building HVAC systems to better deal with the challenges of COVID-19.
Technologies that are being applied include humidity sensors to ensure that optimum levels of humidity in buildings are maintained in the critical range of 40-60% RH which has been proven to be ideal for reducing the spread of infectious aerosols in the air and making the body less vulnerable and better able to fight bacterial and viral infection. Also, recently ASHRAE recommended that indoor moisture levels should not exceed a 60ºF dew point to ensure dangerous mold growth does not occur. Humidity and dew point sensors have only been installed in buildings in the last few years leaving most buildings currently without this capability. AirTest makes application of these measurements easy with wired and wireless products that can be integrated in a building with minimal labor or effort. Recently we have introduced a temperature humidity and CO2 sensor (TR9277-EO), that is wireless and powered by indoor ambient light, and this sensor can communicate to most major HVAC control systems. Installation of these sensors takes only a matter of minutes per sensor.
To prevent the spread of infection, constant outside air ventilation has been proven to reduce bacterial and viral load in the air. All buildings are required by code to bring in an acceptable amount of fresh air for the occupants in the space. AirTest's CO2 sensors have been used on a widespread basis as a green-tech technology to monitor ventilation rates in spaces and regulate ventilation based on occupancy. This can result in significant energy savings in spaces with variable occupancy while still maintaining code required ventilation rates per person. COVID-19 recommendations include increasing ventilation rates to the maximum possible during this crisis. CO2 sensors which traditionally control ventilation to save energy can be used to measure the actual ventilation rates in the space to verify that higher ventilation rates are maintained in all types of buildings. When the emergency has passed the sensors can easily be reconfigured to deliver significant energy savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
AirTest has also developed a wireless CO2 retrofit kit (CT9099-WiFi) that can be quickly installed to not only deliver energy savings but give the buildings that have rooftop heating and cooling units (over 20 million units installed in North America) a capability to adjust the amount of outside air delivered to meet pandemic ventilation requirements easily using a secure smartphone connection in the space without having to manually adjust equipment on the roof.
According to George Graham, "AirTest sensor technologies are designed for easy retrofit and can easily be integrated into buildings being configured to meet temporary COVID-19 building measures where we can provide control and verification of ventilation related parameters. Once installed this equipment is sitting ready to significantly increase the energy efficiency, sustainability and greenhouse gas savings of these buildings after the crisis has passed."
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For further information, please contact:
Mr. George Graham, President & CEO
Phone: (604) 517 3888
Fax :(604) 517 3900
Email:
Website:
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