One of the hardest hit facets of society by COVID-19 is senior living facilities and those who reside within them. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 has made social encounters in these facilities nigh impossible because of the dangers for their residents. However, the removal of social contact comes at a great cost, with isolation having significant negative impacts on emotional and mental health.
As senior living places make changes to try to minimize isolation while also keeping their residents safe, improvements to building HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems have become a significant positive measure these locations can make.
With over 200 scientists recently writing in to the World Health Organization (WHO) to request that they include airborne transmission as a mode of SARS-CoV-2, an increased importance has been placed on improving current building HVAC systems, as it is suspected that HVAC systems are helping to spread the virus through buildings because of how they recirculate air.
With the ISO-Aire unit, we are taking a positive step forward in HVAC technology. Our unit was originally implemented for a major healthcare facility as they rushed to increase the number of isolation rooms in preparation of an increase in COVID-19 cases. Instead of adding an extensive amount of ductwork that would have been incredibly expensive, we offered an option that would create an isolation room at a fraction of the cost.
To create this isolation room effect of having clean air, we have a trifecta of proven protection in our ISO-Aire unit- a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, ozone-free bipolar ionization, and ultraviolet-C (UVC) light. Our unit is equipped with a powerful fan that continuously draws air through the unit. Along its journey, the air passes through the HEPA filter, capable of removing a MINIMUM of 99.99% of air particles equal to or larger than 0.3 microns in size. Next, the bipolar ionization device releases positively and negatively charged ions that cluster around germs like viruses and bacteria, robbing them of the hydrogen that they need to either live or keep their structures intact that they use to infect us. The bipolar ionization device also helps smaller air particles to gain mass and fall to the floor, reducing the chances of them being inhaled. Lastly, the air will pass by the UVC device, where the high-energy waves mutate the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of the germs.
These three technologies are proven air-cleaning technologies, each with their own advantages, but when combined, they provide an even greater degree of significant protection for senior living residents and staff not only against COVID-19, but other infectious diseases, asthma and allergy triggers, and gaseous air contaminants.