Canadian wildfires continue to soar, carrying dangerously high levels of air pollution to the Niagara Region. Originating in Quebec and northeastern Ontario, the smoke contains high levels of contaminants known to exacerbate respiratory conditions and make general breathing difficult. While Canada’s wildfire season does usually run through the spring and summer, given this year’s dry spell, the country is seeing unprecedented levels of acreage burned and smoke emissions released.
And as the world continues to experience dry weather and potent wildfires, it becomes increasingly difficult for firefighters to abolish the flames. That’s why it’s essential that we take effective measures now to protect ourselves and our employees. And it starts by outfitting your business with a commercial air purifier.
In today’s blog, we’ll explore how commercial air filtration systems can help businesses, both big and small, filter everything from harmful smoke and germs to viruses.
Air purifiers are the perfect way to keep your office clean and healthy. By filtering out pollutants and particles from the air, they ensure that you and your employees are breathing clean air at all times.
Air purifiers work by filtering out pollutants from the air as it moves through the machine’s filters. This process can take anywhere from a few seconds to several hours, depending on the size of your building and how much pollution is present in the environment. Once complete, the clean air is released, and you and your team can breathe easier!
The filters used inside your air purifier can be made from a variety of materials, including paper, fibre, or mesh. A fan favourite is the High-Efficiency Particular Air (HEPA) filters. These impressive filters capture variously sized particles within a multi-layered netting, which is most often made out of very fine fibreglass threads, with various-sized gaps. Composed of dense sheets of small fibres pleated and sealed in metal or plastic frames, you can expect the highest capture rates of airborne pollutants with HEPA filters.
The short answer is yes. Air pollution isn’t limited to the outdoors. The air in your office can also be contaminated. In fact, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the concentration of pollutants indoors can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors. This is because in an enclosed space, like an office, whatever pollutants are present tend to build up over time and become more harmful. Outside, however, pollutants are able to be dispersed by the wind and cascade wide over the Earth’s surface.
The pollutants you find in your office are likely to be the same as the ones you find at home just in different concentrations. The amount of pollutants you encounter depends on the type of work you do and the processes that are involved. For example, if your company deals with hazardous chemicals or toxic gases on a regular basis, then those will be present at higher levels.
Offices are also known as breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria, which can be detrimental to your health. A popular example is the 1976 Legionnaires Disease outbreak in Philadelphia where contaminated water spread a bacterial infection through the air-conditioning system and took the lives of 29 people.
The demand for better air filtration systems in offices is on the rise– and for good reason. Whether you operate a small business with a handful of employees, or a large enterprise with a couple hundred, maintaining clean indoor air is essential to the health and welfare of all employees and clients. To illustrate, we’ve highlighted some of the top benefits of using an air purifier in your office space.
By eliminating employee irritants like allergies, the seasonal flu and other illnesses known to hinder workplace productivity, commercial air purifiers can allow employees to focus on the tasks that matter. Research from Harvard and Syracuse Universities shows increased cognitive function in employees who’d spent a day in a workspace with increased air quality. The researchers specifically found that doubling ventilation rates in an office could lead to an estimated $6,500 per person annual increase in productivity.
Sick building syndrome (SBS) occurs when a group of occupants feel negative health effects only when they’re inside a building. It may affect employees in a specific area or the entire building. Symptoms include but are not limited to, stuffy nose, headaches, and itchy skin.
While no one has yet to pinpoint the root cause of sick building syndrome, some believe it may result from an increase in air pollution like dust mites, allergens, and VOCs, which are common in enclosed workplace settings. Introducing an air purifier can greatly minimize the risk by effectively and efficiently removing indoor air pollutants.
Allergens, like dust and pollen, can cause a whole host of health problems for your employees. A commercial air purification system can help provide relief to your team. HEPA filters specifically have been cited in a number of reports as being exceedingly beneficial to reducing the strength of indoor allergens.
Research has also indicated the effectiveness of HEPA filters in reducing smoke particles in the air, making an air purifier essential to have in your office’s tool belt in combating the country’s current wildfires.
By removing airborne particles and allergens, you can significantly improve air quality, and promote overall health and welfare in your office.
With so many options, finding the right air purifier for your workspace can be overwhelming. JBM thought we’d help eliminate some of the options and highlight one of our favourite series of air purifiers: IDEAL Pro Air Purifiers. Clean, reliable, and silent, this line of German-made air purifiers offers something for every office space. Learn about each model below:
Compact and sleek, both the AP30 Pro and the AP40 Pro air purifiers combine energy efficiency, quiet operation, and refined design to provide optimum airflow. To ensure optimal filtration, the 360° multi-layer filter system contains a long-life HEPA filter consisting of a fine mesh pre-filter, a true HEPA filter, and an activated carbon filter.
Keeping the air clean in large, heavily frequented rooms is a challenge, but it’s one the AP60 Pro and AP80 Pro air purifiers handle with ease. All components of these air purifiers work together to keep your office space functional, healthy, and safe. From the filter technology and the fans to their impeccable sensor technology, the AP60 and AP80 Pro were designed with the ultimate level of precision.
With their robust, high-grade metal housing and low noise and vibration, you can be sure they’ll blend into any office environment without causing any disruption.
Key Features:
Designed for industrial applications like warehouses and logistics centers or print shops, the AP140 Pro can clean even the most contaminated air. The integrated GreenTech EC motor provides up to 50 percent lower energy consumption than AC solutions.
To find the perfect IDEAL Pro Air Purifier for your business consider the following:
Whether you need help finding a commercial air purifier to clean and filter your office air or an interactive whiteboard, trust Niagara’s premier provider of office solutions.
JBM Office Systems has been servicing the entire Niagara Region, Haldimand County, and Hamilton-Wentworth Regions for over 35 years, and we’d love to help you too. To learn more about how JBM can help your business drive productivity and cut costs, contact us today.
If there is a product or service that you
are interested, please let us know, we’d be
happy to go through the benefits with you