IQAir

IQAir

File:IQAir logo.png
Company type	Private
Industry	Environmental technology
Founded	1963 (1963) Germany
Founders	Manfred Hammes Klaus Hammes
Headquarters	Goldach , Switzerland
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Frank Hammes Jens Hammes Glory Dolphin-Hammes
Products	Air purifiers Air quality instruments
Website	iqair.com

IQAir is a Swiss air quality technology company, specializing in helping protect people from airborne pollutants, developing air quality monitoring and air cleaning products. IQAir also operates AirVisual, one of the world’s largest real-time air quality information platforms.

History

IQAir was founded 1963 by brothers Manfred and Klaus Hammes, who introduced an air filter system for residential coal ovens in Germany to help reduce black dust build-up on the walls behind ovens. Manfred Hammes, a lifelong asthma sufferer, noticed that the filter reduced his flare-ups during the winter months. Klaus Hammes continued through the 1960s and ’70s to adapt the air filter for other heating systems such as radiators, baseboard heating and forced-air heating and cooling systems. In 1982, Klaus Hammes relocated the company headquarters to Switzerland. .

In the early 1990s, Frank Hammes, Klaus' oldest son, joined the company and expanded research and development as well as in-house manufacturing. In the spring of 1998, IQAir shipped its first high-performance air purifier from its Swiss factory. In 2001, Klaus Hammes' second son, Jens Hammes, joined the business and helped expand IQAir to Asia and the Middle East.

Products

IQAir currently has products that fall into four product categories:

Air purifiers

In 1998, IQAir introduced a line of compact modular room air purifiers for the removal of a wide range of solid, liquid, and gaseous air pollutants. IQAir products are used by medical, corporate, and private users and have gained a reputation for their high-efficiency particle removal as well as high-capacity removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). IQAir has also introduced accessories and specialized models for medical professionals, such as extraoral suction arms for dental use (extraoral suction), and devices to aid in the creation of positive and negative pressure environments.

In 2013, IQAir introduced two new commercial air cleaning systems: the CleanZone SL and CleanZone 5000, both for use in open plan offices, hospitals, and classrooms. In 2018, IQAir introduced its first personal air purifier, the Atem Desk and IQAir Mask. In 2019, the Atem Car, an in-vehicle air purifier, was introduced.

HVAC-based air cleaning

In 2006, IQAir introduced the Perfect 16, the company’s first air cleaning system to work in conjunction with ducted forced-air heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The Perfect 16 derives its name from being the first independently tested residential and commercial air cleaning system for HVAC systems to achieve the highest minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV 16) under the ASHRAE 52.2 test format. The system also features a very low pressure drop and a filter life of up to 3 years.

In 2008, IQAir introduced a new line of MERV 16-rated high-performance HVAC filters under the trademark of NanoMax. The filters’ 2 inch- (5 cm-) deep form factor allows them to be used in place of lower efficiency HVAC filters while also, as the company claims, providing a comparable pressure drop to that of filters with much lower efficiency.

Air quality instruments

In 2000, IQAir introduced a line of hand-held environmental optical particle counters, under the ParticleScan trademark, to measure airborne particle concentrations. In 2017, IQAir introduced the AirVisual Pro, a low-cost air quality monitor for continuous unattended measurement of PM2.5, CO2, temperature, and relative humidity in indoor and outdoor environments. The monitor connects via Wi-Fi to a cloud data platform, from which users can manage data and contribute outdoor PM2.5 data to the AirVisual global air quality information platform.

Global air quality information platform

In 2017, IQAir integrated technology from air quality monitoring start-up AirVisual into its product line. It has since expanded the AirVisual air quality data platform to provide free global access to real-time air quality data from over 80,000 governmental and privately operated air quality monitoring stations through the IQAir AirVisual App and website. The AirVisual app has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times from the Google app store. IQAir publishes a live city ranking, which ranks over 90 major cities by air pollution in real-time and is referenced widely by journalists. Since 2018, IQAir publishes an annual global air quality report that analyzes and ranks global fine particulate air pollution. The 2019 World Air Quality Report covers 98 countries and over 3,000 cities.

Awards

Air Purifiers:

• Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (Finland) "Best Air Purifier" 2012
• Reviewboard Magazine (USA) "Best Buy" 2012
• Parent Tested/Parent Approved (USA) "Award Winning Product" 2013
• The Gadgeteer (USA) "Best Gadget of the Year" Award 2017, 2017
• International Housewares Association Global Innovation "Award for Product Design Personal Care" 2019
• TWICE VIP (USA) "Award for Home Care Devices" 2019

Air quality monitor:

• AirParif "AirLab" Microsensor Challenge Laureate 2019
• BK Magazine awarded AirVisual "App of the Year" 2019

Air quality app:

• AirVisual App, Google Play “Best of” Daily Helper 2018
• AirVisual App, BK Magazine "App of the Year" 2019

Technology

IQAir employs a wide range of particulate and gas-phase removal technologies in its air purifiers and air filters. The company has been a vocal opponent of ionizing and ozone-producing air cleaning technologies. IQAir’s air quality information platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to calibrate and validate thousands of governmental and non-governmental air quality monitoring stations.

Company organization

IQAir is headquartered in Switzerland with major operations in Germany, the U.S., and China. Product development is based in Switzerland. Manufacturing is based in Switzerland and Germany. Field support and installation teams exist in Switzerland, the U.S. and China, in addition to authorized dealers support customers throughout the world.

Research studies

Hospital Infection Control

A 2006 peer reviewed study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection reported that an IQAir Cleanroom H13 air purifier reduced Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination in hospital isolation rooms. The researchers concluded that "This portable HEPA-filtration unit can significantly reduce MRSA environmental contamination within patient isolation rooms, and this may prove to be a useful addition to existing MRSA infection control measures.

A 2010 peer-reviewed study conducted at Singapore General Hospital and published in the American Journal of Infection Control in 2010 found that the use of IQAir portable air purifiers with HyperHEPA filtration reduced the spread of invasive aspergillosis (IA) by 50%. The researchers concluded that "The cost of widespread portable HEPA filtration in hospitals will be more than offset by the decreases in nosocomial infections in general and in IA in particular."

Dental Aerosol Control

A 2010 peer-reviewed study in the British Dental Journal, found that the IQAir FlexVac extraoral air cleaning system significantly reduced potentially hazardous bioaerosols created during dental procedures.

Classroom Air Pollution Control

A 2013 peer-reviewed US government study conducted by researchers from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) published in the International Journal of Indoor Environment and Health found that IQAir stand-alone air purification and HVAC-based air purification was able to lower concentrations of ultrafine particles, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) between 87% and 96%.

In-Vehicle Air Pollution Control

A 2014 peer-reviewed passenger vehicle study funded by CARB (California Air Resources Board), conducted by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and published in Environmental Science & Technology found that an IQAir high-efficiency cabin air filtration was able to reduce ultra-fine particle exposure by 93% while keeping carbon dioxide concentrations in the range of 620-930 ppm.

School Bus Air Pollution Control

A 2015 peer-reviewed study funded by CARB, conducted by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and published in Environmental Science & Technology, found that an IQAir school bus air purification system was able to reduce harmful air pollutants by 88 percent.

In-home Air Pollution Control

A CARB-funded study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory investigating reducing in-home exposure to air pollution found that IQAir MERV16 filtration on a supply system provided the greatest reductions in outdoor pollutant levels with indoor time-averaged concentrations that were lower than corresponding outdoor levels by 97– 98% for PM2.5, 97–99% for UFP, and at least 84–92% for BC and at least 97% for ozone.

A two-year study conducted by UC Davis and funded by CARB focused on households with asthmatic children found that the use of high-efficiency filtration improves indoor air quality. Installation of IQAir stand-alone air cleaners and high-efficiency filters in central air conditioning systems were shown to improve indoor air quality across all particle size fractions, with the greatest improvement in the smaller size fractions. The study also found that while participants did not report reduced asthma symptoms, they did have fewer visits to doctor's offices and hospitals for asthma care and slept better if they also kept their bedroom door closed.

Special projects

Hospitals

IQAir air purification devices are used in hospitals around the world for infection control. The Hong Kong Hospital Authority selected IQAir air purifiers to help against the spread of SARS. During the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, IQAir provided air filtration to hospitals in Wuhan, China designated to treat people infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Air purification during 2008 Beijing Olympics

IQAir provided air purification to the U.S. Olympic Team during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee was concerned about the impact of local air pollution on athlete performance, and asked IQAir to provide air cleaning to U.S. athletes living quarters in the Olympic Village and at the main training facility in Beijing. IQAir also provided air purification to the USA Cycling team headquarters during the Olympics.

Air purification at the Los Angeles Zoo

The IQAir assisted the LA Zoo in creating a pressurized clean air cage for Minyak, a Bornean orangutan with respiratory problems. Minyak recovered and became a successful member of the zoo's breeding program.

Air purification for schools

IQAir was selected by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and other air quality agencies to provide high-performance air filtration for classrooms in California schools close to major outdoor air pollution sources. As of June 2013, IQAir's air filtration technologies were installed in more than 1,000 classrooms. A study published in 2012 in INDOOR AIR reports that IQAir air cleaning technology is able to protect classrooms from up to 96% of outdoor diesel soot, PM 2.5 and ultrafine particles.

United Nations Air Quality Platform

In February 2020, the United Nations Environment Programme, UN Habitat and IQAir announced a global partnership to increase the availability of real-time air quality data, with a focus to better serve underrepresented regions such as Africa and South America.

World Air Quality Report

Since 2018, IQAir publishes an annual global air quality report that analyzes and ranks global fine particulate air pollution. The 2019 World Air Quality Report covers 98 countries/regions and over 3000 cities.

Educational work

EU Green Week

In 2013, IQAir supported the European Commission, by producing a series of scanning electron microscope images of diesel soot, mold spores and other airborne particulates. The images were displayed at the Green Week 2013 Conference in Brussels.

See also

• Air purifier
• HEPA
• Indoor air quality