FRESH air and exercise has been one of the benefits for many of the last 12 months of on-off lockdowns

FRESH air and exercise has been one of the benefits for many of the last 12 months of on-off lockdowns.

As the latest lockdown starts to ease with schools returning and plans being made for businesses to reopen, many of us will be thinking of ways to keep up a healthier lifestyle and not slip back into old habits.

But when it comes to the air that we breathe, how many of us know what the air quality is like in our workplaces and other shared indoor spaces?

Eddie Black, managing director of Eco which has been praised for its rapid response solutions throughout the pandemic, expects indoor air quality to become an important issue for a Covid-aware population.

“I think it’s safe to say that 12 months ago most of us going to offices, factories, restaurants and hotels and other indoor spaces did not think too much about the air we were breathing,” said Eddie.

“We might have been concerned about catching a cold from a colleague who was coughing and sneezing in the same office or part of a factory, but that was about the extent of it.

“After a year of living with Covid in society, of keeping our distance from others and wearing facemasks, that’s all changed.

“We have become very aware of the air that we breathe and the spaces that we share.”

The UK government is consulting on plans to change building regulations in relation to ventilation and indoor air quality monitoring in high risk non-domestic buildings, such as offices, to reduce the risk of potential infections being spread indoors.

The Future Buildings Standard consultation highlights the importance of ventilation and indoor air quality monitoring in high risk non-domestic buildings. The consultation closes on April 13.

Eddie’s firm Eco, based in Scotland and Cumbria, has supported essential factories, workplaces and doctor’s surgeries and helped them stay safe throughout the pandemic with a range of sanitisation solutions.

With air quality now set to become an important issue he’s introducing pioneering German technology to the UK to help people stay safe in offices and other shared indoor spaces.

High performance mobile air purifiers have already been widely adopted by schools in Germany, where the federal government and states are investing in improving indoor air quality in response to the pandemic.

Eco Industry Solutions, a new response solutions business created by Eddie and Lancashire businessman Darren Cardwell, is introducing the industry-leading technology to businesses and organisations in the UK.

Eddie said: “As we come out of lockdown these high performance eco-friendly air purifiers are ideal for any indoor space, such as an office, school, leisure or hospitality setting.

“They can substantially reduce the risk of an indirect virus infection from aerosols, the tiny droplets which are exhaled, especially when people sneeze or cough, by filtering out 99.995 per cent of the disease-carrying viruses from the room air.

“They are easy-to-use, robust and mobile which makes them ideal for a wide range of settings.”

Eco Industry Solutions’ TAC V+ and AirgoClean One mobile air purifiers use the latest technology to provide surgical standard clean air. Both systems remove airborne pollutants without generating any dangerous ions, ozone or UV radiation, making them safe, healthy and effective clean air solutions.

The TAC V+ has been specifically designed to filter out virus carrying aerosols from indoor spaces. Its effectiveness has been the subject of scientific studies, which showed it substantially reduces the airborne viral load, and subsequent risk of infection. It can be programmed to thermally decontaminate and regenerate its HEPA H14 filter from viruses and bacteria.

The AirgoClean One uses up to four stage mechanical filter technology to clean particles from the air. It uses a HEPA H14 filter in the final filter stage and can also be installed with an activated carbon filter to neutralise odours.