Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) or Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is extremely important to our health and well-being. The Environmental Protection Agency named IAQ as one of the top five environmental health risks, because improvements in energy efficient construction materials have led to reduced air circulation indoors — and that causes a dangerous accumulation of disease-causing particles in the air we breathe. The EPA notes that indoor air pollution rates are two to five times worse than outdoor air pollution rates. Indoor air pollution contributes to significant health problems, such as lung disease, respiratory tract infections, asthma, and lung cancer. With the general population spending more than 90% of our time indoors, the correlation between indoor air quality and long-term health is more important than ever before.
Varionix Bi-Polar Ionization (BPI) is the world’s most thorough, efficient and cost effective indoor air purification technology and it is distributed in Canada by Kasel Air and their resellers. An ion is an atom or molecule that has gained or lost an electron. Both positive and negative ions exist in the air naturally but because of the pollution, there’s not enough to keep the air clean and crisp. Varionix BPI works by adding a regulated amount of both positively and negatively charged oxygen ions to the supply air of an air handling system. These are called cluster ions and are capable to reduce the germs, odours, chemicals, and particulates from the air in a safe and ecological way.
Positive air ions are generally molecules of hydrogen that have lost an electron. Negative air ions are generally a molecule of oxygen that has gained an electron. Negative ions in the air attract particles of pollution and give them a negative charge, making them seek electrical “ground.” This causes the charged ion to fall harmlessly to the floor or be returned to a filter.
Nature constantly produces air ions to combat the pollution in the air. For example, have you ever noticed how the air is stuffy before a thunderstorm and afterwards it is refreshing? This is because lightning produces a high concentration of air ions, which purifies the air and makes it invigorating. The same is true of rain forest environments, beach environments, areas around a waterfall, and mountains.
Varionix technology has tested to a greater than 125 Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) for dust and mold. Most technologies on the market today are “passive” technologies — for example, a filter that catches particles in the return air stream is one of the most common passive filtration systems. Varionix is a proactive air purification system. Our Varionix technology actively cleans the air you breathe in the space you are breathing — it does not rely on filtration that may or may not capture unwanted particles.
UV lights are only effectively on a handful of contaminants of concern, and to keep cooling coils clean. Contaminants have to pass through the UV light rays for a period of time long enough to be effective. UV lights do not treat any of the air in the occupied space, nor are they effective on VOCs and odours. UV lights require that the air be returned to the air handling system — and thus categorized as a passive air cleaning technology. According to the CDC, UV exposure can increase the risk of potentially blinding eye diseases. And overexposure to UV radiation can lead to serious health issues, including cancer.
Yes it can however when we design Varionix systems, we take into account local environments so that your system will be effective.
Yes, we have an Ion Level Device that can measure medium sized ions that are necessary to create cluster ions. Common Ion Meters measure only the small sized ions that are produced by Needlepoint Ionizers – which cannot produce medium sized ions. Small ions are not able to break down chemical compounds, odours, or microbes, as our medium size ions and cluster ions do.
Typically, medium size ions have a life expectancy of 2.5 minutes before they touch a surface or a particle to discharge or have broken down chemical compounds from the air. Some of the cluster ions produced by Varionix can live even up to 10 minutes in the air. In comparison to Needlepoint Ionization, this is dozens of times longer. Needlepoint Ionization technology produces small ions that live only a fraction of a second or at maximum a few seconds and thus have very limited effectiveness.
Our Varionix technology complies with UL 867 or UL 2998 to ensure no harmful levels of ozone are produced. The devices are tested by Intertek, the leading certification company in US and the results shows that ozone production in peak load was 73% below the strictest ‘No Ozone’ UL-2998 certification levels and an average 8-hours ozone production was 0.00057 ppm (part per million), being 90% below the limits.
No. The technology increases the number of oxygen ions, not the number of oxygen molecules. It revitalizes stable oxygen molecules into unstable oxygen ions forming cluster ions — these ions want to react with pollutants by trading electrons to become stable again.
No. Some customers have experienced a change in the way the ionized space smells due to the removal of odours they had grown accustomed to. The only “odour” you should expect is the same that exist outdoors in the mountains, after it has rained, or like after a thunderstorm. Fresh, crisp, and clean.
Our new Varionix VTU glass alloy tubes will degrade and become ineffective after approximately 30,000 usage hours or 5 years. The tubes should be changed after the time period reached first.
No. Unlike UV lamps, which can harm your eyes, there is no danger in looking at a Varionix ionization tube.
Yes, it potentially can be. If the ionization unit is powered and you touch the tube, you could be shocked, especially if the power cable is not grounded. Therefore, before touching the tube or removing it for annual cleaning or replacing the tube, make sure the power to the unit is off by unplugging it from the power source.
Clean tubes produce more ions than dirty tubes. In a typical residential or commercial project the tubes do not need to be cleaned more often than once per 12 to 24 months depending on conditions. However, in a heavily polluted commercial or industrial environment, such as a garbage room or wastewater treatment plant, plan to inspect and clean the tubes periodically.
The tubes should not be subjected to temperatures exceeding 93ºC and the base ionization unit to temperatures exceeding 66 ºC.
Typical installations can be completed in 30 to 60 minutes per system, with HVAC system downtime of 10 to 20 minutes. Usually installation can be done without causing any major disturbance to users of your facility during business hours.
Yes, because the Varionix equipment is not a catch-and-grab filter. It does not trap particles, but rather reduces airborne pollutants and particles in the occupied space — where you work, live, eat, sleep, etc. In fact, because your Varionix system causes airborne particles to stick together, your filters will become more efficient by trapping these larger particles and thus more effective.
Customers who have installed Varionix technology have greatly reduced or eliminated the need for duct cleaning, because the Varionix technology increases the HVAC system’s filter’s efficiency by an average of 4 to 5 MERVs.
Kasel Air offers a limited warranty of 3 years for the ionization device.
Varionix systems are equally effective whether the air system is 100% outside air and exhaust air, or 100% recirculated air, or something in between. Varionix systems generate cluster ions that are then carried by the supply air and distributed through the supply diffusers into the indoor space. We engineer our systems to saturate the space with ions, which allows the ions to react with contaminants within the space. Even in a recirculation air system, ions survive the trip back. As long as your Varionix system is designed and engineered correctly, the indoor space will be enriched with bi-polar ions, resulting in cleaner air.
Varionix has #1 market share in Europe and Asia, and is now finally available in Canada. Users of Varionix systems include: Mercedes Benz, BMW, Airbus, Siemens, McDonalds, Monster Energy, Rochester Institute of Technology, Zurich Air Port, Union Bank (Switzerland), DB (German railway) and the American Association of Realtors.
Yes, cigar bars and hotels count on our bi-polar ionization systems to reduce the odours and discomfort associated with smoke. Smoke mitigation is a strength of the Varionix system, as our technology reduces the gaseous elements (odours, VOCs) and particulate matter from the air.
Yes, Varionix reduces and breaks down airborne pathogens such as mold. The Varionix bi-polar ionization process makes the pathogens stick together and fall out of the breathing zone. Varionix also inhibits mold growth by penetrating the cell’s split zone, causing oxidation, and killing the microbe completely.
The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Procedure in ASHRAE Standard 62.1 allows reduced outdoor air intake rates in conjunction with engineered air purification technologies. In turn, this allows reduced sizing of equipment, resulting in lower first costs, reduced energy usage, cleaner coils, and better space humidity and temperature control, while maintaining acceptable levels of indoor air quality.
Instead of using “brute force dilution” of contaminants via increased outside airflows, required outside airflow rates can be reduced by directly addressing the contaminants of concern. Bipolar ionization breaks down harmful VOCs, kills mold, bacteria, and viruses, improves filtration effectiveness by particle agglomeration, and oxidizes odourous gases. For instance, a recent University of Michigan study concluded that cold plasma (ionized particles) killed 99.9% of airborne viruses and tests at Crem Co Lab in Canada demonstrated a 99.993% reduction in 5.5 minutes.
Target concentration levels of Contaminants of Concern (CoC) should be indicated in the design documents.
Even though bipolar ionization improves indoor air quality by reducing CoC, this method can result in higher carbon dioxide (CO2) levels than would be achieved with the ASHRAE 62.1 Ventilation Rate Procedure. CO2 is not considered a Contaminant of Concern by ASHRAE. However, in the past, CO2 has been used as an easily measurable proxy for indoor air quality since a higher level of CO2 generally indicates a higher concentration of other contaminants.
ASHRAE does not specify a recommended CO2 level, beyond stating that “CO2 at very high concentrations (e.g. greater than 5000 ppm) can pose a health risk”. ASHRAE further states “Note however that CO2 concentration is not a good indicator of the concentration and occupant acceptance of other indoor contaminants, such as volatile organic compounds off-gassing from furnishings and building materials. Thus, CO2 concentration is not a reliable indicator of overall building air quality.”
We recommend a cautious approach in designing to a much higher CO2 level, since future research may reveal more clear information about the effects of CO2 with regards to indoor air quality.
A: (1-a) The Air Decontamination Protocol used was based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Guidelines OCSPP 810.2500 for Efficacy Test Recommendations on Air Sanitizers. Tests and results from: CREM Co. Labs (Toronto, Canada) study number ARNX200713-01, 8/14/2020.
A: (1-b) We used the Modified Quantitative Disk Carrier Test Method (ASTM, American Society for Testing and Materials, 2197). Tests and results from: CREM Co. Labs (Toronto, Canada) study number ARNX200828-02, 11/23/2020.
A: (2) Devices were tested by Intertek, the leading certification company in the USA. Intertek, 12/31/2020, Report No.: 104541948CRT-001 – Electrostatic Air Cleaners, UL 867, Section 40, Fifth Edition, August 4, 2011 revision: August 7, 2018; and Canadian Standards Association (CSA) 22-2 No.187-15, Section 7, February 2015, April 2016 Revision.
Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a type of non-thermal plasma formed when an AC voltage is applied across two electrodes separated by a dielectric barrier.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: air freshners, paints, solvents, lacquers, paint strippers, petroleum fuels, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.