Air Quality Matters

Simon Jones
  • 4.2 (5)
  • SCIENCE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

  1. Beyond Particulates: How Gas Phase Filtration Protects Everything From Data Centers to Lungs 117

    9H AGO

    Beyond Particulates: How Gas Phase Filtration Protects Everything From Data Centers to Lungs 117

    This week, we sit down with Christopher Mueller, Global Director of the High Purity Segment at AAF International (American Air Filters), to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality: What if the single biggest gap in our approach to healthy buildings isn't particulate filtration—but our complete failure to address the invisible chemical soup we're breathing every single day? Chris brings over 40 years of deep expertise in environmental air quality and gas phase air filtration. With more than 200 peer reviewed papers, hundreds of seminars, and co authorship of major industry handbooks including the NAFSA Air Filtration Handbook and ASHRAE standards, Chris has testified at OSHA on indoor air quality standards and consulted with governments worldwide. He is the former chair of ASHRAE 145, which developed the first standard for assessing gas phase air filtration media performance, and remains a member of key technical committees shaping the future of air cleaning globally. Key Topics Discussed: The Fundamental Difference: Particulate filtration is catching. Gas phase filtration is reacting. Gases move by diffusion, from high to low concentration, and removing them requires adsorption—getting molecules out of the air and onto the surface of materials like activated carbon, alumina, or zeolites. Unlike particle filters, gas phase filters don't fill up. They run out. They lose effectiveness over time, and there's no pressure gauge to tell you when. Surface Area Is Everything: Most activated carbons have around 1100 square meters per gram of surface area. That's not the exterior of the pellet. That's the interior pore structure. Volatile organic compounds get inside, condense back into liquid form, and stay there. The physics of adsorption depend on molecular weight, concentration, residence time, and contact efficiency. You need the air to touch the adsorbent before it exits the filter. One Filter Won't Do It All: You can't use one type of gas phase media to remove everything. Basic activated carbon handles many organic compounds. Acid gases like sulfur dioxide require chemically treated carbon. Ammonia requires another type entirely. Think of it like particulate filtration: pre filter, intermediate filter, final filter. Same logic applies to chemicals. The Four Global Markets: Corrosion control accounts for 60 to 65 percent of the global gas phase filtration market, driven by electronics manufacturing, data centers, and industrial facilities where chemical contamination voids equipment warranties. Wastewater odor control is second. Indoor air quality in commercial buildings is third. Airborne molecular contamination in semiconductor manufacturing is fourth. The total global market is approximately $2 billion and growing at 5.5 percent annually. GUEST: Christopher Mueller Global Director, High Purity Segment, AAF International https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismullerconsulting/ AAF International https://www.aafintl.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meeting the Gas Phase Air Cleaning Guru 00:02:51 The Fundamental Difference: Particulate vs Gas Phase Filtration 00:09:29 The Science of Adsorption: How Gas Phase Filters Actually Work 00:17:10 The Swiss Cheese Approach: Multi-Stage Gas Phase Filtration 00:23:20 Form Factors and Physical Products: From Pleats to Packed Beds 00:28:00 Precision and Specificity: Can You Target Individual Chemicals? 00:34:20 The Four Markets: Where Gas Phase Filtration Is Applied Today 00:38:24 Corrosion Control: The Hidden Giant of Gas Phase Filtration 00:44:00 Indoor Air Quality and the IAQP Opportunity 00:48:38 The Commercial Reality: Why Gas Phase Is Still a Hard Sell 01:13:49 Materials and Sustainability: What Is Activated Carbon Made From? 01:24:13 The Path Forward: Education, Standards, and Market Evolution 01:36:35 Closing Thoughts: Making the Invisible Visible

    1h 37m
  2. The Wrong Corner: How Air Purifier Placement Can Increase Infection Risk OT43

    4D AGO

    The Wrong Corner: How Air Purifier Placement Can Increase Infection Risk OT43

    This week, we dive into a groundbreaking computational fluid dynamics study from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden that fundamentally challenges how we think about portable air cleaners in care homes: What if the single most important decision about air cleaning isn't which device you buy—but where you put it in the room? During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, care homes experienced devastating mortality rates among elderly residents. These environments are uniquely challenging—combining elements of healthcare facilities with residential living spaces, housing vulnerable populations who spend prolonged periods indoors with limited mobility and compromised immune systems. Portable air cleaners emerged as a promising, accessible solution. But does it actually matter where you place them? Can you just plug them in wherever the cable reaches and assume the job is done? And critically, will the airflow create cold drafts that make elderly residents so uncomfortable they simply switch the device off? Key Topics Discussed: The Care Home Challenge: Why care homes represent such a unique built environment challenge. Vulnerable populations with reduced mobility, chronic illnesses, compromised thermoregulation making them sensitive to drafts, and prolonged indoor exposure without control over their immediate environment. Any intervention has to work within these constraints. The 74% Variation Problem: Using computational fluid dynamics simulations, researchers tested the same portable air cleaner in nine different locations within a typical care home room. The result: placement alone created a 74% variation in infection risk. Same machine, same room, same people—completely different outcomes based purely on where the device sat. The Worst Case Scenario: In one placement configuration, positioning the air cleaner near the infected healthcare worker created a powerful airflow jet that actively transported exhaled virus particles directly into the breathing zone of the elderly patient. The infection risk skyrocketed to 85.9%. The air cleaner didn't just fail—it made things dramatically worse. The Best Case Scenario: Placing the air cleaner in the centre of the room created the lowest infection risk—75 to 86% reduction compared to no air cleaner—by forming an invisible air barrier between occupants. But it's completely impractical due to tripping hazards in environments with wheelchairs, walking frames, and elderly residents with limited mobility. The Thermal Comfort Win: Across all tested scenarios, draft rates remained below the 10% discomfort threshold. This is critical. There's no point achieving perfect air quality if the occupant is freezing cold and turns the device off. The study proves portable air cleaners can reduce infection risk without compromising thermal comfort—if used correctly. The Training Gap: The on demand, plug and play nature of portable air cleaners means frontline workers—nurses, cleaners, facility managers—play a critical role in their effectiveness. Without proper training and clear visual guidance showing safe placement zones, we risk unintended consequences. Procurement isn't enough. Education is essential. CFD study on performance of portable air cleaner on infection risk and draught rate in care homes https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indenv.2026.100151 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and This Week's CFD Study 00:01:03 The Care Home Crisis: Why COVID-19 Hit the Elderly So Hard 00:01:37 The Vulnerable Population: Mobility, Immunity, and Thermal Sensitivity 00:02:09 The Portable Air Cleaner Promise: Easy Solution or Placement Problem? 00:02:50 The CFD Simulation: Mapping Invisible Airflow and Virus Particles 00:03:43 The Good News: 75-86% Risk Reduction Without Creating Drafts 00:04:26 The Shocking Discovery: 74% Variation Based on Placement Alone 00:04:58 The Worst Case Scenario: When Air Cleaners Blow Virus Directly at Patients 00:05:45 The Best Placement Dilemma: Center of Room vs Practical Safety 00:06:47 The Real World Lesson: Education, Training, and Strategic Deployment

    10 min
  3. [DELETED ON YOUTUBE] Future Solutions and Public Affairs: Innovation of Policy and Product - Mikael Börjesson #116

    MAY 11

    [DELETED ON YOUTUBE] Future Solutions and Public Affairs: Innovation of Policy and Product - Mikael Börjesson #116

    This week, we sit down with Mikael Börjesson, Future Solutions and Public Affairs Director at Swegon Group, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about sustainability in the HVAC industry: What if the biggest transformation in ventilation isn't about technology or performance anymore—but about fundamentally rethinking how we manufacture, install, use, and reuse the systems that keep our buildings breathing? Mikael works at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and public policy, with deep roots in the sector and vast experience in stakeholder engagement, industry collaboration, and EU regulatory frameworks. He brings a rare perspective—someone who sees both the internal pressures on manufacturers to decarbonize their supply chains and the external pressures from investors, policymakers, and end users demanding transparency, circularity, and accountability. Key Topics Discussed: The Two Wallets Problem: How sustainability has moved from a marketing exercise to a genuine accounting challenge. There's the traditional wallet—cost, performance, energy efficiency. And now there's the sustainability wallet—embodied carbon, circularity, material choices. Both need to be satisfied, and they don't always align. Embodied Carbon is the New Battleground: In renovations, HVAC installations can represent 40 to 60 percent of the total carbon footprint of a project. Suddenly, ventilation manufacturers are no longer a marginal cost—they're a major driver of sustainability outcomes. That changes the conversation entirely. Circularity is Here—And It's Real: Swegon has already completed its first fully circular project—air handling units, diffusers, and dampers refurbished, remanufactured, and reinstalled alongside new low-carbon components. No extra cost. No performance compromise. Just a fundamentally different way of doing business. The Stakeholder Chain is Broken: The traditional construction supply chain—investor, designer, installer, service technician—is built for linear consumption. Circularity requires a completely different model, with new roles, new relationships, and new risks. Some stakeholders will become obsolete. Others will emerge. The transition is messy. The Harmonization Problem: Environmental Product Declarations are becoming the standard way to communicate embodied carbon. But they're calculated differently across different standards, different product categories, different regions. The result: you can't compare products. The industry needs harmonization urgently GUEST: Mikael Börjesson Future Solutions and Public Affairs Director, Swegon Group https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikael-b%C3%B6rjesson/ https://www.swegon.com/ https://www.swegonairacademy.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meeting Mikael Bowieson from Swegon Group 00:02:23 The Sustainability Evolution: From Energy Efficiency to Embodied Carbon 00:11:52 The Two Wallet Problem: Balancing Cost and Carbon 00:14:20 Having Difficult Conversations: When Sustainability Meets the Supply Chain 00:19:39 The Consumption Paradox: Growth vs Sustainability 00:26:28 Scope Emissions and the Middle of the Supply Chain 00:30:02 The Circular Economy Journey: Reuse, Remanufacture, and New Business Models 00:39:12 The Real Project: Circular HVAC in a Swedish School 00:41:00 Breaking the Chain: What It Takes to Scale Circular Business Models 00:44:00 The Carrot and the Stick: Policy, Incentives, and Market Drivers 00:46:12 Renovation Reality: Where HVAC Becomes 40 to 60 Percent of Carbon Impact 00:33:12 The Harmonization Problem: Making EPDs Comparable 01:13:32 Future Solutions and Public Affairs: A Dual Role Explained 01:17:21 Innovation Hunting: Finding the Next Generation of HVAC Solutions 01:27:47 The Interoperability Challenge: Making Complex Building Systems Work Together 01:31:18 Learning from Cars: Why Buildings Need Self-Diagnosing Systems 01:02:37 The Indoor Air Quality Awareness Gap: Why We Track Outdoor but Ignore Indoor 01:09:46 The Public Health Case: Indoor Air Quality Equals Smoking in Health Impact 01:11:48 The Investment Problem: Who Benefits vs Who Pays 01:41:53 The Weakest Link Paradox: When the Strongest Part of the Chain Holds Back Progress

    1h 46m
  4. The Physics of Fresh Air: Natural Ventilation Still Works in 2025 - Ben Jones #115

    MAY 4

    The Physics of Fresh Air: Natural Ventilation Still Works in 2025 - Ben Jones #115

    This week, we sit down with Ben Jones, Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and one of the lead authors of AM10, CIBSE's guide to natural ventilation in non-domestic buildings, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about ventilation strategy: What if the oldest approach to ventilation—natural airflow—still has a critical role to play in some of the most advanced buildings we're designing today, and what if we've been making the same mistakes for decades because we never really understood the fundamentals? After a decade in development, AM10 has been completely rewritten for 2026—not just to update the maths, but to make natural ventilation accessible, understandable, and practical for everyone from salespeople to architects to engineers who need to know whether natural ventilation is even feasible for their project before they waste time and money chasing the wrong solution. Key Topics Discussed: Why AM10 Needed Rewriting: The 2005 version was intimidating, dense, and assumed too much prior knowledge. The 2026 version is structured in layers—chapter two is designed so that anyone, from a student to a salesperson, can understand the basic physics. If you want the deep maths, it's there. If you just need to know whether natural ventilation will work for your building, you can get that answer quickly. The Physics Made Simple: Warm air rises. Pressure differences drive flow. Wind complicates everything. But somewhere on every facade, there's a neutral pressure level where the sign flips—where air stops coming in and starts going out. Controlling that point is the essence of natural ventilation design. Get it wrong, and your building doesn't breathe. Effective Area vs Free Area: One of the biggest changes in AM10 is how openings are measured. Combining free area with discharge coefficients into a single effective area metric forces window manufacturers to actually test their products aerodynamically and gives engineers a real number they can design with. No more fudging the geometry. Single-Sided Ventilation Gets Smarter: The old equations were too simplistic. The new version accounts for recirculation zones in large openings—where air comes in at the bottom, goes out at the top, and mixes in the middle. It accounts for wind-driven turbulent mixing. The result: better-sized openings that won't leave buildings overheating in summer GUEST: Ben Jones Associate Professor, University of Nottingham | Lead Author, CIBSE AM10 https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-jones-0686a214/ CIBSE AM10: Natural Ventilation in Non-Domestic Buildings https://www.cibse.org/knowledge-research/knowledge-portal/am10-natural-ventilation-in-non-domestic-buildings-2026-pdf/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Return of Air Quality Matters 00:02:14 The Genesis of AM10: A 20-Year Evolution 00:06:03 From PhD to Practice: Ben's Natural Ventilation Journey 00:08:34 The Philosophy Behind AM10: Making Physics Accessible 00:10:14 Why Ventilate: Sizing for Summer, Surviving Winter 00:11:19 The Physics of Buoyancy: When Hot Air Actually Rises 00:13:09 When Design Meets Reality: The Complexity Challenge 00:14:41 The Feasibility Question: Is Natural Ventilation Right for Your Building? 00:15:48 The Neutral Pressure Level: Where Physics Flips Sign 00:16:50 Wind's Wild Card: Adding Complexity to Buoyancy 00:18:44 The Case for Natural Ventilation: Energy, Carbon, and Human Connection 00:19:17 The Adaptive Comfort Advantage: When Control Matters More Than Precision 00:23:19 Natural Ventilation Through the Ages: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Buildings 00:31:59 The Outdoor Air Reality: When Fresh Air Isn't Fresh 00:42:15 The Great Automation Failure: 3200 PPM in London's Smartest Building 00:35:04 What Changed in 2026: New Physics and Effective Area 00:39:25 From Spreadsheets to Software: How AM10 Gets Used 00:40:40 Designed for Everyone: Who Should Read AM10 00:42:40 The Sensor Revolution: Transparency in Natural Ventilation Performance 00:54:26 Hot Climate Solutions: Thermal Mass and Ancient Technologies 00:55:47 The Fundamental Design Principle: Natural Ventilation from Day One 00:56:43 Getting Your Hands on AM10: Access, Training, and the Future

    1h 2m
  5. The White Box Problem: Why Most Air Purifiers Are Designed to Confuse You - Danny Ashton #114

    APR 13

    The White Box Problem: Why Most Air Purifiers Are Designed to Confuse You - Danny Ashton #114

    This week, we sit down with Danny Ashton, founder and host of HouseFresh, a consumer comparisons and testing YouTube channel and website for residential air cleaners, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we buy, trust, and understand indoor air quality technology: What if the air cleaner market is deliberately designed to confuse you—and what if the only way to cut through the noise is to test everything, measure what matters, and refuse to play the game? Danny brings a rare combination of technical rigour, marketing insight, and consumer advocacy to a sector that desperately needs it. Since 2020, he has tested over 130 air cleaners in real-world conditions, measuring particulate removal performance, sound levels, energy consumption, and filter costs—creating one of the most valuable independent resources available to consumers today. Key Topics Discussed: The 2020 Fog of War: What it was like looking out at the air cleaner landscape during the pandemic. A marketplace flooded with products from every corner of the planet, tested in different ways, presenting benefits in wildly inconsistent formats. An unbelievable minefield for consumers desperate to protect their families. The Invisible Product Problem: Why air cleaners are uniquely vulnerable to being sold poorly. You can tell if an air fryer doesn't work. You can't see particulate matter. A product could be absolutely rubbish and you'd have no idea. That opens the door for companies to sell what sells, not what works. The Affiliate Revenue Trap: How the entire online ecosystem is rigged around pushing products that pay the highest commissions, not the ones that perform best. Some models offer 40 to 50 percent affiliate cuts versus 2 or 3 percent for others. The incentive structure is broken, and consumers pay the price. What Actually Matters: Performance at quiet fan speeds, not just top speed. Energy consumption over time. Filter replacement costs. Sound quality, not just decibel ratings. The ability to turn off ionizers, UV lights, and other additive technologies. The fundamentals that marketing doesn't want you to focus on. The PC Fan Revolution: Why DIY air cleaners built with computer fans and standard filters consistently outperform expensive retail units on performance, noise, and cost. Clean Air Kits, New Care, Nukit—small teams delivering serious engineering without the marketing budget or the proprietary filter lock-in. The Carbon Filter Lie: How thin fabric carbon layers smell sweet for a few weeks and then fail completely, triggering consumers to replace entire filter assemblies. Meanwhile, thick bonded carbon filters can last significantly longer—but they cost more and don't drive repeat sales as aggressively. GUEST: Danny Ashton Founder and Host, HouseFresh Danny Ashton LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyashton/ https://housefresh.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@HouseFresh The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Invisible Problem with Air Purifiers 00:02:41 The Fog of War: Air Quality During the Pandemic 00:03:18 Learning from the Past: The 2010s Air Purifier Landscape 00:06:06 The Bamboozle Business: How Confusion Sells Products 00:08:07 The Testing Philosophy: Benchmarking What Actually Matters 00:09:37 The Sound and the Fury: Why Quiet Performance Matters Most 00:12:03 The Amazon Hellscape: Peak Online Shopping Meets Air Quality 00:13:38 The Air Fryer Test: Why Air Purifiers Are Uniquely Deceptive 00:29:23 The Great Filter Debate: HEPA Hype vs Real World Performance 00:27:12 The PC Fan Revolution: When Computer Nerds Met Air Quality 00:34:24 The Razor Blade Business Model: Filters as Recurring Revenue 00:37:26 The Size Problem: Why Bigger Really Is Better 00:54:30 The Sensor Gimmick or Game Changer Question 01:07:05 The Carbon Conundrum: When Filters Fight Odors and Lose 01:16:42 The Additive Air Cleaner Minefield: Ionizers, UV, and Chemistry 01:27:06 The Testing Reality: 133 Units and Counting 01:44:22 The YouTube Education Effect: Maturing the Consumer Market 01:37:25 The Future: Matter Protocol and Smart Home Integration 01:50:06 The Mission: Raising the Bar in a Rigged Market

    1h 58m
  6. Weighing Dust vs. Counting Danger: Why PM2.5 Misses the Deadliest Particles - OT42

    APR 9

    Weighing Dust vs. Counting Danger: Why PM2.5 Misses the Deadliest Particles - OT42

    This week, we step slightly outside the building envelope to examine a question that fundamentally challenges everything we think we know about air pollution: What if the metric the entire world uses to measure air quality is structurally blind to the most dangerous particles we breathe? The document is a perspective piece published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, titled Air Quality Standards and WHO Guidance on Particulate Matter Measurement 2.5 Microns. It represents a profound wake-up call for the global air quality community, arguing that PM 2.5—the gold standard metric used worldwide to regulate, monitor, and discuss particulate air pollution—has serious fundamental blind spots that could be undermining decades of public health policy. The World Health Organization's normative guidance on ambient air quality is fundamentally based on evidence from health and exposure studies regarding the harms associated with mass concentrations of airborne particulate matter expressed as PM 2.5. These WHO guidelines are a critical reference point for jurisdictions all over the planet when developing or revising their own ambient air quality standards. But this paper makes a stark argument: our global gold standard is missing the full scope of health-harming particulate air pollution. Key Topics Discussed: The Harmonization Problem: The current WHO guidance does not cover harmonization of averaging methods for concentrations measured during data aggregation, nor does it cover how to handle exceedances of PM 2.5 levels. Variations in how different countries measure and aggregate data can obscure true ambient air pollution levels—comparing apples with oranges on a global scale. The Mass-Based Metric is Fundamentally Flawed: PM 2.5 is a mass-based metric. It simply weighs the dust. It completely fails to consider the physicochemical characteristics of airborne particles—their specific size, chemical composition, bioavailability of potentially harmful elements, and critically, the particle number concentrations of different sized particles, including ultrafine particles. The Bowling Ball vs. Marbles Problem: Imagine a box. A single bowling ball gives you a high weight reading. But what if that box is filled with tens of thousands of marbles? The mass of PM 2.5 comes mostly from larger fine particles. The mass of ultrafine particles is negligible when compared to bigger particles. However, the vast majority of particles in typical ambient environments are ultrafine particles—defined as being less than 0.1 microns. A city could hit its WHO mass targets by removing a few heavy bowling balls but leave tens of thousands of smaller marbles floating around. The 5 Microgram Threshold: When PM 2.5 is higher than 5 micrograms per cubic meter, the mass concentration does not correlate well with the particle number of ultrafine particles. Therefore, control measures that aim to reduce high PM 2.5 levels might not actually reduce the ultrafine particle count at all. A good correlation does exist below 5 micrograms per cubic meter, but as the authors bluntly state, most countries are far from achieving such low ambient air pollution. Why Ultrafine Particles Are So Dangerous: Because they are so small, they don't just get stuck in your throat or upper airways—they go deep. Short-term exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms and systemic inflammation, affecting your heart and blood pressure. Long-term exposure is associated with increased mortality, especially cardiovascular and lung-related mortality, as well as ischemic heart disease. Air Quality Standards and WHO Guidance on Particulate Matter Measurement 2.5 Microns Bulletin of the World Health Organization 10.2471/BLT.23.290522 (https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.23.290522) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Blind Spot in Our Global Air Quality Standard 00:01:49 The Structural Problem: Missing Harmonization in WHO Guidance 00:02:45 The Fundamental Flaw: Why Mass-Based Metrics Miss the Point 00:03:49 The Bowling Ball vs Marbles Problem: Understanding Particle Count 00:05:14 The Five Microgram Threshold: Where Mass and Number Diverge 00:06:18 The Health Threat: Why Ultrafine Particles Are So Dangerous 00:07:13 The Solution: Introducing PM 2.5 Number Density Metric 00:08:33 The Practical Challenges: Monitoring Ultrafine Particles in the Real World 00:09:32 The Indoor Air Quality Wake-Up Call: What Your Monitors Are Missing 00:11:20 The Path Forward: Harmonizing Global Standards for Real Protection

    13 min
  7. Show Up and Breathe: The Slam Dunk ROI That Still Needs an Energy Story to Sell - Jason Jones #113

    APR 6

    Show Up and Breathe: The Slam Dunk ROI That Still Needs an Energy Story to Sell - Jason Jones #113

    This week, we sit down with Jason Jones, Director of Air Quality Management at Fellowes, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we sell, specify, and sustain indoor air quality solutions in the real world: What if the biggest barrier to clean indoor air isn't technology or science—but the economic conversation we're having with the people who actually have to write the cheques? Jason leads Fellowes' sales and marketing efforts in the air quality space, working closely with distributors, sales representatives, and end users to help them understand the role of smart, responsive air quality management. This is a theory into practice conversation, and it's critically important. We can discuss the impacts of air quality on health, wellbeing, performance, and energy all day long—but at some point, someone, somewhere, has to literally buy into the idea. Jason provides a fascinating window into how a respected player in the sector, delivering products that actually improve air quality, frames the problem and the solutions, how those conversations are going, and where they think this sector is heading next. Key Topics Discussed: Post-Pandemic Reality: How air quality awareness has evolved since COVID. Some people internalized the lesson and carried it forward into the environments they work in. Others were willing to just get back to normal. The perception problem: if it doesn't smell bad, chances are the air must be clean. But we don't get to control the air we breathe in most of the spaces we're in. Where the Traction Is: Healthcare, education, K-12, higher ed, and assisted living facilities are where air quality is sticking most. The generation that missed prom because of the pandemic took that lesson forward into their lives. That's why there's a bright future for air quality—it made an indelible mark on that generation. Leaning Into Energy Savings: Why Fellowes is talking more and more about energy savings and using standards like ASHRAE's Indoor Air Quality Procedure to specify air purification alongside HVAC systems. The goal: reach the same or better air quality while reducing outside air reliance. Clean air is a human right, but the reality is that building owners have bills to pay and balance sheets to worry about. VRP vs IAQP—A 101: Ventilation Rate Procedure is the blunt instrument—prescriptive ventilation rates based on building type and occupancy. Indoor Air Quality Procedure is more sophisticated—designing around specific contaminants of concern, factoring in air purification and filtration, and allowing you to reduce outside air by 30, 40, 50 percent or more. Less outside air means less heating and cooling, smaller HVAC systems, and potential first cost savings. The Education Experiment: Schools are a massive data set. With thousands of classrooms being phased into air quality solutions over time, we'll finally be able to see clear trends in absenteeism rates, teacher sick days, and student test scores. You can't learn if you're not in class. It's that simple. And it's the most black and white metric of them all. GUEST: Jason Jones https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-jones-0aa672b/ Director of Air Quality Management, Fellowes Fellowes https://www.fellowes.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Commercial Reality of Indoor Air Quality 00:03:11 Post-Pandemic Reality: Who Still Cares About Air Quality? 00:08:09 The Budget Battle: Nice to Have vs Need to Have 00:10:05 The Energy Efficiency Angle: A New Way to Sell Clean Air 00:26:00 VRP vs IAQP: Two Approaches to Building Ventilation 00:24:47 The HVAC Energy Equation: Why Outside Air Is So Expensive 00:34:18 The Complexity Challenge: Is the Industry Ready for IAQP? 00:37:51 The Subjective Element: Why Human Perception Still Matters 01:25:09 The Fellows Ecosystem: Networked Air Quality Management 01:16:44 Education as the Testing Ground: The Data Goldmine 01:41:28 The AI Revolution: Natural Language Control of Building Systems

    1h 46m
  8. The Science is Settled, But Who's Paying the Bill? UK School Air Quality Guidance 2026 - OT41

    APR 2

    The Science is Settled, But Who's Paying the Bill? UK School Air Quality Guidance 2026 - OT41

    This week, we examine a document that represents a profound shift in how we think about school environments: What if the debate over airborne transmission and clean air in schools is finally over—and the real fight is just beginning? The document is titled Ventilation and Air Quality in Education and Childcare Settings, published on 24 February 2026 by the UK Department for Education. It applies specifically to England, and it codifies into official government guidance something we've been arguing about for years: that good ventilation is absolutely essential for healthy and productive learning environments. This isn't a theoretical discussion anymore. This is operational policy. The guidance plainly states that effective ventilation does more than just prevent overheating. It improves pupils' alertness and concentration. It removes polluted air. And crucially, it removes air that might contain virus particles, reducing the spread of respiratory infections like colds, flu, and COVID-19. This is massive. It places the management of indoor air quality squarely in the realm of basic school health and safety. Key Topics Discussed: The Monitoring Framework: Schools are expected to regularly monitor CO2 concentrations across their buildings. The guidance provides best practices on sensor placement—at head height or table height, at least half a meter away from people, and away from doors, windows, or ventilation outlets. If you're under 800 ppm, your ventilation is good. Between 800 and 1500 ppm, it's adequate but could be improved. Over 1500 ppm, your ventilation is officially poor and you need to act. Pragmatic Winter Compromises: The guidance addresses the real-world conflict between keeping kids warm and keeping their air clean. Partially open windows, open higher-level windows to reduce drafts, air out rooms for 10 minutes every hour during breaks. But crucially, do not prop fire doors open to get cross ventilation. Beyond CO2: The document talks about multifunctional environmental sensors that can track temperature, humidity, particulate matter like PM2.5 and PM10, and volatile organic compounds from sources like formaldehyde, cleaning chemicals, body odors, and vaping products. Yes, they specifically mention monitoring for vapes. Air Cleaning Units—With Massive Caveats: The Department for Education is crystal clear that while air cleaning units reduce airborne contaminants including viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores, they do absolutely nothing to improve ventilation or lower CO2 levels. They are not a substitute for ventilation. The government only recommends HEPA filtration units—subtractive technology that physically catches pollutants. They explicitly reject air ionizers, ozone generators, and units with unenclosed UV fields. The Funding Sting: Between 2021 and 2023, the Department for Education provided CO2 monitors and air cleaning units to all state-funded education settings. But now, in 2026, the guidance explicitly states that the government will not replace faulty or damaged devices, and they will not pay for replacement filters. The ongoing financial burden of maintaining clean air has been shifted entirely onto individual school budgets. The Controversial Bits: The guidance talks about bringing in fresh outdoor air—a phrase doing a lot of heavy lifting when many schools are backed up against busy roads. It standardizes on NDIR CO2 sensors, which are solid but arguably already behind the times compared to photoacoustic sensors. And that 1500 ppm threshold—many in our community will argue that allowing CO2 levels anywhere near 1500 ppm is simply not acceptable for vulnerable populations. Ventilation and Air Quality in Education and Childcare Settings UK Department for Education, 24 February 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ventilation-and-air-quality-in-education-and-childcare-settings/ventilation-and-air-quality-in-education-and-childcare-settings The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The UK's New School Air Quality Guidance 00:01:15 The Science Is Settled: Air Quality as Basic Health and Safety 00:02:16 The Monitoring Solution: CO2 as Your Ventilation Indicator 00:03:19 The Traffic Light System: Understanding CO2 Thresholds 00:04:03 Winter Pragmatism: Balancing Warmth and Fresh Air 00:04:46 Beyond CO2: Multifunctional Environmental Sensors 00:05:36 Air Cleaning Units: The Promise and the Limitations 00:06:39 HEPA Only: The Government's Firm Stance on Technology 00:07:41 The Sting in the Tail: Who Pays for Ongoing Maintenance 00:08:56 The Uncomfortable Details: Fresh Air, NDIR, and 1500 PPM 00:10:41 The Bottom Line: Science Won, Now the Funding Battle Begins

    12 min
See All (106)

Ratings & Reviews

4.2
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Air Quality Matters inside our buildings and out.This Podcast is about Indoor Air Quality, Outdoor Air Quality, Ventilation, and Health in our homes, workplaces, and education settings.And we already have many of the tools we need to make a difference.The conversations we have and how we share this knowledge is the key to our success.We speak with the leaders at the heart of this sector about them and their work, innovation and where this is all going.Air quality is the single most significant environmental risk we face to our health and wellbeing, and its impacts on us, our friends, our families, and society are profound.From housing to the workplace, education to healthcare, the quality of the air we breathe matters. Air Quality Matters

Information

  • Creator
    Simon Jones
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    106
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Air Quality Matters
  • Show Website
    Air Quality Matters

You Might Also Like