The Professor *Bonus Episode*
Our last episode, ‘The Professor’, was a masterclass of clear, science-backed guidance on improving indoor air, from a globally recognized leader in building science. Jeffrey Siegel gave us really straightforward strategies and showed us how even small changes can meaningfully impact health, wellbeing and cognitive function. After that podcast, we kept talking about the pros’ and cons’ of handheld sensors, balancing the quality of life and the cost of indoor air quality and some really simple things building managers can look at to get the best air quality at work. Fortunately, we kept recording that conversation, so we can bring you all of this in a special bonus episode of ‘Let’s Talk Clean Air’ with Professor Jeffrey Siegel, a renowned expert with an academic career in air quality stretching from Berkeley to Texas, to his current position as the Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto. THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT How building managers should approach indoor air quality and maintenance The pros and cons of handheld air quality sensors Empowering people to make them think about their indoor air quality The middle ground of quality of life and good indoor airThe economic and health benefits of investing in indoor air societally GUEST DETAILSDr Jeffrey Siegel, a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, specializes in creating healthy and sustainable buildings. With expertise in ventilation, indoor air quality, and control of particulate matter, he contributes to research on the indoor microbiome and moisture interactions. Dr. Siegel, a fellow of ASHRAE, teaches courses on indoor air quality and sustainable energy systems. His background includes a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, and he was an associate editor for the journal Building and Environment. Previously, he held a position as an Associate Professor at the University of Texas. https://civmin.utoronto.ca/home/about-us/directory/professors/jeffrey-siegel/ Jon Holmes, aka ‘the filter guy’ has worked with Camfil for over 10 years and in 2022 was promoted to National Accounts Manager in Canada. Jon has completed training in Theories of Filtration, HEPA Filtration Testing, ASHRAE Testing Standards and Advanced Filtration. He is also heavily involved with industry organizations like BOMA, CHES, and NAFA, and acts as Chair of several committees in the industry. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwholmes QUOTES I think practical advice is important and is kind of in short supply. So the first thing I would say is, whatever decision you're making about air cleaning in your building, make sure you understand how it works and how to use it well. - Jeffrey Siegel It’s that whole idea of empowering people to first of all think about their indoor air in a formalized way, but also, start the conversations about how we address issues, and I think that's what's so important about initiatives like the Chief Airgonomics Officer - Jeffrey Siegel On one hand, I love that people are measuring indoor air, the whole problem people like me face is that indoor air is invisible. Bad indoor air and good indoor air look exactly the same, often smell exactly the same, and so, having a sensor there is so important. People learn so much from sensors. In my family in my house, one of the most important sources of indoor air pollution is cooking. - Jeffrey Siegel Cleaning generates a ton of pollutants, I would never tell people not to clean, but you might want to think about how you're ventilating during cleaning, who is present during cleaning. - Jeffery Siegel We are being, as a society, kind of economically foolish by not investing in indoor air, because there are these huge benefits, health benefits, productivity benefits, cognitive function benefits, well being benefits. So I think it's really important that we be very sensible in our economic analysis, we always think about the costs, of course, we should
