Syracuse, NY--During the 7th annual Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems that took place here in October, Air Innovations Chairman Larry Wetzel, P.E. presented results from a pilot study on the effectiveness of AI's new room air purifier and ventilator. This study was conducted during the summer of 2007 by Clarkson University and Canton (NY) Hospital. He reported that HEPAiRx™ improved air quality dramatically, and health improvements were reported via heart rate, peak flows and exhaled breath condensate results. Mr. Wetzel also noted that improvements in indoor air quality were achieved through dilution with fresh air only and not from specific chemical filtration, which makes the findings even more important to those suffering from asthma, allergies and chemical sensitivities.
Currently HEPAiRx is undergoing clinical trials in the homes of more than 30 asthmatic children ages 5-16 in Northern New York. Preliminary findings confirm the pilot study results: HEPAiRx reduces concentrations of particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that trigger respiratory response and subjects are sleeping better when they use HEPAiRx at night in their bedrooms.
Results are expected to be announced spring 2008.
HEPAiRx research is sponsored by the Syracuse Center of Excellence Office of Industry Collabration, with monies provided by the U.S. EPA, and by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
HEPAiRx is a registered trademark of Air Innovations and is patent pending.
Click here to view the summary of the pilot study results.
For more information on the HEPAiRX room air purifier and ventilator, email info@airinnovations.com.

HEPAiRx installed in subject's bedroom
Air Innovations newest product, HEPAiRx™, a portable room air purifier for control of asthma and allergy symptoms, was recently featured:
--on WNYTV7 "For your Health" broadcast (December 8, 2007)
--in CNY business exchange magazine's first annual "green" issue (October 2007);
--in Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems' 2007 progress report;
--at fuse 2007, a business acceleration event held in Syracuse (October 2007) which was attended by NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer;
--and, at the 7th annual Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems.

Assembling HEPAiRx pilot units
in Air Innovations Factory
The International Society for Indoor Air Quality (ISAIQ) has selected the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems and Syracuse University as hosts of Healthy Buildings 2009, a premier international conference held every three years. The conference in Syracuse is scheduled for September 13-17, 2009, and is expected to bring more than 1200 registered conference attendees from around the world. The conference and accompanying exhibitions, at which multinational corporations showcase their latest technologies attract manufacturers, architects, practicing professional and academic researchers from around the world. The first Healthy Buildings conference was held in Stockholm in 1988. Subsequent conferences have been held in Washington (1991 and 1997), Budapest (1994), Milan (1995), Helsinki (2000), Singapore (2003) and Lisbon (2006).
Syracuse was chosen on the basis of international recognition and reputation gained by area environmental systems firms like Air Innovations and the Syracuse CoE, a federation that includes more than 140 businesses, academic, research and technology development organizations that specialize in the fields of built and urban environments. Air Innovations is a Charter Member and Silver Patron of the Syracuse CoE.
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by Kevin Tampone, CNY Business Journal Staff
07/20/07:CICERO - For someone with asthma, airborne irritants can spring up practically anywhere - even from inside the home.
"One of the biggest culprits is the kitchen," says Cheryl A. Gressani, director of business development for Air Innovations, a developer and manufacturer of specialized air conditioning and environmental control units.
Cooking releases tiny particles into the air that can then easily migrate to other areas, she explains.
Air Innovations is working on a new product to help those with asthma and other respiratory problems find some relief inside their homes.
With help from Clarkson University and the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, the company is preparing to test the system starting this month.
The center awarded the company a $150,000 federal grant earlier this year to fund an 18-week study of the product - an air heating, cooling, and filtration unit designed for use in a single room known as an integrated energy-recovery ventilator.
The ventilators are designed to be energy efficient as well.
Air Innovations will install the units in the bedrooms of 45 asthma patients during the study and, with help from Clarkson researchers, record detailed information on their health and the effectiveness of the system throughout the course of the study. In addition to heating, cooling, and filtering indoor air, the product brings fresh air in from outdoors.
It also pressurizes the room to help stop airborne irritants - such as those created during cooking - from entering.
The bedrooms of the study subjects will be completely sealed off from the heating and cooling system in the rest of their homes.
Vents will be closed off and all the air-handling will be done by the in-room unit during the study, Gressani says.
In addition to recording the air quality and particle concentration inside the room during the test, university researchers will collect exhaled breath samples from the asthma patients throughout the study, according to Clarkson.
The samples will be frozen and sent back to the university for detailed analysis.
The live study comes after two years of development work on the new product, Gressani says. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority provided more than $197,000 to Air Innovations for early research on the unit.
The overall goal of the product is to improve the air quality in an asthma patient's bedroom, thereby improving the person's overall quality of life and health.
"Ideally, what we would like to do is prove that thesis with this study and then replicate it with a larger population," Gressani says.
After the 18-week in-home testing is finished, Air Innovations and Clarkson will analyze the collected data and produce a final report by March 2008.
The company will develop sales, marketing, and distribution plans after research and testing are finished, Gressani says.
Air Innovations was founded in 1986 as Floratech. It changed the name to Air Innovations in 2000 to reflect the company's broader product line.
The firm manufactures a variety of air handling systems including floral cases for some of the largest supermarket retailers in the world. It also creates cleanroom systems for medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.
One of its systems is even used to cool the machines airports use to screen baggage for explosives.
Lawrence Wetzel, chairman of the board, co-owns the company with his son, company president Michael Wetzel.
Air Innovations employs 45 in its 40,000-square-foot facility at 7000 Performance Drive in Cicero.
Air Innovations generates between $8 million and $10 million in annual revenue.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com

U.S. Congressman Jim Walsh (R) tours
Air Innovations factory with Chairman Larry Wetzel
"Indirect Health Effects of Relative Humidity in Indoor Environments," Anthony V. Arundel, Elia M. Sterling, Judity H. Biggin, Theodor D. Sterling, Environmental Heath Perspectives, Vol. 65, March, 1986 (Mar., 1986), pp. 351-361
ABSTRACT: A review of the health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments suggest that relative humidity can affect the incidence of respiratory infections and allergies. Experimental studies on airborne-transmitted infectious bacteria and viruses have shown that the survival or infectivity of these organisms is minimized by exposure to relative humidities between 40 and 70%. Nine epidemiological studies were examined in the relationship between the number of respiratory infections or absenteeism and the relative humidity of the office, residence or school. The incidence of absenteeism or respiratory infections were found to be lower among people working or living in environments with mid-range versus low or high relative humidities. The indoor size of allergenic mite and fungal populations is directly dependent upon the relative humidity. Mite populations are minimized when the relative humidity is below 50% and reach a maximum size of 80% relative humidity. Most species of fungi cannot grow unless the relative humidity exceeds 60%. Relative humidity also affects the rate of off-gassing of formaldehyde from indoor building materials, the rate of formation of acids and salts from sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, and the rate of formation of ozone. The influence of relative humidity on the abundance of allergens, pathogens and noxious chemicals suggests that indoor relative humidity levels should be considered as a factor of indoor air quality. The majority of adverse health effects caused by relative humidity would be minimized by maintaining indoor levels between 40 and 60%. This would require humidification during winter in areas with cold winter climates. Humidification should preferably use evaporate or steam humidifiers, as cool mist humidifiers can disseminate aerosols contaminated with allergens.

Results of study showing HEPAiRx substantially
improves indoor air quality in subject's bedroom