Good indoor air quality is essential in our homes but until recently consumers were unaware of the potential health risks associated with breathing in polluted air. Jenny Smith, Marketing Manager at Vent-Axia explains how new smart solutions can give households control of their IAQ
Until recently households were blissfully unaware of the potential health implications of poor indoor air quality in their homes. But, this all changed with the publication of The Royal College of Physicians report “Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution” which starkly sets out the dangerous impact air pollution is currently having on our health. Generating a considerable amount of press coverage, the report informed households that around 40,000 people are dying in the UK every year due to air pollution, costing more than £20 billion a year. And with health problems such as cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and dementia all linked to poor air quality, it became clear that this needs to be urgently addressed in every household.
Since the Royal College of Physicians report momentum has grown on the air quality agenda. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently revealed that 3 million deaths per year are linked to the exposure to outdoor air pollution. But indoor air pollution can be just as deadly according to WHO with 6.5 million deaths (11.6 of all global deaths) associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution combined. These figures are shocking but no surprise to the ventilation industry. The importance of indoor air quality has been well known within the ventilation sector but until now has been largely ignored outside the industry, however now is the time that households are taking notice.
Smart IAQ
Just as the general public has become increasingly aware of the importance of quiet ventilation and its comfort benefits, now households are beginning to understand the risks of poor indoor air quality and the benefits effective ventilation can bring. This increased knowledge on the subject of IAQ allows electricians to educate consumers on the best ventilation options to suit their properties. And with consumers becoming savvy about smart-homes solutions electricians can advise households how to take control of their indoor air quality with the latest smart ventilation.
For existing homes the newest solutions have been designed specifically to give households greater control of indoor air quality. For instance, Vent-Axia offers app-controlled ventilation with its new Blue-tooth-enabled Svara fan, the first of its kind in the UK. App-controlled fans provide a great opportunity for electricians to upsell to customers, offering simple app control, improved indoor air quality, aesthetics, silence and energy efficiency.
Thanks to the ground-breaking Svara, households can now download its free App on to their smartphone to control their ventilation from the comfort of their sofa. These latest bathroom fans offer a whole range of different functions to allow households to adapt their ventilation to suit their lifestyle. This means improved effectiveness and control over their IAQ, bringing with it a raft of health benefits – a great selling point and peace of mind for households.
Delivered factory set for continuous operation at low speed, with humidity and light sensors activated, Svara provides good IAQ and comfort. Once the Svara App is downloaded households can then unlock a whole range of different functions to control their home’s indoor air quality, such as a silent scheduling and automatic cycles, offering flexible ventilation to suit a household’s lifestyle.
Smart installation
Although the desire for good IAQ is gaining momentum, for electricians a quick and easy fan installation saves time and so money as well as helping to gain customer satisfaction so it is very important. Vent-Axia has therefore made Svara’s smart set-up simple and quick with no need to adjust fiddly switches or jumpers. Through its App the Svara, offers the choice of intermittent or continuous ventilation; whether the humidity sensor triggers operation or not; and whether the fan should be controlled via a switch or a pull cord. And once the fan is set up, all the sensors and speeds can be altered via the App to change the level of sensitivity that triggers them and the speed of the fan. Key to the simple installation is an easy to use intuitive App which is user friendly.
As well as an easy installation electricians also benefit from a fan that is suitable for most customers’ homes. This makes fan specification easy and simplifies the stock electrical wholesalers and electricians have to hold. The highly intelligent Svara offers this installation flexibility; it has just one model with three speeds, including a boost. This 100mm fan is also ideal for retrofitting since it comes with a convertor up to 160mm and can be installed on the ceiling or wall in place of existing fans.
So now is the time for electricians to switch on to App connectivity. Not only is it an attractive option for customers to take control of their IAQ it also makes installation easier. As a result App connectivity saves time and, importantly, helps homeowners have a healthy, comfortable indoor environment providing households with the confidence of being in control of their indoor air quality.