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Particulate Matter is the term for particles in the air we breathe most of which are invisible due to their size and thanks to recent research fueled by the pandemic, wildfires, and climate change, we know that these particles are a major health threat.  For Covid, influenza and other viruses, airborne transmission is how people get infected. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, yells or even talks, they expel respiratory droplets (aka “aerosols”) of different sizes up to 80 thousand per breath. The heavier particles (5-10 microns in size) drop to surfaces before travelling 2 meters (ie. 6 feet). The smaller, lightweight particles (<1.0 micron) are invisible and simply float away on their own or attach themselves to other particles remaining airborne for up to 18 hours in plume-like clouds which move around the interior airspace, following the path of air currents in a room or building.

The scientific, infectious disease communities’ interest in potentially toxic “floating and lingering” particles is not limited to COVID. In the report State of the Air 2022 from the American Lung Association, about 137 million Americans continue to live with unhealthy levels of air pollution in homes and workplaces in part because of climate-change-driven wildfires. In Sept. 2021, the World Health Organization cut in half (to 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air) its annual recommended limit for PM2.5 (particles <2.5 microns). The EPA and others are expected to follow with a target of 9-10 micrograms. Clinical studies show indoor air quality is a bigger health threat due to outdoor infiltration and additional sources created by human activities such as cooking, smoking, vaping, cleaning, etc. As a result, healthy indoor air has been added to energy efficiency as ‘must haves’ for building owners and operators as people return to offices, schools, and indoor public spaces.

 

At Piera we often get asked, “What is the benefit of measuring individual particles vs the EPA metric of particle mass (weight) PM 2.5?”  PM 2.5 was adopted by the EPA 50 years ago to monitor outdoor pollution from vehicles and industrial sources. The EPA’s AQI scale based on PM2.5 is useful in telling us air is good, poor, bad, dangerous but not explain why. Accurate data on the size and distribution of particles delivers insight into the sources, their impact and removal strategies for the pollutants. “It is more energy efficient to eliminate sources of pollution than to increase outdoor air supply rates”. In short, Particles Matter.

How Particles affect air quality in a building

ASHRAE, the leading organization developing standards and making recommendations for the “Built Environment” published a May 2022 article in the ASHRAE journal, “Airborne Disease Transmission Risk and Energy Impact of HVAC Mitigation Strategies”. It provides guidance on how to optimize a ‘typical’ building to reduce airborne transmission of viruses in an energy-efficient manner (Figure 1) by achieving a ‘balance point’ between particle generation and removal since particles are the carrier for the virus with sub-micron (<1.0 micron) particles the deadliest. In summary, the lower the particle count, the less likely transmission will occur, and the additional health benefits are substantial. Since every building is different, the guidelines are simply a starting point. Key findings include:

• A new metric, Equivalent Outdoor Air (EOA) delivery as a basis for infection-risk and energy-consumption analysis instead of Air Changes per Hour (ACH) which is a widely used metric.
• Increasing ventilation is effective for reducing infection risk, but it can be costly or infeasible depending on climate and equipment configuration.
• Improved filtration is often the most cost-effective source of EOA (install MERV-13 filters in existing systems)
• High risk zones may need supplementary in-zone filtration (air purifiers or other stand-alone disinfection devices (UV-cleaning and other ‘active’ methods).
• For buildings and spaces with different HVAC configurations the observations may or may not hold but quantitative analysis can be performed to inform the course of action.

The last point is key: the air in every building is different and it changes continuously based on occupancy, use, pollutants, HVAC systems and devices that ‘clean’ the air.  What’s needed is a way to make the invisible visible and make spaces safer before there is a problem. Actively scans and mapping of how airborne particles travel, pool, and clear is vital and this requires real-time air monitoring.

A new Indoor Air Quality Standard and its impact on Energy Efficiency

Building on this work and partnering with the White House, EPA and CDC, ASHRAE released a new IAQ and pathogen mitigation standard in May 2023. “Nowhere in the world do we have a standard that universally addresses the concept of mitigating pathogen spread and IAQ and ASHRAE is proud to lead in the development of the guidance,” ASHRAE noted in this release. This new standard requires that buildings meet indoor air quality standards based on Effective Air Changes per Hour (eACH)  Studies show that eACH values between 6 and 8 ensure dramatically reduced virus transmission.  The CDC recommends an eACH of 5 or more to reduce infection. The average home is 1-2.

The standard includes normative appendix C which defines “an in-place method of testing the equivalent clean air flow rate for Infection Risk Mitigation for indoor spaces as induced by all physical removal mechanisms (i.e., those that remove particles from the air) including passive and mechanical ventilation, filtration, and deposition.  The method does not measure contributions of pathogen inactivation techniques that do not remove particles, such as UVC.” The technique is based on measurement of the decay rate of tracer particles using ‘diffusers’ that distribute safe NACL particles into a room and measuring how quickly the sub-micron particles are cleared out.  The data is used to approximate how long it will take to ‘clean’ the air. ASHRAE requires particle counts must be collected by ‘aerosol detectors’ that report particle count and size in sizes from 0.3-10 microns and are within +/- 10% of reference instruments. Piera’s Canāree Air Quality Monitors are the only cost-effective commercial solution that meets this new standard.

Many commercial spaces have eACH values greater than 5 and during COVID were often ‘over ventilated’ or ‘purging’ using much more energy than required. eACH does not include energy consumption whereas EOA determines the volumetric flow of outdoor air that would provide an equivalent removal rate of infectious particles.  EOA can be calculated from eACH.

Once you know the EOA of various mitigation approaches and their power consumption you can begin to improve energy efficiency across multiple ‘climate zones’. ASHRAE’s Building Readiness Guide (May 17, 2022) provides details on EOA including the size of the particles likely to carry Covid.  This table suggests you should plan for particles of size 1.0 um or less.  Measuring particles in size E1 yields the best results.

Why not just use CO2 as a proxy for Ventilation Rates?

CO2 levels are easily misinterpreted and may generate confusion. It can be difficult to collect accurate data in poorly mixed spaces, especially when occupancy is low, or the interior air volume is large. Low CO2 levels measured in such spaces may not reflect conditions throughout the space. Another potential way a CO2 reading could be misinterpreted is if there are HEPA filters (in the HVAC or in purifiers) in a room being monitored. HEPAs, which work to remove harmful particles from the air including ones containing COVID and other viruses, do not impact CO2 levels. So, a high CO2 reading may not be as noteworthy in a room with an air filtration system.

The best approach is to create a ‘living’ model of the airflow in the building while it’s in use to actively scan and map how airborne particles travel, pool, and clear. Once the model is known, EOA can be used to manage the building’s health and energy efficiency.

Piera partners with our customers to ensure compliance and reduce energy costs.

Working closely with our customers, Piera leveraged the industry’s most advanced air tracer technology to monitor air health and certify indoor spaces providing fast, accurate, comprehensive, air wellness data.

Piera’s state of the art particle sensor is a breakthrough in measuring the smallest particles below 1.0-micron cost-effectively.  Piera’s custom particle processor was developed originally for x-ray devices to ‘count and size’ particles while they are in motion. Diffusers release breath-like particles (1.0 micron in size) called tracers and our sensors collect tracers as they move through the physical site in aerosol particles. Particle data is then used for real-time air monitoring reporting key indoor air quality Metrics. Deployed throughout a building, diffusers and sensors under software control generate particles and measure them to calculate eACH for each room, identify transmission pathways, pathogen and pollution hotspots, and clearance rates delivering a compelling ROI for a healthy, energy-efficient building. Piera’s technology also delivers Air Quality Index metrics (AQI), alerts to pollution hot-spots, and classifies likely sources of pollution. The system analyzes the movement over time to produce data about how indoor air transports particles and bioaerosols.

Once the initial model of the building is determined it can be used to manage the building. As the building air changes due to occupancy, use, temperature, humidity, outdoor and indoor pollution, real-time continuous monitoring of particle data ensures clean air by knowing the exact density of the problematic sub-micron (and larger) sized particles that must be diluted and/or filtered.  Simply put, the higher the number of particles, the more air filtering and fresh air intake is required to dilute and cleanse /filter the particles. In addition, the ability to classify pollutant sources (vape, smoke, cooking, aerosols) can be used to eliminate sources.

HVAC systems were designed for energy efficient comfort control, primarily relating to temperature and humidity levels. These systems were not designed for air purification and are insufficient. Upgrading to MERV 13 filters (If the system can handle the pressure drop) only captures a small portion of the sub-micron sized (dangerous) respiratory droplets that are floating in the air and may contain viruses. Even other floating particles potentially become “transport vehicles” for these lightweight infections’ droplets to “hitch a ride”. So, increasing air flow (purging) WITHOUT addressing the enhanced filtering of the air content may simply be facilitating the movement of these floating aerosols between all spaces in the building which share a common air supply.  Virus-spreading risks may not be getting mitigated despite well-meaning “HVAC system upgrade” intentions.

In summary, the 3 ‘pillars’ of achieving healthy and energy efficient spaces are Monitor, Inform, and Mitigate in a continuous real-time loop. Piera Systems’ sensor technology enables the delivery of the 3 key indoor air quality metrics; eACH, EOA, and the EPA AQI along with particle data and alerts that can integrate with your existing Building Management Systems and a wide range of air cleaning products.

 

To learn more, go to pierasystems.com.

Scottsdale, Arizona and Mississauga, Ontario – May 23, 2023. Piera Systems Inc. (“Piera”) today announced that its ground-breaking Canāree Air Quality Monitor has won the 2023 Edge AI and Vision Product of the Year Award for Best Enterprise Edge AI End Product. The announcement was made at the Embedded Vision Summit in Santa Clara, CA.

The highly accurate Canāree family of Air Quality Monitors (AQM) are built using Piera’s patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology, combining ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particle measurement and environmental sensing capabilities. Canāree AQMs are deployed indoors at schools, hospitals, hotels, and offices where they provide continuous, real-time air monitoring and vaping detection.

 

Combining the highly accurate data from the Canāree monitors with AI/ML techniques allows for classification of pollutants. Identifying the root-cause of the pollution helps clean up the air faster in an energy-efficient manner. As an illustration, Canāree monitors have been deployed worldwide in schools and hospitals to classify and provide alerts on vaping and smoking activity providing significant health benefits. Similar AI/ML techniques are currently being employed to classify a range of air pollutants including wildfire smoke, construction dust, diesel, cooking, and others.

“Indoor air pollution has a significant impact on human health and productivity and our unique ability to classify pollution sources while saving energy will lead to healthier spaces everywhere,” said Raj Seelam, VP of Marketing and Customer Success at Piera Systems. “We are honored to receive the Product of the Year award from the Edge AI and Vision Alliance in recognition of this unprecedented marriage of highly accurate air quality data with the latest in AI/ML techniques.”

 

“Congratulations to Piera Systems for earning the distinction of Best Enterprise Edge AI End Product for its Canāree Air Quality Monitor,” said Jeff Bier, founder of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance. “Monitoring air pollution, especially indoors where sub-micron particles dominate, is a technically challenging problem. We applaud Piera Systems for tackling this important need with its innovative use of edge AI technology.”

 

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Piera’s Canāree Air Quality Monitors and IPS technology are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles, a feat not possible with most other sensors which only estimate air quality. Application of innovative AI/ML techniques to this highly accurate data yields

 

Canāree Air Quality Monitors are available right now at www.pierasystems.com/canaree. Please contact Piera Systems to learn more about deploying AI/ML enabled air quality solutions.

Scottsdale, AZ – Mar 16, 2023. Piera Systems Inc. (“Piera”) and MACSO Technologies (“MACSO”) are excited to announce their strategic partnership to combine Piera’s state of the art hardware and accurate air quality data with MACSO’s AI/ML software platform to greatly accelerate the development and deployment of new pollutant models. While existing air quality monitors are able to notify their users that the air quality is bad, this product will be able to point out the source of the air pollution e.g. someone smoking in the bathroom or a wild fire coming from a few miles away. This powerful capability to classify sources of pollution enables customers to mitigate air pollution fast and effectively.

 

By applying MACSO’s proven AI/ML software platform to the highly accurate air quality data generated by Piera’s Intelligent Particle Sensors (“IPS”) and Canāree Air Quality Monitors, customers are able to produce pollutant models, and iterate for further accuracy, at a much faster pace than before. Piera’s vape/smoke algorithm, originally developed heuristically, was deployed 8x faster using MACSO’s software and accuracy was improved by 15%. The flexibility and repeatability of MACSO’s software platform enables further refinement of this accuracy as more of Piera’s devices get deployed in the field. Ability to remotely update the pollutant models keeps deployment costs to a minimum while continuously improving the overall accuracy.

“Ability to classify the sources of air pollution is a huge milestone vastly improving the effectiveness of mitigation techniques resulting in healthier air faster and tremendous energy savings,” said  Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems. “We couldn’t be more excited for this collaboration with MACSO as it helps us classify new pollutants and unlocks new applications faster than ever before.”

 

“Building on the success of our AI/ML platform deployments to improve animal health, we were able to quickly extend our platform to analyze air quality data and accurately classify pollutants,“ said Saba Samiei, Founder and CEO of MACSO Technologies. “Accurate data is essential to successfully applying AI/ML techniques and we are proud to partner with Piera to enable better air and improve human health.”

 

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Piera’s Canāree Air Quality Monitors and IPS technology are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles which powers MACSO’s AI/ML software to accurately classify the sources of pollution.

 

About Piera Systems, Inc.

Piera Systems Inc. is on a mission to make air quality measurement accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ and Canāree Air Quality Monitors utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors and the AQMs that rely on them, IPS and Canāree have superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’, smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS and Canāree data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors answer the question, ‘What’s In Your Air?’

Headquartered in Canada, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

 

Contact Information

Raj Seelam

Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success

raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

 

About MACSO Technologies

MACSO has created a highly scalable artificial intelligence platform that works with sensors to remotely monitor customers’ operating environments. The platform consists of a proprietary data collection and processing tool that enables MACSO to create a database of reference events tailored for each specific use case. Our library of advanced and proprietary AI algorithms separate relevant signals from live data streams and turn those signals into actionable insights. MACSO’s algorithms are deployable in the cloud and on the edge, enabling hardware companies to scale quickly and enabling a safer world by creating portable intelligence.

Headquartered in New Zealand, more information on MACSO Technologies can be found at https://macso.ai

 

Contact Information

Saba Samiei

Founder & CEO

saba@macso.ai

Las Vegas, NV – Jan 5, 2023. Piera Systems Inc. (“Piera”) is excited to announce the Model E from co2.click, an innovative air quality monitor that combines accurate CO2 monitoring with the ground-breaking IPS-7100 particle sensor from Piera to provide comprehensive measurement of air quality. The Model E is available for pre-ordering now from co2.click for $370 CAD.

 

The Model E incorporates Piera’s highly accurate and patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology, combining ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particle measurement and environmental sensing capabilities. The Model E is a comprehensive air quality monitoring system and it measures CO2, VOC, particulate matter, pressure, temperature, and humidity. It is equipped with WiFi and comes with free access to a cloud portal that enables data monitoring from anywhere. The Model E can be battery powered and it can store data on internal memory in standalone operation.

“Quality of the air we breathe continues to be a key focus for many and our ability to measure sub-micron particles accurately is critical for indoor air quality where smaller particles dominate,” said  Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems.  “We are excited for this collaboration with co2.click as they bring to market an innovative and affordable air quality monitor that provides comprehensive environmental data.”

 

“Following the success of our CO2-based sensor products to assess indoor ventilation, we quickly realized that the next logical step was accurate particle monitoring to provide a more complete picture of the air we breathe and share in closed spaces,“ said Andre Courchesne, Founder and Inventor of co2.click. “The sub-micron particle detection that the IPS-7100 provides along with the built-in vape-smoke detection capabilities made Piera’s sensors an easy choice for the Model E.”

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Piera’s Canāree Air Quality Monitors and IPS technology are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles, a feat not possible with most other sensors which only estimate air quality.

 

Visit us at CES 2023 Booth # 55429 at Venetian Expo Hall D to learn more and to see the Model E in action. Schedule an appointment at CES here.

About Piera Systems, Inc.

Piera Systems Inc. is on a mission to make air quality measurement accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ and Canāree Air Quality Monitors utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors and the AQMs that rely on them, IPS and Canāree have superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’, smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS and Canāree data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors answer the question, ‘What’s In Your Air?’

Headquartered in Canada, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

 

Contact Information

Raj Seelam

Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success

raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

 

About co2.click

All over the world, there is a big debate on the transmission of COVID (and other pathogens) via airborne aerosol generated as human breathe and the need/monitoring for proper ventilation in public closed spaces where a lot of people breathe the same air for prolonged periods of time. Co2.click makes air quality monitoring simpler and more ubiquitous with a number of sensing products that accurately monitor environmental conditions driving better health outcomes.

Headquartered in Canada, more information on co2.click air quality solutions can be found at https://co2.click

 

Contact Information

Andre Courchesne

Founder & Inventor

courchea@net-forces.com

Scottsdale, Arizona and Mississauga, Ontario – Nov 21, 2022. Piera Systems Inc. (“Piera”) today announced that it has been named a CES® 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree for its ground-breaking Canāree Air Quality Monitor family of products. This year’s CES Innovation Awards program received a record high number of over 2100 submissions. The announcement was made ahead of CES 2023, the world’s most influential technology event, happening Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas, NV.

 

The highly accurate Canāree family of Air Quality Monitors (AQM) are built using Piera’s patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology, combining ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particle measurement and environmental sensing capabilities. Canāree AQMs are deployed indoors at schools, hospitals, hotels, and offices where they provide continuous, real-time air monitoring and vaping detection.

“The pandemic put the focus on monitoring indoor air quality, and  customers worldwide responded by deploying Canāree AQMs throughout their facilities and institutions,” said  Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems..  “This award recognizes the importance of Canāree AQM’s many ground-breaking innovations, including sensor miniaturization, fine particulate sensing to 0.1 micron, and easy-to-use interfaces with IT systems.”

 

“Aruba partnered with Piera Systems to integrate Canāree AQMs with Aruba’s Wi-Fi access points so new and existing customers can monitor air quality without installing additional networking infrastructure,” said Tim Vanevenhoven, Director of Partnerships at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.  “A customer need only plug a Canāree AQM into an access point’s USB port, enter the IP address of the data collector, and they are done.  The simplicity of this design, and the sensitivity of the sensor, set the Canāree AQM apart from its competitors and make it a deserving recipient of the CES award.”

 

“Vaping and smoking constitutes a serious threat to children in schools across America and we at EMT are working hard to provide schools with innovative solutions to improve health outcomes,” said Karl Seebacher, COO of Extreme Microbial Technologies, Inc. “We are proud to be working with the award-winning Piera team and their highly effective Canāree family of air quality monitors with built-in vape-smoke detection capabilities.”

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Piera’s Canāree Air Quality Monitors and IPS technology are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles, a feat not possible with most other sensors which only estimate air quality.

 

Visit us at CES 2023 Booth # 55429 at Venetian Expo Hall D to learn more. Schedule an appointment at CES here.

 

About Piera Systems, Inc.
Piera Systems Inc. is on a mission to make air quality measurement accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ and Canāree Air Quality Monitors utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors and the AQMs that rely on them, IPS and Canāree have superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’, smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS and Canāree data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors answer the question, ‘What’s In Your Air?’

 

Headquartered in Canada, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

 

Contact Information

Raj Seelam
Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success
raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

Scottsdale, Arizona – Sep 6, 2022. Piera Systems (“Piera”) is pleased to announce the signing of a reseller agreement with Log6 Solutions (“Log6”), a Los Angeles based company offering innovative indoor air safety solutions. Under this agreement, Log6 will market, sell, and distribute the highly accurate Canāree™ family of Air Quality Monitors as part of their drive to improving safety in indoor spaces and protecting workplace environments. Canāree air quality monitors are built using the patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology from Piera and they combine ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particle measurement and other environmental sensing capabilities.

 

The Canāree AQMs form a natural product and solution complement to the VIRUSKILLER™ air decontamination products that Log6 currently distributes throughout North America. By combining the accuracy and real-time monitoring of the Canāree AQMs with the VIRUSKILLER’s award-winning air cleaning capabilities, workspaces can ensure that their air is healthy in an energy-efficient manner.

 

“The pandemic has put the focus squarely on indoor air quality and we are excited to pair the highly accurate Canāree products with our incredibly effective VIRUSKILLER™ air decontamination products,” said Gregg Goodwin, President of Log6 Solutions. “Our partnership with Piera will allow us to deploy more complete indoor air quality solutions to our customers, ensuring healthy spaces and peace of mind.”

 

“We are excited to collaborate with Log6 Solutions to deliver more complete air quality solutions to customers in a wide range of applications from the entertainment industry to veterinary clinics and college campuses to the cannabis industry,” said Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems. “Canāree AQMs are easy to use and can be instrumental in improving the energy efficiency of air decontamination products so this will be a natural complement to Log6’s existing services”.

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Canāree monitors are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles compared to most other monitors that only provide estimates.

 

About Piera Systems, Inc.

Piera Systems Inc. is on a mission to make air quality measurement accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors, IPS has superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’ smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS is the first software defined PM sensor with up to 7 particle sizes allowing its use in many applications. IPS data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors answer the question, ‘What’s In Your Air?’

 

Headquartered in the US, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

 

About Log6 Solutions LLC

LOG6 SOLUTIONS LLC is dedicated to improving the health and safety of indoor spaces. Based in Los Angeles, Log6’s charter is to destroy deadly airborne pathogens and protect the workplace environment. Log6 provides highly effective disinfection products that are user friendly, chemical free, and pathogen deadly to a variety of industries including the entertainment, education, healthcare, and cannabis industries. For more information on Log6 Solutions’ indoor air safety solutions, please visit www.log6solutions.com.

 

Contact Information

Raj Seelam

Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success

raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

 

Kelsey Smith

Director of Digital Marketing & Social Media

kelsey@log6solutions.com

Allowing poor air quality in schools isn’t an issue to overlook. Studies have shown that air pollution in both indoor and outdoor spaces can have physical and psychological effects. Among the individuals most vulnerable to these effects are children, due to their developing immune systems. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently conducted a review of numerous existing studies concerning negative effects of air pollution. They found that air pollution has a number of disastrous effects on health. From these studies, they concluded that air pollution can alter important cognitive brain functions, such as decision making. Air pollution has also been shown to increase levels of annoyance and anxiety. Additionally, high levels of air pollution, such as those found in major cities in China, were shown in one study to reduce an individual’s ability to perform well in both verbal and math tests. These studies are just a few out of the large body of research that has found that air quality can have devastating effects on physical and psychological health of individuals.

There is clearly cause for concern over the impacts of poor indoor air quality in schools. As a current student who has spent many hours in various classrooms, I am familiar with the need for clean and healthy air in school settings. I have lived in California my entire life, a state deeply affected by wildfires. Almost every year, the air outside is filled with smoke from these fires, which is unhealthy to breathe. In situations like this, it is important that the air quality both indoors and outdoors is measured to ensure that students are not breathing unhealthy air. Additionally, many other factors can contribute to air quality not being sufficiently healthy. One culprit is lack of sufficient ventilation. This can increase the concentrations of contaminants in classrooms. More specifically, poor ventilation has been shown to cause large concentrations of particulate matter in classrooms, which is unhealthy to breathe. There are numerous other factors contributing to poor indoor air quality in schools. These include being close to busy roads and cities, chemicals used in cleaning products, pesticides used on lawns around schools, and mold present in buildings. One additional major cause of indoor air pollution in certain parts of the world is smoke from wildfires. The EPA advises that smoke from outdoors can easily enter buildings, and quickly cause the quality of the air to decline. Smoke from wildfires poses an additional threat, as it is made up of extremely small particles that can enter children’s respiratory systems. Natural infiltration from outside, as well as ventilation systems such as fans and heating or cooling systems allow damaging particles from outside to impact indoor air quality. These causes, along with many more, can be responsible for causing air quality to deteriorate in indoor spaces in schools.

An additional component to take into account is the quality of air outside schools. In certain situations, either indoor or outdoor air quality may be significantly healthier. When this arises, it is important to be able to measure where the air quality is better. By doing so, administrators in schools can determine where it is safest for children to be in specific moments. In an environment such as a school, which focuses on learning and development, it is of utmost importance to not allow air quality to negatively impact children. Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to ensure that the air inside classrooms is safe for those breathing it. As Peter Drucker famously stated, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” In the case of school air quality, the most important step to take is measuring the quality of the air in schools. If you are not able to determine what the air quality is, there is no easy path forward to creating a healthier environment in classrooms. Piera’s IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors allow you to measure particles present in your air, in order to determine the overall air quality. These sensors can be used to accurately measure indoor air quality. This is because they are able to sense smaller particles, which are often present indoors and can serve as an even bigger threat. By measuring the air quality of the indoor spaces in schools, a deeper understanding can be gained as to just how healthy the air is for students, which can then be acted upon to improve air quality.

Author: Dani Bier — Piera Systems

Scottsdale, Arizona – May 4, 2022. Piera Systems (“Piera”) is pleased to announce the signing of a reseller agreement with Secure Agility, an IT services leader headquartered in Burwood, NSW, Australia. Secure Agility will market, sell, and distribute the highly accurate Canāree™ family of Air Quality Monitors as part of their focus on applying emerging technologies to deliver real transformation to organizations with critical infrastructure needs. Canāree air quality monitors are built using the patented Intelligent Particle Sensor (“IPS”) technology from Piera and they combine ease-of-use and rapid deployment with unparalleled particle measurement and other environmental sensing capabilities.

 

Secure Agility’s focus on deploying IoT products combined with managed services and cloud automation is a natural fit for schools, universities, and corporate clients looking to adopt emerging technologies to create and maintain healthy spaces.

 

“The pandemic has put the focus squarely on air quality and our customers are eager to deploy accurate solutions to keep their students, employees, and customers safe,” said Brendan Abbott, IOT Practice Lead at Secure Agility. “Our customers rely on our expertise to build, deploy, and manage innovative technology solutions and the Canāree will help us deliver healthy spaces and peace of mind.”

 

“We are excited to collaborate with Secure Agility given their expertise and proven track record in deploying and managing complex IT solutions,” said Vin Ratford, CEO of Piera Systems. “Canāree AQMs are easy to use and are fully integrated to the cloud so this will be a natural extension of Secure Agility’s services to their existing clients”.

 

Indoor air quality has direct and substantial impacts on human health, from loss of productivity to causing serious diseases including lung cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular diseases. The smallest particles, less than 1 micron in size, are the most dangerous as they are readily absorbed into the bloodstream. Canāree monitors are independently certified to accurately detect these sub-micron particles compared to most other monitors that only provide estimates.

About Piera Systems, Inc.

Piera Systems Inc. is on a mission to make air quality measurement accurate, simple, inexpensive, and pervasive, enabling a major improvement in the health of all humans. Piera has developed a family of ‘Intelligent Particle Sensors’ utilizing a breakthrough custom processor to detect particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution. Unlike existing low-cost PM sensors, IPS has superior accuracy over a wider range, including harmful ‘very fine particles’ smaller than 1.0 micron, and reports particle size and count in real-time at low power. IPS is the first software defined PM sensor with up to 7 particle sizes allowing its use in many applications. IPS data is analyzed using AI/ML algorithms to identify and classify pollution sources such as vape, cigarette smoke, cooking, etc. IPS sensors and Canāree air quality monitors answer the question, ‘What’s In Your Air?’

Headquartered in the US, more information on Piera Systems air quality solutions can be found at https://www.pierasystems.com

 

About Secure Agility

Secure Agility delivers Enterprise technology expertise in cloud, network & security, IoT and workplace modernisation. We enable organisations to drive business growth and efficiency by adopting cloud services that deliver secure, innovative, and optimised outcomes.

In a complex world that challenges technology to solve almost everything, we provide the answers.

With experience since 2002, we enable our customers with highly transformative solutions leveraging leading technologies in Cloud, IoT, data, software-defined networking, Cyber security and more.

We’re a first-choice partner to some of Australia’s leading technology providers, backed by a strong in-house team of technical and business experts. More information can be found at https://secureagility.com/

 

 

Contact Information

Raj Seelam

Vice President of Marketing & Customer Success

raj.seelam@pierasystems.com

 

Kirk Jones

Vendor Alliance Manager

Kirk.jones@secureagility.com