Let's Talk Clean Air | Camfil

Buildings are under increasing pressure — stricter energy regulations, growing concerns about indoor air quality, and the challenge of balancing ventilation with cost. The new European standard EN 16798-3 changes how buildings manage air. Whether you own, operate, or design buildings, these updates impact you and our guest today is going to break down everything you need to know. He explains what’s changing, what it means, and what you should do next. Our guest has 20 years’ experience in air ventilation and is Camfil’s Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Sustainability & Corporate Communication, Tobias Zimmer.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT● What’s included in the new EN 16798-3 standard ● WHO's new air quality guidelines● Impact on everyday building operations and energy performance● Compliance and cost considerations● Common mistakes and compliance toolsGUEST DETAILS Tobias Zimmer, MBA, is Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Sustainability & Corporate Communication Camfil Group, Vice Chairman PC-FIL Eurovent Certification and Advisory Board Member World Filtration Institute. Tobias has 20 years’ experience working in the ventilation industry. He’s also an active member in several industry associations, such as Eurovent and EVIA. Tobias is also deeply involved in the development of international Standards in the fields of air filtration and building ventilation, both at ISO global level and CEN on the European level.https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobias-zimmer-mba-86024317/ MORE INFORMATIONWatch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/y9zzpu9D1WUThere is also a wealth of industry information on our website at camfil.comLet's Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by DustPod.io QUOTESThe requirements for providing clean air have significantly increased versions versus the 2017 version. - Tobias Zimmer For particulate matter, the limits had to be decreased significantly. PM 2.5 was actually cut by 50% - Tobias Zimmer Fulfilling the WHO air quality limits means you're providing an indoor air quality which is healthy to people. - Tobias Zimmer You got improved performance, you got improved creativity. And of course, you protect the health of your employees. - Tobias Zimmer Recirculation air has a few risky sides to it. - Tobias Zimmer KEYWORDS#airquality #ventilation #filtration #IAQ #energy #WHOguidelines #buildingmanagers #efficiency

Indoor air quality is slowly becoming a mainstream issue, but how can we improve public awareness and emphasize the huge damage it is causing economically, to our health and even our children’s brains? Today, we hear from one of Australia's lead clean air campaigners, who has been working on a framework to make clean air as important as clean water. Having worked in public health for almost fifteen years, first combating the harms of tobacco, we learn why indoor air needs to be next on the agenda and the pathways experts are suggesting to get there. Our guest has been working with governing bodies and multi disciplinary teams to progress Australia's indoor air quality. With a background in radiation oncology and a passion for sustainability, she is currently working with the Burnett Institute and University of Melbourne. It’s a pleasure to welcome Professor Bronwyn King. THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTPreventing future pandemics and climate-proofing buildingsMonitoring and displaying IAQ levels to increase public awareness Creating simple, memorable messaging for education Pathways to clean indoor air for leaders How damages from bad IAQ are already costing billionsGUEST DETAILS Dr Bronwyn King AO is a social entrepreneur, movement maker and a globally renowned humanitarian on a mission to inspire and transform organisations into purpose driven businesses. She is a sustainability expert, company director and radiation oncologist who has worked with everyone from the terminally ill to the fittest athletes in the Australian Swim Team. Dr Bronwyn King AO is pleased to be working with Burnet Institute and University of Melbourne to help advance Australia’s progress on indoor air quality, building on lessons from Australia’s world leading approach to tobacco control. Prof Bronwyn King AO, Professor (Hon.) Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbournehttps://bronwynking.com/ MORE INFORMATIONLet's Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by DustPod.io ABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative was started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/ CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/ Let’s Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by Dustpod.ioQUOTESThe invisibility of air quality is one of the greatest challenges that we have. - Bronwyn King I think indoor air quality is the next thing for public health to really address when it comes to education. - Bronwyn KIng Transparency is always a good thing when it comes to public health because it helps people be engaged, and it encourages people to do the right thing. - Bronwyn King If you are breathing poor quality air, your health is impacted dramatically. The brain, the lung, the heart, every body system depends on quality, safe air. - Bronwyn King Clean air makes clever kids. - Bronwyn King Poor air quality is costing us billions of dollars right now, billions. - Bronwyn King KEYWORDS#airquality #cleanair #IAQ #publichealth #tobacco #climate #bushfires

We know that bad air quality can have a major impact on our health, but new emerging research is showing it can also affect our cognitive function. Today we hear from a neuroscientist who is passionate about the link between IAQ and creativity. His recent study used the Serious Brick Play method to measure if better air quality can increase our creative thinking and the results are very impressive! Our guest is a Senior Researcher at the Singapore-ETH Centre and holds a PhD in cognitive neuroscience and master's in Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Adam Charles Roberts.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTA father’s brain injury that inspired research in air quality Understanding complex IAQ measures and how they impact the brain Using the serious brick play method to measure creativity Statistical analysis showing an increase in creativity with better air quality Potential benefits of improving air quality for creative thinking and artistry GUEST DETAILS Dr. Adam Charles Roberts is a Senior Researcher at the Singapore-ETH Centre, focusing on Social and Financial Resilience and interactions with new technology. Previously, he was a Senior Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, studying air quality’s effects on cognition and the psychology of work environments, and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oxford, studying Neurolinguistics.https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-charles-roberts/ MORE INFORMATIONLet’s Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by Dustpod.ioABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative was started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/ CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/ Let’s Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by Dustpod.ioQUOTESI suddenly became very interested in the brain. How is the brain working and why does the brain not work as well in certain situations? - Dr Adam Charles Roberts We used the serious brick play method. The reason for this is we wanted to ensure that we had something that was repeatable and that could be scored by different people. - Dr Adam Charles Roberts We found that if you change the air quality from the maximum allowable to the level we achieved, you get 11.5% increase in creativity. - Dr Adam Charles Roberts It's something that's not exactly difficult to achieve, right? We just got some air filters, put them in the aircon system. That was it. - Dr Adam Charles Roberts People may not know how much creativity they are using in their job, but I think everyone could benefit from improving their creativity. - Dr Adam Charles Roberts KEYWORDS#airquality #creativity #cognitive #neuroscience #VOCs #particulatematter #filters

Although indoor air quality may seem like a relatively new topic for most people, there have been experts working in and promoting this field for decades. Today we meet a pioneer of indoor air quality standards who, despite falling into the career, has an immense passion for promoting better IAQ. We hear about her leading research and testing, including how air quality ratings were developed and simple but great considerations for any HVAC system. Our guest is considered the OG of everything air quality testing and spent three decades working with RTI International, Kathleen Owen. THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTHow Kathleen developed a passion for IAQ Introducing efficiency measures with ASHRAE 52.2 Appendix J Differences in MERV filters and performance The need for real-world filter testing Selecting the right air filters and proper installation GUEST DETAILSKathleen Owen, ASHRAE Fellow, has extensive experience in gaseous and particulate matter air cleaning, determining air cleaning efficiency, and developing test methods to evaluate various air cleaning technologies.Prior to starting her own company, Kathleen spent 33 years at RTI International where she worked on the ASHRAE and EPA projects that developed ASHRAE air cleaner efficiency test methods 52.2 (for particles), 145.2 (gases), and 185.1 (UV-bioaerosol). She also developed chamber test methods for gas and bioaerosol removal by in-room air cleaners based, in large part, on the AHAM CADR test method. EPA, DOD, ASHRAE and other projects she has worked on included air cleaning, air quality, contaminant transport modelling, technology development, and aerosol penetration of protective garments. Also, after working in the lab for several years, she ran the RTI commercial air cleaner test lab for over 20 years with over 100 different companies as customers over the years. She now works for various customers as a consultant.Kathleen earned a BS in chemical engineering from NCSU and an MS in Air Pollution Control Engineering from UNC-CH.https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-owen-4381a21a/ https://dl.ashrae.org/Profile?lectIdx=4166a637-bfd5-45fa-9fc1-00dab658a36d MORE INFORMATIONLet’s Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by Dustpod.ioABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative was started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/ CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/ Let’s Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by Dustpod.ioQUOTESAppendix J is intended to give you a much better estimate of the minimum efficiency of a filter, of a charged media filter, in real life. - Kathleen OwenIf you want better, cleaner air, run the fan more, put in a higher efficiency filter that your fan can work with. - Kathleen OwenWe have a ways to go in terms of getting the filters that we need out there, getting people to use them. - Kathleen OwenOne of the biggest issues with filters, and I know you guys worry about this too, people stick filters into spots they don't fit. - Kathleen OwenKEYWORDS#filter #merv #air #ashrae #indoorairquality #hvacsystem #dust

Healthy air in any building is paramount. If it’s something you want to achieve, the best place to start is to accurately measure the quality of air you currently have.Today we hear from an expert in air quality measurement, who explains the metrics and gives us the essential knowledge to make informed decisions about indoor air management.Our guest has been working in air filtration for a long time and is Global Product Manager for Camfil, Matthias Jerosch.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT● What we need to accurately measure indoor air quality● Measurement meters are not all created equal ● Air quality in different environments ● Source contaminants in your workplace ● The future of measurements and standards in IAQ GUEST DETAILSMatthias Jerosch is Global Product Manager For Air Cleaners & Containment at Camfil https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-jerosch-6b8586123/ABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative is started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/Let's Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by DustPod.io

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 ABOUTHow 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 QUOTESI 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 SiegelCleaning 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 also be thinking about the benefits. - Jeffrey Siegel MORE INFORMATION Let's Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by DustPod.io ABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative was started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/ CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/ KEYWORDS#indoorair #indoorairquality #IAQ #filters #particle #mervcertifications #airfiltration

Climate change is making wildfires across Canada, the US and other parts of the world more vicious and long-lasting, as landscapes are destroyed and harmful smoke from the fires is spreading thousands of miles away. Today, we’re going to learn about the worrying impact the fires are having on our air quality and how we can protect ourselves from inhaling particles that could have as detrimental an impact on our health as smoking cigarettes. Our experts are molecular filtration specialist Jennifer Webb who lives at the epicentre of one of the worst affected places, California, and Jon Holmes, who is Camfil’s National Account Manager in Canada. He’s known as ‘The Filter Guy’ for his passion about managing IAQ to protect our health. THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT01:38 The impact of climate change on wildfires 04:53 Damaging particles in wildfire smoke 07:23 Measuring the Six Criteria Air Pollutants 12:20 Personal restrictions as a result of bad AQI 15:28 Actions you can take for better IAQ 17:56 Air quality impact on the workforce 20:53 Maintenance of air filters during wildfire season 22:00 How we can educate ourselves on AQI and IAQ 24:30 How to become a Chief Airgonomics Officer GUEST DETAILSJennifer Webb is Camfil’s Molecular Filtration Segment Manager for Western US and Mexico with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware.Jennifer is responsible for technical sales, marketing and business development of molecular (aka- "carbon" or “gas-phase”) filtration solutions for a wide range of industries and applications, including airports, hospitals, cannabis, cultural heritage preservation, petrochemical, wastewater, pulp and paper, industrial exhaust and biogas.Jon Holmes, aka ‘the filter guy’ has worked with Camfil for over 10 years and in 2022 was promoted to National Accounts based out of Toronto. Jon is passionate about Camfil and provides customers with solutions to achieve their energy reduction and sustainability goals.Jon has completed training in Theories of Filtration, Hepa Filtration Testing, ASHRAE Testing Standards, Advanced Filtration, Filter Selection and has operated our Mobile CamTester throughout Alberta to validate filter performance in the field. He is also heavily involved with industry organizations like BOMA, CHES, and NAFA, and is also the Chair of several committees in the industry. Most recently Jon Holmes has acquired his Fitwel Ambassador Certification and continues to work on his WELL accreditation.You can find Jon Holmes, aka “Jon the Filter Guy” on LinkedIn where he shares video tips on how to maximize your air filtration value.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwholmes MORE INFORMATIONLet's Talk Clean Air is produced for Camfil by DustPod.io ABOUT CAMFIL’S CAO INITIATIVEThe Chief Airgonomics Officer initiative is started by Camfil, a leading manufacturer in premium clean air solutions and an advocate for access to clean air.The Chief Airgonomics initiative is being driven at a time of urgency: sensitivities over air have heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutants are well known to damage the environment and the newly published WHO Air Quality Guidelines show us that air pollution is more damaging to human health than previously understood.The initiative is a direct response to these realities while also bringing to life Camfil’s mission of protecting people, processes and the environment. It also puts into practice Camfil’s knowledge and expertise built over more than half a century and that it is eager to share with its peers and wider audiences to improve people’s lives.Our Vision : Clean and healthy Indoor Air should be a Human rightOur Mission: We want all companies and organisations to put clean and healthy indoor air on the agendaCamfil believes that real change can only happen through collaborative effort and wants your organisation to join the clean air movement and community. Start your clean indoor air journey today!CAO Website: https://www.chiefairgonomicsofficer.com/ CAO Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12679402/QUOTESIn California we've just had longer and worse droughts. Then, the temperatures from climate change are rising everywhere. We get more and more of these hot days, which means even a small fire just gets worse. - Jennifer Webb A long time ago a customer asked me “Isn't it okay? Just like when kids play with dirt they get used to the microbes and this kind of thing to have a better immune system?” But the human lung wasn't designed to get stronger with particulates in it, it's just not designed that way. - Jon Holmes Air quality index is based on six compounds called criteria air pollutants, particulate matter, particularly the PM 2.5. They are all really worrisome because when you're breathing these gases, they're so permanently damaging to your lungs. And in fact, with ozone they will call it getting a sunburn for your lungs. - Jennifer Webb To put the numbers in perspective, in terms of AQI of say 150. That's equivalent to smoking seven cigarettes. based on standing outside for that entire period of time. In New York City, the AQI was 300, so that's 14 Cigarettes worth of particulate just by exposing yourself to the outdoors. - Jon Holmes Instead of snow days in Canada, you end up with smoke days in California, where everybody's just canceling activities for the common good of the people. - Jennifer Webb Making your workplace a clean indoor air shelter is good for business. It's great for people, but it's also good for profit, because you're gonna have happier, healthier workers that can certainly do a better job. - Jon Holmes Using a filter that's got higher capacity is an investment, but they can make it through a wildfire season if they've got a high enough capacity filter. - Jennifer Webb KEYWORDS#wildfires #mervfilter #cleanair #airquality #particulatematter