A.P. Construction, in collaboration with The Ashforth Company, recently hosted a presentation on improving overall indoor air quality (IAQ) in commercial office buildings with needlepoint bi-polar ionization (NPBI). The program was endorsed by AIA Connecticut (American Institute of Architects) for continuing education credits and was held at Ashforth’s owned and managed building, 3001 Stamford Square.
Tom Walsh, Executive Vice President of A.P. Construction, moderated the presentation. Darrell Harvey, Executive Chairman of The Ashforth Company, talked briefly about Ashforth’s experience and long history with improving IAQ and NPBI. He also shared highlights of Ashforth’s impressive results from its own study on the NPBI systems that were installed in three of Ashforth’s owned Connecticut office buildings during the height of the pandemic. Harvey also stressed how NPBI has no ozone issues and how IAQ has never been so important and will be on people’s minds for the foreseeable future.
Read Ashforth’s Indoor Air Quality Study
Since 2015, when The Ashforth Company installed its first needlepoint bipolar ionization air cleaning system, the company has learned firsthand how ionization helps improve indoor air quality by reducing the number of airborne particles. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashforth began looking into upgrading its system based on its excellent results to date. In 2020, Ashforth partnered with ENCON Heating & Air Conditioning and Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) to increase the output of its system by five times and to install the new system in two other office buildings. The GPS Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI™) system consistently ranks as a leading technology for pathogen mitigation and provides greater protection against volatile organic compounds, allergens, and other airborne bacteria and viruses.
Keynote speaker Chris Mauro of GPS thoroughly explained the science of NPBI, how safe it is, and about GPS’ long-term studies and success. GPS has been working on this technology for over 15 years, and they continuously work with third-party laboratories to create products that are certified for zero emissions and validated to help reduce particles, including certain viruses and bacteria. Mauro also explained how NPBI saves time and money given easy installation; minimal maintenance, including fewer filter changes and no need for replacement parts; energy-saving opportunities; and that GPS’ NPBI is UL certified and CE compliant and generates ions without producing ozone or other harmful byproducts.
Toby Giangrande of ENCON also spoke and shared his expertise. ENCON works with numerous owners and many types of facilities in the region. Giangrande elaborated on how GPS’ NPBI product selection is important and dependent on several factors, including the size of space when determining how much air needs to be cleaned in different areas of the office; the office layout, which determines how air flows in all rooms; the type of HVAC equipment in use for mounting capability; and the number of ions the different types of products produce.
The event concluded with a Q&A with Chris Mauro, Toby Giangrande, Tom Walsh, Darrell Harvey, and additional panelists Andrew Ashforth, Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Ashforth Company and CEO & President of A.P. Construction, and Ingrid Voggel, Ashforth’s Property Manager at 3001 Stamford Square.
