For the past decade plus, there has been an increased focus on green and sustainable issues in our society. That scrutiny has also led to the cleanliness of our environment and especially water to the forefront on any conversation.
With the Pandemic battle of the last three months, there has been a significant change. No longer is water the target. With COVID-19 living in the atmosphere, the new bullseye surrounds the purity of the air that is carrying the virus. A Connecticut based entrepreneur must feel like he is hearing voices. Because for the past decade plus, Steve Levine and his team at AtmosAir Solutions have desperately trying to get the nation to understand that air cleanliness is every bit as important as water.
Up until March 2020, most businesses and consumers looked at the air as only being related to those who suffered from allergies. “When you take the dust and the particles and the spores out of air, people who have allergies feel much better,” said Levine, CEO and president of AtmosAir Solutions. “Removing those particles from the air makes breathing much easier.”
Levine would eventually try to push the envelope with a gospel of cleaner air benefiting more than people with allergies. “It also wards off the spread of germs, eliminates odors, increases productivity and conserves energy,” he explained. Levine came to the air quality business after a successful career in the security alarm business. His company bought the bi-polar ionization technology behind AtmosAir from a European company in 2004 and 2006 and brought it to the United States.
AtmosAir Solutions markets and installs bi-polar ionization air purification devices. These devices significantly reduce mold, dust, and odors, while controlling bacteria and the spread of airborne viruses, particles and germs. Normal ventilation and filtration systems allow these into homes, businesses, sports arenas and locker rooms and any indoor environment.
AtmosAir has built a portfolio of clients that includes restaurants, hotels schools, office buildings, hospitals, senior living facilities, military bases and National Football League teams. It was AtmosAir’s track record of success in the hotel and casino industry that led to its’ restaurant expertise.
“We’re in the process of doing 5,000-plus hotel rooms for Hilton and Doubletree,” Levine noted. “We were then asked to bring our expertise to help them defend against E. coli in their foodservice facilities.”
As the restaurant and foodservice industry gets ready to re-open AtmosAir’s air-cleaning units are a perfect fit for match the footprint of dining areas. They can clean 500 square feet of air at a quick serve takeout, or a full catering facility of 10,000 square feet.
The technology AtmosAir uses to clean air goes back to Albert Einstein’s sister, who suffered from tuberculosis and was told the best place for her to get better was in the mountains where the air is fresher and cleaner. Levine said Einstein wanted to know why air was so much cleaner in the mountains and theorized that air had a “natural conductivity, and that conductivity was ionization.”
“Einstein proved that, in the mountains, there was a high degree of conductivity and ionization. The ions, positive and negative, if you measured them, would be very high. But as you got closer to sea level, those ions were eaten up by pollution and emissions so that fewer ions were left to attach themselves to pollution and contaminants,” Levine explained. “All we’re trying to do is add back the ions to the space, and those ions are what attacks the contaminants. When negative and positive ions get put into air, they attach themselves to contaminants. The microscopic particles become bigger and heavier and drop out of the breathing space to the floor.”
To duplicate Einstein’s mountain scenario, AtmosAir installs tubes in duct work or in a HVAC system’s air handlers. With restaurant and foodservice space so tight, AtmosAir units require no additional space. They are installed on the ‘supply side’ of heating and air conditioning systems. This creates a process that makes purifying the air more efficient than units installed on the return side. The science behind the system generates ions that are replicated by tubes that last about 18,000 hours and that are installed tubes need to be changed about every two years.
AtmosAir and their national and international service partners including Long Island, NY’s Day & Nite/All Service utilize a simple tube based system. “This will enable the restaurant and foodservice customer to quickly and efficiently install our system and quickly be ready to welcome back their staff and customers,” Levine continued.
Restaurant and foodservice operators will also find additional benefits that simply can’t be accomplished through alternatives including UV lighting and needlepoint ionization. AtmosAir’s units also work to eliminate odors because ions attach themselves to volatile organic compounds and break them down to carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Among the additional benefits that AtmosAir’s Bipolar ionization brings is a track record of Reducing VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Bipolar ions break down toxic gasses and compounds from dangerous chemicals such as cleaning products, pesticides, paints, solvents, mold, mildew and more. Levine and his team have proven over the past decade that this reduces bacteria and viruses. “Because bi-polar ions attach to the surface protein of bacteria and viruses. The ions destroy the protein membrane spikes on the organism and neutralize it. It cannot infect even if ingested into the body,” Levine outlined.
Many restaurant operators look at the key to their success as building top performing front of the house and culinary teams in the kitchen. Supporting leading teams is how Steve Levine and AtmosAir have built their reputation. From the Dallas Cowboys to the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Connecticut company’s best in class Bipolar ionization will makes a difference as restaurateurs prepare to welcome back their dining patrons to the safety possible environment.
“We’re helping a lot of teams. Their concern is bacteria and viruses and germs. When you can clean up the air, it provides a much cleaner environment,” Levine continued.
To learn more about AtmosAir, visit their website.
