During the Pandemic, people are refraining from travelling in public transport such as AC buses, CARs trains, and metros. Reason – the danger of the SARS-Covid-19 virus that has emerged as the biggest health threat globally is still looming. After the first wave, overcrowding at the public places benefitted the virus and its variant led to an increase in mortality rates especially in India. Till date, numerous efforts have been made to control the spread of the virus and saving lives have been the biggest challenge. Also being pre-prepared for the mutant phases where the virus becomes even deadlier is one of the major hurdles that need to be crossed. To restrict the spread of the virus and to provide safer outdoor air, UVHeal by Airific Systems Pvt. Ltd. in collaboration with CSIR-CSIO has introduced the Clean Air UV-C Induct System to disinfect the air inside Railways, Metros, and Buses. TheSpuzz Online caught up with Ankit Sharma, Director, Airific Systems Pvt. Ltd. to know more about Clean Air UV-C Induct System. Excerpts:
As you know, Delhi faces a massive pollution issue every year. So, what kinds of services do you provide to improve the situation?
In the current scenario, the majority of firms are steadily resuming operations, we cater to the likes of everyone who is looking to create a healthy atmosphere in their organizations. As the world is going through the worst ever public health crisis, multiple challenges are cropping up with infections taking place from viruses. Many of these viral infections are proven to be airborne. To overcome this biggest challenge, we have introduced two products, one is UV heal Safe air, an ultra-modern ‘UV-Based HVAC Air Disinfectant which is appropriate for indoor air pollutants and viruses, be it residential, hospitals, hotels, malls, large commercial complexes, public places. UV Heal Safe Air can easily be installed in the HVAC systems of any property without any modifications. Second, we have recently introduced UV-C-based disinfection solutions for transportation systems to disinfect the air inside Railways, Metros, and Buses.
Technology’s role to escalate human lifestyle and its ecosystem?
Technology has made our life so easy and has given us so many facilities, which we could never have imagined before. It is very powerful and nothing is as good as technology at improving life. Technology can affect the human lifestyle and its ecosystem both ways. New technology changes our lives very much and takes them to a new level. It is like a new way of thinking or doing the normal things differently, better, and much faster with less hassle and a much easy way out. At the same time, technology has not only enhanced the standard of living of human beings but has brought revolutionary shifts in the field of development of the country and the world. Nevertheless, the growing technology is also having a bad impact on the environment and human health.
What was the motivation behind this start-up and how has been the journey since then?
Well, to answer this question, I would need to go even further back. I am an engineer by education from The University of Texas at Austin. Therefore you can imagine technology has always been at the forefront of what I decide to do. We, as a family, have other businesses in the commercial real estate field, and we also develop and market building and energy management systems. UVGI systems for air disinfection are something we always discussed as a company to implement within our campuses. But for one reason or the other, it never came to fruition until COVID-19 struck. It quickly became apparent how important it is to disinfect the air that we breathe in indoor environments, and unfortunately (or fortunately for me), there were no organized players here in India that developed such systems, and the ones abroad were too busy with their internal requirements. It was then that we decided that we will manufacture our own systems, design software, and will provide clean air to as many people as we can because everyone deserves to breathe free & I must say it has been a fun journey ever since.
What makes UV Heal different from other platforms?
UVGI is a new segment that has emerged in the Indian market post- Covid. However, UV is a well-established technology. There are so many companies that are providing solutions to various sectors like Corporate Offices, IT Companies, Hospitals, Food, Pharma, Restaurants & café, Mall etc. For different applications like sanitizing the food packaging line, disinfecting tools in the operation theatre, and many more. Coming to UVGI for HVAC systems, various companies are offering the solution for coil-based applications, but there is no expertise for duct-based systems and designing standards. We at Airific Systems are following the standards as per ASHRAE’s guidelines, our technology and features make us different.
Tell us something about your product portfolio.
After the great success of UVhealSafeair, an in-duct disinfectant that is installed in centralized air conditioning systems where there is continuous airflow. We have now recently introduced UV-C-based disinfection solutions for transportation systems. The UV-C-based air disinfectant is CE-certified, and NABL approved. This comes along with the fire/smoke sensors which is a necessary safety feature.
Could you please shed some light on your new product – UV-C-based disinfection solutions for the transportation systems?
As we all know that during the Pandemic, people are refraining from traveling in public transport due to the danger of the Covid-19 virus. To restrict the spread of the virus and to provide safer outdoor air, we at Airific Systems Pvt. Ltd. in collaboration with CSIR-CSIO has introduced the Clean Air UV-C Induct System to disinfect the air inside Railways, Metros, and Buses. The UV-C-based air disinfectant is CE-certified and NABL approved. The UV-C is an energy-efficient system, improves airflow through coils, enhances indoor air quality, requires less maintenance, and is easy to retrofit with any existing system having AHU, Cassette AC, CSUs ducts, or suitable fit-outs, and it’s a budgetary solution. The system comes with commercialized standards and certifications. The systems have PRE successfully passed through the rigorous testing process of India’s highest certifying agency and are determined to be 99% effective against the virus. We believe that this will help our country to come out of the Pandemic disaster and move ahead. Our motive behind launching this UV-C air disinfectant is to make people reach their workplace in the safest manner and I say it with this accreditation, UVHeal’s R&D Team has gifted a layer of safety against COVID-19 for working employees.” UVHeal Clean-Air is one of the most innovative products that give a strong voice to the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ movement.