Maintaining updated outdoor air quality information is useful for planning outdoor activities and many business operations. Until recently, finding location-specific air quality data might have presented a challenge.
Now, however, leading air purification company Molekule has enabled consumers and businesses to obtain these updated readings easily from a central location. This free data is readily available via voice on any Alexa-enabled electronic device or through the Alexa app.
If a user determines that their city or town contains unacceptable air quality levels, they can take steps to protect themselves. If necessary, the user can reschedule outdoor activities or shorten their duration.
Substandard Air Quality: Multiple Sources
Compromised air quality results from some form of air pollution. According to the National Park Service, air pollution can result from a natural or human-made source.
Natural Air Pollution Sources
Natural air pollution sources include wildfire smoke from blazes that can impact the air for many square miles. Wildfires frequently occur in western and southwestern states but can break out anywhere with little warning.
Wind can carry allergen-laden dust and smoke many miles, leaving a fine coating on exposed surfaces and hanging in the air. Finally, a volcano’s smoke can be caught up in the atmosphere and transported to areas far away from the actual eruption.
Human-Made Air Pollution Sources
Multiple human-made sources contribute to air pollution problems in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Stationary sources include factories and other industrial plants, oil refineries, and power plants. Mobile sources include vehicles such as cars, trucks, buses, trains, and aircraft.
Wood burning fireplaces and agricultural operations can contribute to air pollution. Pollution sources and concentrations can vary with the weather conditions and seasons.
Substandard Air Quality: Health Effects
Unhealthy air pollution levels can lead to undesirable health impacts. The pollutant form and concentration and the length of exposure are factors that partially determine the pollutants’ impact on an individual’s health.
The person’s health status also plays a major role in their susceptibility to air pollution’s effects. People with heart and respiratory diseases, older adults, and pregnant women are more at risk.
Outdoor workers often spend long hours in polluted air, thus increasing their chances of negative impacts. Athletes who train outdoors can also receive higher amounts of pollutant exposure. Finally, note that elevated air pollution levels can have short-term and long-term effects for everyone.
Molekule’s Beneficial Air Quality Review
Obtaining readily available air quality data enables consumers and businesses to consider unhealthy air quality and plan accordingly. Jaya Rao, one of Molekule’s founders, puts the issue in perspective.
“The air we breathe impacts our wellness in many ways, and offering quick and easy access to outdoor air quality information through Molekule Air Quality Review is another step in our journey to provide clean air for all… We’re hopeful this latest innovation will help consumers easily stay up to speed on the quality of the air outside their homes.”
How the Molekule Air Quality Review Works
The Molekule Air Quality Review’s methodology is simple and straightforward. The user issues a command to Alexa, prompting the device to obtain the location’s outdoor air quality by downloading data from AirNow. This nationally focused entity, supported by multiple government agencies, reports air quality readings from the official U.S. Air Quality Index.
Consumers can obtain the air quality data for free, and no Molekule air purification equipment is necessary. To use the function, the user says “Alexa, launch Air Quality Index” to their Alexa-equipped device. Alternatively, users can obtain the software through the Alexa Skills Store.
Once the Alexa function has been activated, the device will respond to inquiries about local air quality including but not limited to:
- “Get me today’s air quality report.”
- “Tell me today’s air quality rating.”
- “What is today’s air quality score?”
- “What’s the air quality like today?”
- “What’s today’s air quality index?”
- “What’s the air quality rating near me today?”
Molekule’s Indoor Air Quality Improvement Mission
Molekule is committed to offering free outdoor air quality information to everyone. At the same time, the company is focused on enabling everyone to enjoy clean indoor air. The user may own a house or operate a business such as a retail store, restaurant, professional office, or medical practice.
Molekule recognizes that each building’s air quality can be negatively impacted by environmental substances and hazardous allergens. Common indoor allergens include dust mite dander and mold spores. Dog dander, cat dander, fabrics, and houseplants can also cause some people to experience allergic reactions.
Better Indoor Air Quality Benefits
When an effective air purification system decreases harmful indoor allergens and environmental substances, the indoor air quality improves. Cleaner indoor air has been associated with deeper breathing, which can help increase energy and reduce stress levels.
Good air purification technology, like PECO (photo electrochemical oxidation), helps break down suspended organic material that causes objectionable odors. Sources of such organic material can include cooked food, cigarette smoke, or vehicle traffic exhaust. When the air purification device removes the unpleasant smell, the air quality improves, contributing to a better indoor environment.
Molekule Air Purification System Development
To achieve better indoor air quality, Molekule engaged in 25 years of research and development programs. Based on its findings, the company launched a line of quality air purification solutions. Molekule’s patented PECO-Filters are an integral component of all of its air purification systems.
PECO-Filter Methodology
Each Molekule air purification system incorporates a two-stage PECO-Filter. First, the specially fabricated multi-layer filter grabs potentially detrimental particles from the surrounding air. Next, this nano-catalytic filter media is powered by ultraviolet (UV) light to destroy the particles at the molecular level.
PECO-Filter Capabilities
Air Mini, Air, and Air Pro each incorporate Molekule’s patented PECO technology. Compared to traditional filters, PECO-Filters destroy the largest range of pollutants.
PECO-Filters continually destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs), viruses, bacteria, and black mold spores found in the air. The filters also destroy common pollutants such as pollen and dust mite dander.
Finally, PECO-Filters have been shown to reduce ozone concentrations and remove allergens from the air. Molekule’s PECO technology destroys pollutant particles of many sizes, even those at a microscopic scale. To illustrate, a Molekule PECO-Filter reduced a single injection of particulate matter 0.3 to 1.0 microns in size by 85 percent in 22 minutes in a 30 cubic meter room (about the size of a small bedroom).
System Capabilities and Validation
Molekule’s air purification systems are designed to remove particles efficiently in variably sized rooms or work spaces. Air Mini and Air Mini+ are rated for rooms up to 250 square feet. Air is designed to handle rooms up to 600 square feet.
The larger Air Pro is rated for extra-large spaces up to 1,000 square feet. This unit is also designed to function in high-traffic businesses, along with varied industrial and commercial environments.
Molekule Air Pro RX meets the FDA’s COVID-19 air purifier guidelines to reduce the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2. This makes the device ideal for use in operating rooms, emergency units, ICUs, and other healthcare facility spaces.
Each Molekule product has been subjected to ongoing internal testing. In addition, third-party laboratories have reviewed and validated each air purification system’s function. Collectively, Molekule’s air purification products represent a significant step toward ensuring better indoor air quality for everyone.