Big Ass Fan’s Clean Air System (opens in new tab)

Anything but. They’ve got validated 3rd party studies. Plus they’re a real Hardware product company with a long history of quality product. Not some Silicon Valley “ai magic virus eater”.

Ionizer--probably unicorn shit.

The UV-C one? Probably real--and note it's the one labeled as "Verified by third parties". Moving air at some reasonable rate past a strong UV-C source really will sterilize it against a lot of stuff.

The ionry is a normal Big Ass Fan is probably exactly what we need.

A big thing that moves air.

But people are to stupid to know that. The media (including HN) is too broken to deliver people simple messages.

So people can only listen to complex messages they don't fully understand, so it needs all the extra fluff to sell.

Big Ass is based in my hometown, and I've had a few friends who've worked there. They absolutely get a lot of complaints about the name and actively taunt people who are offended by it [1] Apparently they do have models without the logo that can get used in churches and schools, though.

[1]https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article44375274.html

> , I do always wonder whether and how often they get complaints from parents about the word “ass” being there for children to potentially read.

Clearly it's a double entendre, but the company's logo is an ass, as in the animal.

Some schools use their fans, and they don't have the "ass" part, all you have to do is request without the label (although last I checked the logo is visible, but small, at least it's less explicit)

They make versions that have the logo without the name for cases where the name's a deal-breaker.

I always point it out to people when I go to IKEA, as they use them, and it makes me chuckle. I wondered about that myself...

I used to work there. They absolutely get complaints, but they have a really good sense of humor about it https://youtu.be/01WBxkweki8

Fwiw, I think you can get them without the logo

Seems like they just reflect all the UV from the bulb up and are counting on the ceiling not reflecting a harmful amount. With the right ceiling material that could actually be a pretty good idea.

Below the fan wouldn't be safe. UVC doesn't reflect very well off many surfaces, and it's absorbed in air, so not much light is likely to reach the human room occupants.

Depends on human level exposure. Probably fine as these are mounted on the ceiling.

As someone who is strongly irritated by (and perhaps allergic to—I've not been tested) tea tree oil, please do not do this.

Essential oils in concentrations that are germicidal are definitely not safe around people for prolonged exposure.

your link mentions nothing about ventilation. vodka is also a good disinfectant, but you wouldn't want to necessarily aerosolize it and vent it through a building.

Ionizers work through two mechanisms: 1. Charged particles stick together, forming larger clumps that eventually drop out of the air. 2. Charged particles can build up on the surface of airborne pathogens, sometimes directly disrupting membranes or lipid layers, and if there is enough of a buildup they can induce an electric current through the organism that can kill / inactivate it. One study on bipolar ionization showed antiviral efficiencies were 64.3, 89.1, and 97.4% with exposure times of 15, 30, and 45 min, respectively (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7094352/).

The advantage to ion generation based air purification systems is that they are able to actively operate in occupied spaces, not relying on air to get pumped out of a return duct and through a filter or UV system.

It's not possible for them to achieve an instantaneous elimination of airborne pathogens, but any significant percentage reduction can help to lower the total viral load that people in the room are being exposed to.

That being said, it's unlikely that what he's wearing around his neck will generate a sufficient quantity of ions to make much of a difference. It wouldn't be enough to fill the room, and the amount of time any such ions would have to act on a particle that comes close to him really isn't enough to have a large impact.

Veratasium dug into it in quite a bit of depth. TL;DR: It doesn't do much (if any good). Worth watching, regardless.

https://youtu.be/ZQ--scjcAZ4

The question with that system is: where is the replacement air coming from? To be effective for disease particle controls, it needs to come from outside, otherwise you'd just be sucking dirty air from the rest of the building into the classroom - or even worse: backdrafting CO2 and CO from any combustion appliances within the building envelope.

You can achieve a clean air supply by opening another window in the classroom, but then you also let hot or cold air into the classroom (depending on the season), making the heating/cooling systems work even harder.

The answer to this is to run the exhaust/intake air channels through a heat recovery ventilator (HRV), which transfers energy from the hotter to colder airstream, while also introducing fresh air back to the space.

It's an exhaust fan with temporary tubing made of thin plastic.

why is ozone free important?

Scientific research has not found much evidence for transmission by touch, known in the literature as fomite transmission:

"The principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory droplets carrying infectious virus."

-https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3...

You see this in the guidance by major health organizations. For instance the WHO clearly says:

"Current evidence suggests that the main way the virus spreads is by respiratory droplets among people who are in close contact with each other."

It probably can happen. But contact tracing hasn't found much evidence for it: the majority of infections can be explained by close contact from an infected person.

Re: masks, surgical masks and cloth mask far from 100% effective against small particles, with filtering efficiencies of 50% or less common though the fabric. Filtration is even less when you take into account air that bypasses the mask (the reason why your glasses fog up is because of air that isn't being filtered).

Also, very large numbers of people use them incorrectly, eg by leaving the nose uncovered, and leaving gaps. I don't think this is a matter of education: people know what correct wear is, and don't do it because it's much easier to breath if you defeat the mask's filtration.

Most people aren't wearing masks around family and friends anyway.

Stairs, or press buttons with tip of key. Entrance Door with foot or paper tissues. If 1 in 200 have Covid, 50% chance elevator has been recently infected.

It doesn't "work". The fact that it made it to the front page of HN bodes badly for this community that has been going down hill for a long time. It just one step above a text based Reddit at this point.

HEPA filters are a good idea, but they can be in short supply and they need to be replaced on a regular basis.

Box fans are not good for attaching filters too because they are not designed to deal with static pressure from a filter. The gaps between the blades and the case mean if you put much/any obstacle in the way, it will just recirculate unfiltered air.

Not fast enough. The threat is not being exposed to droplets hours after someone with COVID was in the room, the threat is them expelling COVID particles at your face because to are right next to them.

It seems to be UV.

> Those little pod things could have a cleaning cycle where they heat up to 65C (~150F) for 15-30 minutes.

can i stay inside of it and make it 180 at least (ready to sell my soul for 200), please :) 8 months without sauna, god, have mercy...

It already is. People are: A) Wearing masks in public and more avoidant of contact with others. B) Getting Flu vaccine much more popular. It has sold out in the country. and C) Lot of people in the risk groups(where largest share of flu mortality comes from), are already dead from COVID.

I was the one who submitted this to HN.

It is an ad in that I linked to the marketing site. It’s not an ad in that I have no association with the company, and I just thought HN would find it interesting.

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