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Ankit Sharma, Director of Airific Systems, speaks to TechGraph about the journey of Airific Systems and how it’s innovative product UV Heal is helping people during this pandemic.
Read the complete interview below:
TechGraph: How did UV Heal transpire?
Ankit Sharma: 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, and therefore as 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.
Advanced Navis Business Park, one of our campuses present in sector 142, Noida, has always been ahead of time with the technology deployed within the campus. 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 systems, develop our design software, and 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!
TechGraph: What problem is UV Heal trying to solve?
Ankit Sharma: UVHeal safe Air uses UVGI technology to disinfect the air in the centralized Air Conditioning / HVAC systems. The product once installed is said to kill viruses like covid and other harmful microorganisms & bacteria’s which in turn keeps the health of the occupants safe. Did you know that there is a term coined in the West called “Sick Buildings”? This is a term that has been recalled over and over again over the last several years.
The reason for buildings being termed as “sick” is the bad quality of air circulation. Mold and fungi accumulation are common themes in Air Circulation units, and many people are allergic to such exposure. Therefore UVGI technology has been used extensively to eradicate these kinds of problems, and it is my goal to bring the same to India.
TechGraph: What makes UV Heal different from other platforms, which are already available in the market?
Ankit Sharma: UVGI is a new segment that has emerged in the Indian market post-Covid. But UV is a well-established technology. There are a lot of companies that are offering solutions to various sectors like Hospitals, Food, Pharma, etc. For different applications like sanitizing the food packaging line, disinfecting tools in the operation theatre, and many more.
Now, coming to UVGI for HVAC, there are various companies which are providing the solution for coil-based application but there is no expertise for duct-based system and designing standards. We are following the standards as per ASHRAE’s guidelines, our technology and features make us different.
Because other companies which are supplying this, are only putting the lamps inside the ducts/coils and the buyer has to blindly trust the technology, but on the other hand, we have a complete solution from where you can control and monitor the product without actually going to AHU room again and again. And it gives you the live status of the product.
TechGraph: Could you please shed light on how UV Heal’s works?
Ankit Sharma: We have developed a software that takes in various input parameters in a 3D format, and based on these input parameters, we can determine the number of lamps required to achieve 99% disinfection of certain viruses, bacteria, etc in the air.
The software also creates an intensity map, and portrays the kill percentage of various types of pathogens present in the air at different locations! Due to this feature, the buyer can check the effectiveness of the system anytime from his mobile/laptop.