Like almost every business on the globe, coworking facilities have been forced to adapt to the challenges presented by COVID-19. These companies — which provide semi-shared office space — rely fundamentally on communal gathering.

When the pandemic emerged, use of Rock Candy Coworking, located in Lititz, Pennsylvania, fell by 60%. Owner/manager Steve Palmer started looking for an IAQ system to keep the air at Rock Candy clean and safe.

Palmer decided on a Phenomenal Aire IAQ system installed by H.B. McClure Company. Phenomenal Aire is a cold plasma generation system that has been UL validated as producing no detectable ozone. These low-wattage units create a plasma field to ionize the air within an HVAC system and throughout the building. This deactivates viruses (including the virus responsible for COVID-19), bacteria, mold and fungus spore, and destroys allergens and odors while also breaking down volatile organic compounds.

Because of the unique layout of the space, Rock Candy had two units installed: the D 1.2.1 and the R6. The D unit was installed on the mini-split ceiling cassette that serves a small meeting room, and the R6 was installed on the supply air duct from the Trane rooftop unit serving the main portion of the building.

After the installation, the indoor air ion count was significantly higher than previous to installation: 7,370 ions/Cm3, versus 620. Palmer said that within minutes of installation, the space felt fresher. He is confident this installation will pay dividends in his business as people search for options other than working from home, during the pandemic and moving forward.