Poppy, creators of the world’s first automated, real-time, indoor air monitoring system, today announced the release of its portable instant air tracer and sensor system test kit along with a hands-on training and accreditation program for building engineers and HVAC service providers. The Poppy BreatheScore Kit enables professional providers to measure air changes and ventilation performance, to help their customers discover overventilation areas to save on HVAC energy costs, and to quickly and cost-effectively comply with ASHRAE Standard 241-2023, the newly published standard to reduce the spread of airborne diseases in buildings.

Poppy is the only company to provide a fully digital, real-time solution and automated process for Standard 241 compliance, allowing service providers to test a ten story building and deliver results within a day. With dashboards to provide historic indoor air quality data, industry baselines and comparisons of results over time, users will be able to see how air health is increasing and ventilation energy costs are being minimized. 

Poppy’s BreatheScore Kit is the industry’s most accurate, cost effective, and rapid way for buildings to measure and verify the delivery of clean air per occupant. It also enables users to quantify before and after upgrades and renovations, and to troubleshoot areas with stale air or odor problems. By providing a visual representation of how air moves through a room, mimicking human breath, Poppy’s particle and sensor system measures the effectiveness of all natural and mechanical ventilation, purifiers, and filters at professional-grade accuracy covering up to 5,000 square-feet of building space. The actionable data available in BreatheScore’s accompanying app reveals safe target occupancy levels, ventilation blindspots, and areas for HVAC energy optimization. 

Poppy’s BreatheScore Kit is available at a 30% discounted special introductory offer of $244 per month, plus a low per-test fee. The BreatheScore Kit includes all equipment, materials and software required for conducting real-time tests, including patented Poppy Sensors, Poppy Nebulizers, Poppy Tracer Solution, battery packs, tripods and carrying case. Optional LiDAR equipment is also available for capturing a building’s 3D Digital Twin.

Poppy’s integrated BreatheScore training and accreditation program for conducting BreatheScore tests and scans enables building professionals to develop expertise in HVAC performance measurement in as little as 4-6 hours. Nearly 100 HVAC industry leaders are already enrolled in the BreatheScore training program, and over 500 buildings all over the world currently use Poppy’s system to measure HVAC performance.

“Our portable BreatheScore Kit allows building professionals to run our air tracer and sensor system tests in less than an hour with lab quality accuracy,” said Sam Molyneux, Poppy co-CEO and member of the ASHRAE Standard 241-2023 committee subgroup responsible for building commissioning and maintenance. “Our rapid testing kits not only help customers comply with Standard 241, they also save on energy costs and impact sustainability by discovering over ventilated areas, a problem that we see almost 75% of the time.”

Poppy also announced today that it has partnered with Ainsworth, one of North America’s leading integrated multi-trade companies providing HVAC and energy management solutions to commercial and industrial clients across the US and Canada. Through the partnership, Ainsworth will utilize Poppy’s BreatheScore Kits to ensure sustainable air quality and compliance to ASHRAE, CDC and building owner standards for commercial buildings.

“This cutting-edge technology allows us to scale 241 level testing to thousands of buildings across our portfolio,” said Steve Horwood, Vice President, Business Development at Ainsworth. “Poppy’s rapid digital testing saves us significant time and increases accuracy, down to the zone level. And with 3D options, we’re able to increase diagnostic issues and elevate ventilation design and validation. We’re proud to help our customers optimize their facility’s infrastructure, increase their energy efficiency and lower their building’s carbon footprint while reaching their ESG goals.” 

ASHRAE Standard 241-2023, which is expected to be incorporated into building codes starting later this year, sets requirements for the amount of clean, pathogen-free air that must be provided per occupant when called upon by public health authorities, reducing the risk of transmission of airborne viruses in workplaces, schools, hospitals, stores, restaurants, factories, warehouses, and residential buildings. Poppy is the only vendor providing real-time ASHRAE Standard 241 testing capability to service providers.

About Poppy 

Poppy is the creator of BreatheScore Certify, the only commercially available air tracer particle product for offices, schools, residential buildings, workplaces and hospitals to verify against the new ASHRAE Standard 241-2023. With 18 patents and counting, Poppy ventilation verification products are used by hundreds of building operators and corporations to unlock HVAC energy cost savings while keeping occupants healthy. The company’s real-time tracer particle system digitally verifies the impact of all purification, filtration, and ventilation measures. Poppy solutions range from a rapid, zero-install building certification service to 3D professional digital airflow mapping and 24/7 ventilation monitoring with IAQ, wildfire, vape, and smoke detection. Recognized as the 5th Most Innovative Company by Fast Company magazine, Poppy was established in 2019, in San Francisco.

About Ainsworth 

Since 1933, Ainsworth has been a significant and growing force in the maintenance renovation service industries of North America. Ainsworth is a wholly owned subsidiary of GDI Integrated Facility Services, a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:GDI) and a leader and innovator in the industry. GDI is the fifth-largest facility services business in North America with more than 30,000 employees, 1 billion square feet serviced, and with operations across Canada and the United States. Ainsworth provides high-quality technical trades services, including HVAC, design-build, electrical, energy management, innovative solutions, and building automation for institutional, commercial, residential, healthcare, and industrial clients across North America.