Did you know that indoor air is five times more polluted than outdoor air, and that indoor air quality (IAQ) will not significantly improve by just opening the windows to let fresh air in? This is simply because the air pollution level has been deteriorating at an alarming rate.

IAQ has become a major concern in many parts of the world since the outbreak of Covid-19, especially now that most of the world has entered the endemic stage, with most offices and schools having reopened. It means that we are breathing in much more harmful particles every day in different indoor places, which can lead to respiratory problems and other health issues.

The importance of IAQ goes without saying. It has become a priority for people who are conscious of their well-being and the quality of their living environment.

Therefore, it is necessary to identify the factors that can affect the quality of air inside your home. These include indoor sources such as cooking, smoking, pets and the use of chemicals and cleaners. There are also outdoor sources such as pollution from traffic or fogging.

While air fresheners are popularly used to keep the air clean, they emit chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Other people use plants or candles, but this requires a lot of effort and is not always effective.

We need a safe, efficient and sustainable solution — a good ventilation and air conditioning system that brings in fresh air and filters dirty air from inside the home without emitting any hazardous chemicals while cooling a room.

This is where Panasonic’s Complete Air Management System (CAMS) comes in. It is a unique hybrid link-operation that automatically synchronises air conditioning and ventilation operations using advanced algorithm and built-in sensors to monitor and improve IAQ.

It seamlessly links the operation of the air conditioner, the supply air fan and the IAQ controller. This allows for the creation of clean air via nanoe™ X technologies, which can inhibit pollutants in the air and on surfaces, thereby keeping residents safe indoors.

nanoe™ X is an ioniser that generates nano-sized atomised water particles using electrostatic atomisation technology. It collects invisible moisture in the air and applies high voltage to it to produce hydroxyl radicals contained in water.

The highly reactive and oxidative hydroxyl radicals have the potential to inhibit the activity of pollutants, breaking them down and neutralising their unpleasant effects, vastly improving the indoor environment. The more hydroxyl radicals there are, the more effectively bacteria and viruses can be inhibited.

nanoe™ can generate 480 billion hydroxyl radicals per second, while nanoe™X, which was invented and introduced by Panasonic later, releases 10 to 20 times more hydroxyl radicals.

It is worth noting that nanoe™X has proved its inhibitory effects against allergens and pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, mould and viruses), including four novel coronavirus variants, breaking down particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) components that have adverse effects on the human body.

There are three key elements for maintaining air quality in any indoor environment — controlling humidity and indoor temperature for better comfort; bringing in filtered fresh air from outdoors and exhausting contaminated indoor air; and inhibiting allergens, mould, bacteria and viruses and removing odours and particulate matter.

“Air in our homes is easily polluted when pollutants enter unnoticed, causing discomfort due to high humidity and temperature, sleep disorders due to high CO concentration, allergies due to pollutants, and breathing difficulties due to a high level of PM2.5,” Panasonic Corp’s QAFL Business Promotion Office managing director Ichiro Suganuma explains.

CAMS constantly monitors and automatically controls air quality with IAQ sensors and advanced algorithm to achieve good indoor air quality at CO under 1,000 ppm (parts per million), PM2.5 under 75g/m3, humidity level between 40% and 60% and temperature control at the user’s preference.

The question is, why is CAMS the best solution when most of the air conditioners, humidifiers and air purifiers in the market could do the job of controlling the above-mentioned pollutants?

“Each CAMS solution has four main equipment — air conditioner with built-in WiFi capability, a supply air fan to bring in filtered fresh air, an IAQ controller, and the Panasonic Comfort Cloud application. When you press the ‘on’ button, every piece of equipment is linked and ‘talks’ to each other to provide optimal indoor air quality in general. It is why we called it a unique hybrid link operation,” says Suganuma.

The supply air fan, which comes with two filters, will filter out small and large particles contained in the outdoor air before transporting it indoors and pushing out PM2.5 and CO from inside the home.

While the air conditioner provides temperature control, it also deodorises and inhibits pollutants with the nanoe™X technology.

On the control panel, the IAQ controller will display the indoor temperature, humidity level, PM2.5 and CO concentration at a glance. It monitors and sends information to the cloud via the Panasonic Comfort Cloud application and adjusts the air volume intake in the supply air fan according to the indoor conditions.

Meanwhile, the Panasonic Comfort Cloud application combines the operations of all three equipment into a single automated operation and monitors IAQ.

A good product requires a good partner to unlock its value, and this is how Malaysia’s top developer S P Setia Bhd and Panasonic came to collaborate on a pilot project — Barola — to elevate their shared values in sustainability and to ensure the well-being of potential homeowners in the developer’s latest project in Setia Alam.

Barola is the second phase of Musika Homes. It consists of 120 double-storey terraced houses with land sizes of 22ft by 75ft and two built-up sizes of 2,301 and 2,360 sq ft. It was launched this month with selling prices starting from RM998,000. The project is slated for completion in December 2024.

Under this partnership, CAMS will be installed in the master bedroom of 120 Barola homes.

“At S P Setia, we are creating communities by shaping the built environment in line with the latest design and technology trends, and focusing on sustainability. Since the early 2000s, we have prioritised sustainability in our developments, in particular, leveraging greenery to elevate the quality of life (and air) for all our residents,” says S P Setia divisional general manager Tan Siow Chung.

“Without doubt, the pandemic sharpened our focus on creating healthy environments. We identified Panasonic as a good partner because of its extensive R&D in air quality. We have used its products in our commercial developments successfully in the past, so we are familiar with its products and business practices.”

In September 2021, when the economic sectors were partially opened and shoppers were exercising vigilance, S P Setia launched the Freedom Bubble at D’Network in Setia Eco Park, equipping it with Panasonic’s nanoe™X air purification system. After that, over 800 units of Panasonic’s ceiling-mounted air-e nanoe™X generators were installed in S P Setia’s 29 sales galleries nationwide.

“Today, we continue our pioneering efforts towards creating safe living environments by being the first developer to implement CAMS in the homes we built. We are proud to announce that Setia Alam will partner with Panasonic to offer CAMS in our Musika Collection of homes.

CAMS’ IAQ sensor constantly monitors air quality for the automatic control of cooling, ventilation volume and humidity for optimal comfort. It also minimises the time required to purify contaminated air and restore clean fresh air to our indoor environment to maintain optimum air quality. Furthermore, it does this at minimal energy cost,” says Tan.

To ensure the success of the pilot project, Panasonic studied the ideal CAMS setup layout to ensure optimal performance, so homebuyers do not need to be concerned about doing additional renovations or modifications to install the system. They can be assured that all installations are professionally done and commissioned.

“As one of the leading air quality solution providers, we are thrilled with this collaboration to sustain our planet by providing quality air through energy efficiency. Through the intelligent algorithm sensors and cloud-based technologies, residents will be able to ensure the quality of their lifestyle with better air space through CAMS and feel more productive in the comfort of their own homes,” Suganuma points out.

For more information about CAMS, please visit https://www.panasonic.com/my/air-solutions/complete-air-management-system.html