We knew we had to go to a higher level of MERV-rated filters, bring in more outside air, make sure economizers work, ramp up duct cleaning, etc. We also looked at UV lights and bi-polar ionization from a commercial perspective.

IAQ’s Importance

At Aire Rite, we have a special projects department through which we do commercial air balance and optimization as well as building control. With COVID raging, we added IAQ to its mix. This includes services and sales for ionizers, UV lights, air duct cleaning, economizer retrofitting, and adding CO2 sensors.

We added a new service for disinfecting ductwork and the inside of rooftop units. This took off with people wanting their AC units disinfected. Though used for some time to fight mold, it also helps kill COVID-19 viruses. Aire Rite goes to market with it under the trade name “Marked Safe.” We introduced it to our customers in April 2021.

During the second half of 2020, we generated more than $350,000 in sales. This much-needed cash inflow continued to grow and remains a bright spot.

Indoor air quality is so essential that we had to find a way to help explain it so our commercial customers “get it.” Because everyone from ASHRAE and the CDC preaches the need to bring in more outdoor air to fight COVID-19 and other pathogens in the indoor air, we came up with the following phrase to reflect that:

“Air dilution is the solution to indoor air pollution®.”

This motto resonates well with customers, and we decided to register it as a trademark.

Selling in a COVID-19 World

With everything shut down, we had to develop new creative ways to sell our products and services. When things first shut down, the team at Aire Rite began using Microsoft Teams to communicate with everyone remotely. At first, such communications were in the form of a Town Hall-type of update.

A first, I started doing this every Friday for staff, and then it went from weekly to monthly, and we began doing it for customers as well. We video-chatted using Teams or Zoom depending on what the customer wanted to use.

During these meetings, I would explain our new service offerings and how they benefited customers. As this advanced to video chat sales calls, it was a means for us to hear our customers’ concerns, to see how we could help them based on their budgets.

Our team also does some digital marketing. We use LinkedIn and other social platforms to post articles, talk about IAQ, or even address the importance of operational economizers.

The key is to reach customers where they want to be reached.

Training and Maintaining

We didn’t have enough work to keep our field technicians busy during those first few months, so we focused on training them and getting them certified in various disciplines. I’m talking about up to 16 hours per week of training depending on the person, their department, and what training was available.

The high-performance training made a real difference for our techs who were out there during the shutdowns. They not only test and diagnose systems but can then use that data to help alleviate the fears of our restaurant customers.

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