Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization Technology Increases Clean Air Across Kent State Campuses

By Josie Bixler

Kent State is almost finished with a $3 million project to install clean air units in all buildings with classrooms across Kent State main campus and regional campuses in response to COVID19. 

Following guidance from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, leaders at the university decided to invest in needlepoint bipolar ionization technology to increase indoor air quality, said Doug Pearson, the associate vice president of facilities planning and operations at Kent State.

“Needlepoint bipolar ionization works by releasing charged ions in the air that attract other particles like dust, viruses, or bacteria. These particles become a clump of atoms that can be caught by air filters,” said Kent City Health Commissioner Joan Seidel, who is also a registered nurse. “These units can be plugged into the wall or directly installed into a building’s HVAC system.”

In the process, the charged ions effectively kill the coronavirus and other contaminants, Pearson said. 

“It’s important to use the correct terminology because the technology we’ve chosen is called needlepoint bipolar ionization, which is different from bipolar ionization, which is different from just ionization,” Pearson said.

Earlier versions of ionization units released ozone into the atmosphere that caused flare ups for people with asthma. However, needlepoint bipolar ionization technology stands apart from other ionization technologies because there are next to no risk factors, according to both Pearson and Seidel.

“It’s an extremely low-risk and low-maintenance technology that is cost effective,” Pearson said. 

About 95% of installation of the units purchased by the university are completed, covering nearly all of Kent State’s classrooms. There are more than 1,000 units working directly in the HVAC systems of locker and shower rooms, weight rooms, dining halls, elevators that reach four floors or more and now classrooms, Pearson said. The funding for these units came from the CARES Act to combat the coronavirus, reported in a Kent Stater article. 

These strategies to increase air quality and circulation are not in use in most residence hall buildings, but Pearson said this should not concern students and their families.

“The residence halls that don’t have needlepoint bipolar ionization certainly get regular cleaning and we’re following the Flashes Safe Eight, along with the testing program and vaccinations,” Pearson said.

Only quarantine and isolation dormitories use needlepoint bipolar ionization technology, Pearson said. The units used for these dormitories are portable and plug directly into an outlet in the wall, creating clean air only for the room they are plugged into. 

“We bought approximately 400 portable units and those were used in quarantine and isolation dormitory rooms, as well as for office reception areas or where there was a small area with a high volume of people coming and going,” Pearson said. 

The portable units provide the option of moving concentrated clean air technology to populated areas for events or busy seasons on campus. The units installed into the HVAC systems circulate clean air throughout the entire building in which it is installed. 

These units are only one tool of many the university is using to improve indoor air quality and circulation. It also increased the amount of outdoor air circulating in indoor buildings and leaves the HVAC system running for two hours after everyone leaves the building each day to “further dilute indoor air with outdoor air,” according to the Kent State Coronavirus FAQ Sheet for faculty and staff. 

Needlepoint bipolar ionization units and improved air quality and circulation cannot “negate mask wearing and pushing the vaccine,” Seidel said. 

“While the primary focus should be on social distancing and personal hygiene, Kent State University is proceeding with increasing the amount of outdoor air brought into buildings where sensible (and the use of needlepoint bipolar ionization units), which will have a beneficial effect on indoor air quality (IAQ) during COVID-19,” according to the FAQ sheet. 

Kent State University spent $3 million on these boxes. Want to know what they are? Check out https://t.co/prWbGNWNRD#mdjrpp #CleanAir pic.twitter.com/clKp8xSBOW

— Josie Bixler (@BixlerJosie) September 14, 2021

Kent State is using clean air units to screen 99.4% of coronavirus. Find out where these units are at https://t.co/3VICHuy1fa#mdjrpp #CleanAir

— Josie Bixler (@BixlerJosie) September 14, 2021