It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, an adage that Toronto’s Blade Air has taken personally as it aims to disrupt the decades-long standard method of indoor air filtration via a variety of unique products.
Launched in 2017 by Giancarlo Sessa and brothers Joe and Aedan Fida, the company has since produced a number of sustainable and state-of-the-art purification systems for both private and public buildings across Canada and around the world, improving air quality, performance and health for its clients.
“It started with Joe, who was a chemical engineer, and his love of growing tropical plants,” says Sessa, Chief Strategy Officer, of Joe Fida’s hobby of growing cherry trees to help cope with the stress of studying for engineering classes. Being in Canada, however, there wasn’t enough light and heat during the winter months to grow his plants all year long, so Joe had to invest in a growth locker which utilizes its own light to allow the growing of plants year-round.
“As a student, he couldn’t afford a growth locker, but as an engineering student, he thought he could build his own, and that’s exactly what he did,” adds Sessa. The growth locker required a carbon filter—essentially a metal cylinder—which needed to be replaced about once a year when the carbon in it became exhausted, an expensive and wasteful proposition. Upon searching for viable, sustainable, options to the carbon filter, Joe learned there weren’t any.
But necessity is the mother of invention. “When he learned there was no carbon filter in the market with a replaceable carbon cartridge, a light bulb went off in his head,” says Sessa. “He approached Aedan and I with the idea of creating one, and while we didn’t know much about the space, we really loved the idea.”
The trio did some market research, and after determining that a carbon filter with a replaceable carbon cartridge was something that people would love to see in the industry, they “hit the ground running.”
Blade Air began from there, and while the organization has grown and brought in new products, its ethos has always been about combining sustainability and indoor air quality.
“We started with creating the world’s first zero-waste carbon filter and are now where we are today, with a number of different products,” says Sessa. After launching in the cannabis industry with odour control offerings, the company has since shifted into air purifiers across a wide range of industries including government, healthcare, horticulture, industrial, retail, and a “big focus” in education, particularly regarding its Pro Filters.
Blade Air’s Pro Filters exceed HEPA at the viral range by using sophisticated electromagnetic filtration to catch particles 40 times smaller than conventional filters with the same MERV rating. The Pro Filter lowers airflow restriction with its ultra-breathable, high-dust loading filter pad design, saving energy and money on operations and offering substantial savings and improved performance by increasing fan motor efficiency by 15 percent and reducing operating expenses by up to 50 percent. Pro Filters also significantly outperform conventional pleated filters with comparable pressure drops in their ability to catch ultrafine particles, such as bacteria and viruses, and by implementing a 70 percent recycled filter pad and recycling scheme to reduce a 100 percent wasted process to one of zero waste.
Additionally, compared to conventional high-pressure systems, low-pressure HVAC systems are made to circulate air through heating, ventilation, and air conditioning components at lower pressure levels. These systems can function more quietly and effectively by lowering the static pressure, creating reliable and cozy interior environments. Wider ducts, effective air handlers, and leading-edge filtering technologies that reduce resistance are all part of the improved system design resulting in this pressure drop.
“We’ve done a few acquisitions to bring this technology in-house, focused on intersecting indoor air quality and sustainability,” Sessa explains. “You get the improved indoor air quality that you’re looking for but the sustainability aspect of energy savings and less waste as well.”
Additionally, Blade Air’s focus on optimizing HVAC system performance through the low-pressure side reduces pressure drop compared to the traditional pleated filters seen in the market for 60-plus years. “We’re disrupting the entire market. Similar to what we did with the carbon filter, we saw something that’s been the status quo for so long, that everybody’s used to, but thought, ‘how can we make this better and more sustainable?’”
Along with sustainability, Blade Air embodies a number of core values it aims to continually meet. “Whenever we bring in new product, we think, ‘how can we make this Canadian-made? Does it hit the air quality requirements that we want and the sustainability goals that we need to hit?’ If those three criteria are met, we’re happy to push forward with the product.”
In regard to sustainable buildings, Blade Air’s contributions are two-fold. “We look at sustainability for buildings, but we also look at sustainability for people,” explains Sessa. “That’s one aspect that people tend to forget about but is such an important factor in addition to the sustainability for the building as a whole.”
He adds that Blade Air’s impressive offering encompasses improving indoor air quality and the flow-on impacts afforded by that improvement; numerous studies show how improved indoor air quality can aid in cognitive ability for individuals and result in less absenteeism at school or work. Pro Filters contribute to sustainable infrastructure by helping to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across operations. Scope 1 involves cutting HVAC energy demand for organizations; scope 2, lowering that usage and minimizing the requirement for organizations; and scope 3, boosting sustainability for buildings by reducing the amount of waste.
“Having filters that last longer and are made from sustainable products is how we help them with the third scope,” says Sessa. “For us, sustainability is critical, not only for environmental stewardship, but also for operational efficiency and long-term cost savings.”
While indoor air quality has always been a concern, the pandemic brought the issue to the forefront, elevating the public’s attention and knowledge about its importance. “For the longest time, indoor air quality and sustainability were two conflicting items, and we’ve shown the world it doesn’t need to be a trade-off. You can have both.”
The challenge during COVID included convincing organizations that upgrading the traditional pleated filters in their system was essential to help deter spiking energy costs and waste. “They were going to have to change those filters more frequently to avoid clogging up their systems. Our low-pressure filters mean the systems will be able to handle it much longer.”
And while a lot of money was spent on air purifiers and other products to improve indoor air quality during COVID, sustainability was often neglected, adds Sessa. Now, as companies are looking to keep indoor air quality as high as possible while balanced with sustainability, Blade Air is well positioned to help them navigate the process. Educating people about the benefits and the importance of the Pro Filter and low-pressure filtration is key, particularly as it means moving away from the traditional pleated filters used for decades. But Blade Air is up to the challenge of disrupting the filtration industry with a smarter and more sustainable model. “It’s really exciting for us to be a part of it. We’re extremely passionate because we believe in the value of what we’re doing and the impact we’re having on so many different aspects.”
While you can’t rush change, more and more people starting to “get it,” he adds. Blade Air has been pushing this technology for several years now, and it takes time to understand, grasp, and realize the impact it is having. “When most people think about sustainability in particular, they never really think about filters. We’re driving such impact with this one element that it’s surprising to many individuals and they quickly realize the value.”
With the goal of setting low-pressure filtration and the Pro Filters as the new standard for air quality and sustainability, it is the people behind this organization who are driving the change. “We’re a passionate, dedicated, young, hungry, and motivated team who believes in the mission, coming to work every day wanting to make a difference, excited about what we’re doing and the change we’re making in the industry.”
Exemplary customer service is also key. “Relationships are everything, Relationships with our partners, our suppliers, our customers—that’s what we’re all about, in addition to being that industry disruptor,” Sessa says.
And as the company continues to grow, the desire to remain true to its commitment of customer service and team relationships will remain at its core, he adds. “We’re all in this together. We all have that same mission and vision.”
Blade Air may have been started by three students back in 2017, but it’s incredible what the company has been able to do as a collective since, and what it aims to achieve in the future. “When people think about wanting to achieve sustainable initiatives or improving air quality, we want them to think about Pro Filters,” says Giancarlo Sessa. “We want to be in every home and in every building. We’re extremely passionate about providing sustainable, clean air to the world. We’re challenging the norms that have been around for so long, and we’re showing people there’s a new way of achieving your goals and doing good at the same time.”
