Show Up and Breathe: The Slam Dunk ROI That Still Needs an Energy Story to Sell - Jason Jones #113

This week, we sit down with Jason Jones, Director of Air Quality Management at Fellowes, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we sell, specify, and sustain indoor air quality solutions in the real world: What if the biggest barrier to clean indoor air isn't technology or science—but the economic conversation we're having with the people who actually have to write the cheques? Jason leads Fellowes' sales and marketing efforts in the air quality space, working closely with distributors, sales representatives, and end users to help them understand the role of smart, responsive air quality management. This is a theory into practice conversation, and it's critically important. We can discuss the impacts of air quality on health, wellbeing, performance, and energy all day long—but at some point, someone, somewhere, has to literally buy into the idea. Jason provides a fascinating window into how a respected player in the sector, delivering products that actually improve air quality, frames the problem and the solutions, how those conversations are going, and where they think this sector is heading next. Key Topics Discussed: Post-Pandemic Reality: How air quality awareness has evolved since COVID. Some people internalized the lesson and carried it forward into the environments they work in. Others were willing to just get back to normal. The perception problem: if it doesn't smell bad, chances are the air must be clean. But we don't get to control the air we breathe in most of the spaces we're in. Where the Traction Is: Healthcare, education, K-12, higher ed, and assisted living facilities are where air quality is sticking most. The generation that missed prom because of the pandemic took that lesson forward into their lives. That's why there's a bright future for air quality—it made an indelible mark on that generation. Leaning Into Energy Savings: Why Fellowes is talking more and more about energy savings and using standards like ASHRAE's Indoor Air Quality Procedure to specify air purification alongside HVAC systems. The goal: reach the same or better air quality while reducing outside air reliance. Clean air is a human right, but the reality is that building owners have bills to pay and balance sheets to worry about. VRP vs IAQP—A 101: Ventilation Rate Procedure is the blunt instrument—prescriptive ventilation rates based on building type and occupancy. Indoor Air Quality Procedure is more sophisticated—designing around specific contaminants of concern, factoring in air purification and filtration, and allowing you to reduce outside air by 30, 40, 50 percent or more. Less outside air means less heating and cooling, smaller HVAC systems, and potential first cost savings. The Education Experiment: Schools are a massive data set. With thousands of classrooms being phased into air quality solutions over time, we'll finally be able to see clear trends in absenteeism rates, teacher sick days, and student test scores. You can't learn if you're not in class. It's that simple. And it's the most black and white metric of them all. GUEST: Jason Jones https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-jones-0aa672b/ Director of Air Quality Management, Fellowes Fellowes https://www.fellowes.com/ The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) - Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Ultra Protect (https://www.ultra-protect.co.uk/air-quality-matters) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The Commercial Reality of Indoor Air Quality 00:03:11 Post-Pandemic Reality: Who Still Cares About Air Quality? 00:08:09 The Budget Battle: Nice to Have vs Need to Have 00:10:05 The Energy Efficiency Angle: A New Way to Sell Clean Air 00:26:00 VRP vs IAQP: Two Approaches to Building Ventilation 00:24:47 The HVAC Energy Equation: Why Outside Air Is So Expensive 00:34:18 The Complexity Challenge: Is the Industry Ready for IAQP? 00:37:51 The Subjective Element: Why Human Perception Still Matters 01:25:09 The Fellows Ecosystem: Networked Air Quality Management 01:16:44 Education as the Testing Ground: The Data Goldmine 01:41:28 The AI Revolution: Natural Language Control of Building Systems