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TICKERS: AAT; AATGF

Unrivaled Low-Cost, High-Impact and Energy Cost Savings Favoring AirTest Novel Solutions for $35B Indoor Air Quality Market
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Richard Cavalli profiles ATI AirTest Technologies, a company with cutting-edge indoor air quality monitors in demand as buildings try to operate safely during the pandemic.

ATI AirTest Technologies Inc. (AAT:TSX.V, AATGF:OTC) finds itself right in the sweet spot of cost-effective solutions meeting indoor air quality standards, saving substantial energy costs, and at the same time improving indoor air quality and helping guard against the pandemic.

AirTest has developed and sells low-cost, high-impact, new ways to monitor air quality and control ventilation to mitigate air quality in schools and large buildings to protect against SARS-CoV-2 and the hazardous smoke from the record number of huge wildfires in California, Oregon and Colorado. Frequently, the company's products can effectively be free or close to free to customers with the many generous rebate programs from utility power providers, and energy savings can be substantial with estimates of about 20% energy saving for power required to operate large ventilation systems. The company has already sold thousands of units throughout North America and is now ramping up to meet what they believe will be record growth.

Even with promising new vaccines on the horizon, the unprecedented need to reopen global economies from the worsening Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly shifting industry fortunes and failures. Schools and businesses need to reopen as soon as possible, but safety from SARS-CoV-2 remains the highest priority.

Pfizer (PFE: NYSE) recently announced claims that its vaccine is 90% effective, but that remains to be seen in a process with several hurdles remaining. The quest for safety from the pandemic is likely to be with us for the long term. It is not known how many people will want to take the vaccine. Some experts believe fewer than 50% of the public will take the vaccine. Pfizer admits that it is unknown how long the vaccine will be effective and how effective it will be against mutations of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines will come and go. . .Covid-19 will probably be an issue for the long term, and new strains of deadly pathogens are a certainty.

Since this and many other viruses are known to be easily and commonly transmitted through the air, indoor air quality is suddenly becoming a very high priority, so high that Credit Suisse reports the indoor air quality industry has skyrocketed from $9.6 billion in 2018 to become a $35 billion industry in the U.S. alone.

Sustainable Buildings

George Graham, president of AirTest, commented, "You can't manage what you don't measure" (a mantra that has great application in relation to COVID-19). Elevating the outside air ventilation levels going to indoor spaces is crucial in limiting this airborne virus. Measurement of CO2 levels can indicate the amount of fresh air delivery to a space like a store, classroom or office. CO2 can be used to assess ventilation levels in occupied spaces because people are the source of exhaled CO2, and the actual level measured can be indicative of how much fresh air is entering the space to dilute the CO2 levels and other contaminants including the COVID-19 airborne virus. By measuring CO2 levels, elevated levels of ventilation to enhance COVID-19 safety protocols can be properly verified and continuously monitored. AirTest manufactures a wide range of CO2 sensors that provide real time measurement of CO2 allowing building managers to properly provide adequate ventilation."

Graham continued, "We have had RFP's for a large number of CO2 sensors to provide measurement in school classrooms. AirTest has successfully installed CO2 sensors over the last number of years in hundreds of school systems in north America including Bellevue and Seattle, Wash., Coquitlam and Burnaby, British Columbia, as well as Garland and Dallas, Tex. The application of CO2 sensors in classrooms allows the facilities managers in school systems to monitor CO2 levels in real time, and the system provides the tools to properly monitor and manage the ventilation systems, ensuring adequate ventilation at all times. When COVID-19 concerns have passed, the CO2 sensors can be used to save energy by modulating outside air ventilation based on actual occupancy in the space. This will ensure that target building code required ventilation rates for good air quality are maintained. The Company has also seen new orders come from other OEM customers as businesses start to reopen. After the anticipated lull in sales activity during the second quarter, sales have picked up briskly in the third quarter."

Large Users Adopting Airtest Solutions

Airtest Technologies announced its TR9277-EO wireless CO2 temperature and relative humidity transmitters are being used as an important part of the COVID-19 phase 3 initiatives for the reopening of office spaces for major Silicon Valley tech companies. A systems integration company, Integrated Building Solutions (IBS), has completed the first installation of the AirTest TR9277 as part of re-commissioning office spaces for reopening. Others are expected to follow soon.

Traditionally, measuring CO2 in a building can be used to control the delivery of outside air to ventilate indoor spaces to ensure proper ventilation. This generally results in significant energy savings due to the elimination of overventilation. These sensors can also measure adequate circulation of fresh air in indoor spaces and are commonly required to be installed in conference rooms to measure space conditions. Jon Sargeant of IBS said, "In these times of COVID-19 concern, the sensors are used to ensure that spaces are ventilated at the highest possible level without compromising building comfort or air quality." Sargeant also explained that existing wired CO2 sensors were installed and wired to the BMS system in the building but as they started to recommission the building, they discovered that many were widely out of calibration.

There were a number of reasons that the AirTest TR9277-EO was selected as part of the IBS strategy for reopening buildings.

  • The wireless transmitters require no wires for power or signal and harvest power from the indoor ambient light, eliminating the need to change batteries.

  • The sensors are easily calibrated in outside air prior to installation and self-calibrate themselves once installed.

The EnOcean wireless protocol used in the TR9277-EO communicates on a totally different radio band than the corporate WiFi infrastructure, which is considered a big security plus.

During the actual installation, the TR9277-EO transmitters were easily calibrated and addressed in the shop and then quickly placed and connected to the building control system on site. For this project,19 sensors were installed and verified functional in one day by a single technician. According to Sargeant, "This installation process would take at least a week had we utilized wired sensor technology and would have likely made the project economically unfeasible."

According to Graham, "We see great opportunity for the application of our self-powered, wireless self-calibrating CO2 sensors as part of COVID-19 reopening of businesses. While there is still concern for the virus, CO2 measurements can ensure the building is being well ventilated. Once the threat has passed, the sensors output can be used to save energy using demand-controlled ventilation."

Building electricity use

About ATI: AirTest Technologies is a green-tech company specializing in sensors that improve commercial building operating efficiency and at the same time create energy savings. These sensors are all based on technical innovations developed in the last ten years and comprise a growing second wave of energy saving technologies that are positioned to make a significant contribution to the sustainable buildings Program. AirTest offers its products to leading-edge building owners, contractors and energy service companies targeting the buildings market. AirTest also provides energy cost reduction solutions to building equipment and controls manufacturers who incorporate AirTest sensor components in their products.

About IBS: Integrated Building Solutions is a master systems integrator that has been providing integration services and solutions using its IBIS software platform for over 20 years in over 24 million square feet of various types of facilities.

Conclusion

ATI AirTest shares trade at about 6 cents in U. S. dollars and support a small market cap of $3.75 million. With strong presence as a leader in air quality monitoring in an explosive $35 billion indoor air quality market, ATI AirTest is uniquely positioned to enjoy greater than expected sales growth with the potential to result in share prices exceeding $1.00 in the next year and substantially higher multiples in future years.

The new incoming Biden administration that encourages "green" initiatives is likely to increase demand for AirTest products even further.

With low-cost, high-impact solutions that work better and save more money than current methodologies, AirTest shares offer the potential to become a valuable growth-producing asset in any investor portfolio.

ATI Airtest shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol AAT and on the OTC Market under the symbol AATGF.

After attending USC, Richard Cavalli served as Securities Analyst and Big Block Trader for Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet from 1967 through 1971. Serial entrepreneur with extensive financial and industry network and experience. Represented several public and private companies providing consulting services and cost-effective Investor Awareness campaigns since 2012. Cavalli creates professional and compliant content and distributes through very effective and proven social media platforms. Cavalli only works with companies providing socially responsible products or services and management that he feels is able and up to the task of success.

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Streetwise Reports Disclosure:
1) Richard Cavalli: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: I am a paid consultant to ATI AirTest.
2) The following companies mentioned in the article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with AirTest Technologies. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.
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5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of AirTest Technologies, a company mentioned in this article.





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