Vox Aeris

Vox Aeris is tackling two interlinked crises in building management: severe indoor air pollution and the unsustainable energy consumption of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems. Indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air, contributing significantly to public health problems and environmental degradation. According to the World Health Organization, poor indoor air quality is linked to 3.2 million deaths annually. Moreover, HVAC systems in non-residential buildings can consume about 40% of a building's energy. Buildings account for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions.

Globally, the inefficiency of HVAC systems is a substantial contributor to energy waste, accounting for a significant portion of a ventilation system's electricity usage through the pressure drop across air filters. More than 8% of a building's entire electricity usage can be traced back to its air filter configuration. As a result most buildings where we spend our lives in opt for lower grade, less dense air filters that use much less energy but also deliver less air filtration efficiency. The inefficiencies in air filter design has created a detrimental incentive for buildings to choose lower cost solutions at the expense of occupant health. The operational costs of air filters, primarily due to their energy-intensive nature, represent about 80% of their lifetime costs. With millions of commercial buildings worldwide, the potential to reduce carbon emissions and energy expenditure is immense.

Vox Aeris offers a pioneering solution to these problems by integrating an acoustic-powered pre-filtration stage in HVAC systems. This technology aims to reduce the pressure drop, allowing for higher-grade filtration without the associated typical energy penalties. 

Our solution could dramatically lower the energy consumption associated with air filtration in buildings, reducing both operational costs and carbon emissions. By making high-grade air filtration more accessible and efficient, Vox Aeris not only addresses the urgent need for better indoor air quality but also contributes to the broader goals of climate change mitigation. This alignment with global sustainability initiatives presents a clear, actionable opportunity to impact public health and energy usage on a significant scale.

According to WHO, 99% of the world's population is breathing air that exceeds safe limits. We also spend 90% of our lives indoors, meaning that any improvement in indoor air quality is likely to have an immeasurable positive impact on a very large portion of the global population.

Our solution is designed primarily for building owners and managers, particularly in urban commercial environments. These stakeholders are responsible for maintaining safe and efficient building operations, including air quality and energy management. Currently, they face significant challenges due to the high costs and technical barriers associated with upgrading to more efficient and healthier HVAC systems. Our solution also indirectly benefits a broader demographic: the millions of people who work, live, or spend significant time in these commercial buildings, including employees, residents, and visitors, who are often underserved in terms of air quality and environmental safety. 

Many building operators use lower-grade HVAC filters due to the high energy costs associated with higher-grade options. This practice persists despite the well-documented health risks associated with poor indoor air quality, such as respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems, cancer, dementia, and heightened risks during events like the COVID-19 pandemic. These populations are underserved by current technological solutions that fail to balance cost, efficiency, and health benefits effectively.

Vox Aeris specifically addresses these needs by aiming to decrease the energy required to maintain high indoor air quality. Our solution has the potential to lower the total cost of ownership of HVAC systems, making it financially feasible for more buildings to adopt higher-grade filtration. Enhanced air filtration significantly reduces occupants' exposure to harmful particulates and pollutants, thereby reducing health risks associated with poor indoor air quality. This change is crucial in urban areas, where pollution is a persistent problem. 

Beyond the direct financial and health benefits to building operators and occupants, Vox Aeris can contribute to wider community and societal benefits by promoting cleaner urban environments. Reducing the energy footprint of buildings plays a critical role in mitigating urban heat islands and overall city-level carbon emissions, thus supporting public health and climate resilience initiatives.

By adopting our system, buildings may not only enhance their operational efficiency but also position themselves as leaders in sustainability and occupant health. This dual benefit creates a compelling case for stakeholders at all levels—from individual facility managers to municipal leaders—to invest in better HVAC solutions.

Our team at Vox Aeris is currently comprised of a technical solo-founder and an expert team of advisors. We are currently aiming to expand the team.

The team is uniquely positioned to deliver our solution, not only because of our technical expertise but also due to our deep understanding and connection to the communities we aim to serve. Our leadership and team members have firsthand experience with the challenges these communities face, particularly in urban environments where poor air quality and energy inefficiency are prevalent.

The design and implementation of our solution are deeply informed by ongoing dialogues with these urban communities. We have conducted interviews and consultation sessions with local building managers, HVAC professionals, and residents, who are directly impacted by the quality of their living and working environments. Their feedback has been instrumental in shaping the development of our technology to ensure it addresses real and specific needs, such as the ability to retrofit existing infrastructure without invasive and costly overhauls.

In addition, our advisory and mentorship team includes experts in aerosol science and the construction industry, many of whom have spent years working on projects that intersect closely with public health and urban development. Their insights help ensure that our solution aligns with both the technical requirements and the community's priorities for healthier, more sustainable living spaces.

Vox Aeris is committed to a participatory design process, where community feedback continues to guide the evolution of our technology. This approach ensures that our solutions remain relevant and effectively integrated into the environments where they are deployed. By maintaining close ties with community leaders and stakeholders, and by involving them in the iterative development of our technology, we ensure that our innovations are not only scientifically sound but also contextually adapted to the needs of the people they are designed to help.

This blend of technical acumen, personal experience, and community integration places Vox Aeris in a strong position to deliver a solution that is not only innovative but also empathetic and aligned with the communities' goals for a better, healthier environment.

We are currently positioned at Technology Readiness Level 3 and engaged in an intensive Research & Development phase, with prototypes developed at smaller scales for a consumer version of the product.

Our comprehensive market research has refined our initial concept direction from a small-scale residential consumer product to a commercial-grade pre-treatment device. This strategic shift is underscored by our identification of a target beachhead market that can benefit significantly from our technology—preventing costly infrastructure upgrades mandated by increasingly stringent air quality laws and net-zero objectives.

The commercial adaptation of our technology not only aligns with these regulatory demands but also offers additional incentives for adoption, particularly in the conservative ventilation industry. 

Solve can connect us with industry experts and mentors who provide the rigorous technical validation and feedback necessary for refining our prototypes and preparing them for market readiness. This technical mentorship is crucial as we aim to meet industry standards and customer expectations efficiently.

Access to Solve's vast network of tech innovators, industry leaders, and potential customers is a critical resource for Vox Aeris. These connections can help us navigate the complex market landscape, identify synergistic partnerships, and accelerate our go-to-market strategy. Engaging with this network will facilitate introductions to commercial property managers and building owners—key stakeholders who can pilot and adopt our technology. This can also help us expand our team by finding stakeholders who hold the same passion for access to clean air and sustainable building technologies.

Navigating the regulatory landscape associated with building technologies and air quality standards presents a significant challenge. Solve's resources in legal and regulatory guidance can clarify compliance requirements. This support is invaluable for ensuring that we adhere to international health and safety regulations.

Adopting new technologies often requires changing long-established behaviors and practices, particularly in the building management sector. Solve's emphasis on community-driven innovation can provide Vox Aeris with insights and strategies to effect cultural change, encouraging the adoption of sustainable technologies by demonstrating their long-term economic and health benefits.

By engaging with Solve, Vox Aeris aims to leverage these opportunities to overcome the specified barriers effectively and enhance our solution’s impact on a global scale. This partnership will not only advance our technological and market development but also amplify our contribution to sustainable building practices worldwide.

Vox Aeris’s innovative approach to HVAC systems with the integration of acoustics technology significantly disrupts current standards for managing indoor air quality and energy use in buildings. This approach has the potential to reduce the energy required to maintain high air quality, thus addressing a major inefficiency in traditional HVAC systems. This can allow the implementation of high-grade filtration without the prohibitive energy costs traditionally associated with such systems. It disrupts the norm where many buildings opt for lower-quality air filtration due to the high operational costs of better filters. By making high-grade air filtration more economically and operationally viable, Vox Aeris aims to set a new industry standard, potentially driving widespread adoption and encouraging the market and regulators to reimpose standards for indoor air quality and energy use.

Moreover, there are practical challenges associated with upgrading to high-grade filters that go beyond cost. In many instances, upgrading a building’s HVAC system to accommodate high-grade filters involves significant and costly structural changes, such as resizing ductwork, which many buildings are unable to accommodate. Our solution could sidestep these physical and financial barriers by enhancing existing systems with our pre-filtration technology, thus offering a transformative improvement in both air quality and energy efficiency without the need for extensive renovations.

This comprehensive approach not only makes superior indoor air quality accessible but also catalyzes a shift towards more sustainable building management practices. By demonstrating that high air quality can be achieved alongside energy efficiency, Vox Aeris aims to influence both market and regulatory standards, promoting a significant shift towards environmentally friendly practices in the building industry. This aligns with global sustainability goals and public health improvements, setting the stage for a major paradigm shift in how air quality and energy consumption are managed in commercial environments.

Vox Aeris is built on a robust theory of change that aims to create a significant impact on the problem of inefficient HVAC systems and poor indoor air quality in commercial buildings. 

When the product advances to the piloting and user stages, the immediate output of installing our systems will be the reduction in energy usage by HVAC systems, which can be quantitatively measured through reduced electricity bills and lower carbon emissions. The expected longer-term outcomes for our target population include health improvements by ensuring that indoor air quality matches WHO guidelines. We anticipate a decrease in health issues associated with poor air quality. Numerous studies show that improved air quality significantly reduces the incidence of asthma and other respiratory conditions while reducing the risk of developing other serious diseases that has been linked to chronic particulate matter exposure.

Another benefit is cost savings, by lowering the energy consumption that typically comes with upgrading a filter's grade, which translates directly into cost savings for building operators, making it economically viable to maintain higher air quality standards. The other benefits are environmental, by reducing the energy footprint of buildings, contributing to broader climate action goals by decreasing overall carbon emissions, aligning with the Paris Agreement's objectives to mitigate climate change effects.

The logical framework for Vox Aeris’s impact involves direct interventions that lead to measurable improvements (energy and air quality) and result in significant health and environmental benefits. 

Vox Aeris has set ambitious goals to transform building management practices by significantly reducing energy consumption and improving indoor air quality. The first goal is to decrease the energy used by HVAC systems in commercial buildings by up to 9%. This reduction is critical in minimizing carbon footprints and aligns with the urgent actions advocated by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, which focuses on combating climate change and its impacts. Another core goal is to meet or exceed WHO guidelines for indoor air quality in our client installations, contributing to good health and well-being (SDG 3) by reducing the prevalence of diseases linked to indoor pollution.

To track progress towards these goals, Vox Aeris will employ several methods. Energy consumption will be monitored and reported through client utility bills and system analytics before and after the installation of our technology. This real-world data will validate the energy savings claimed and help in system performance optimization. Air quality improvement will be quantified using sensors and air quality monitoring systems that measure the concentrations of PM2.5, CO2, and other pollutants indoors. These measurements will be compared against WHO standards to assess the improvements achieved.

By leveraging these indicators and aligning them with globally recognized sustainability goals, Vox Aeris can effectively measure and communicate its impact, facilitating ongoing refinement of its technology and proving its benefits to investors, customers, and regulatory bodies. This structured approach to impact measurement will ensure that Vox Aeris remains focused on achieving significant, measurable improvements in public health and energy efficiency in the building sector.

1 technical solo founder and 5 advisors.

Vox Aeris is focusing on a B2B model through a strategic alliance based on device sales and a continued maintenance and data service.