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During the 1990’s, John Skardon, co-founder of AirAdvice, Inc., searched for a way to help his wife’s severe asthma problem. He knew she needed to minimize her exposure indoors to particles (such as dust, pollens, and pet dander) that could trigger a life threatening attack, but were too small to detect by sight or smell. John found that existing equipment was expensive and difficult to use.
By 1999, however, he determined that the price of the technology had dropped enough to design and produce an affordable method for measuring indoor air quality. John started AirAdvice, Inc. to help people with asthma and allergies manage their condition. Co-founder Meindert Kleefstra, an electrical engineer, built the first prototypes of the AirAdvice IAQ monitor.
AirAdvice distributed the monitors to homeowners with asthma or allergy problems. Homeowners liked the monitors as an IAQ diagnostic tool, but clearly wanted to purchase a temporary diagnostic service, rather than actual purchase the monitors for continuous use. They were also frustrated by the apparent lack of solutions to the issues identified by the AirAdvice monitors.
AirAdvice ultimately looked to the heating and air conditioning industry as the perfect fit. Heating and air conditioning contractors are uniquely positioned to effectively meet the desires of homeowners through an extensive network of service technicians and their knowledge of and access to indoor air quality solutions
By 2005, AirAdvice saw that their contractors were beginning to do extensive work in commercial applications as well. In 2006 the company introduced their first solution offering dedicated to the commercial market by expanding AirAdvice technology to assess building performance and energy saving opportunities in commercial buildings.
Today, AirAdvice continues to work closely with homeowners, HVAC contractors, facilities managers, and HVAC equipment manufacturers to promote indoor environment quality, building performance and energy savings practices, education, and training.