Can air safety be improved, while reducing energy costs?

Hospitals are one of the most energy-intensive users in the non-industrial sector. One of the main reasons for this is that air pathogen levels must be tightly controlled, and so far the only way to achieve this has been by using large mechanical ventilation rates. We show that the use of state-of the-art semiconductor devices can achieve similar levels of air pathogen control, but with overall energy use reduced by at least one third. These devices can easily be implemented in both new-build and refurbished hospitals.