JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 06 September 2018 – Change is in the air. Most people anticipate the end of winter with the eagerness of a Labrador puppy who just spotted its owner arriving from work. The end of the sniffle season is warmly welcomed, but is the change of season all that good for us? Surprisingly, spring is not exactly a breath of fresh air.

Springing a surprise

As Robert Larkan, Head of Digital Air Solutions at Samsung South Africa explains, “Temperature and humidity levels, as well as the concentration of gases and chemicals in the air are all affected by changes in the weather. The outdoor climate affects the climate indoors and influences air pollution in your home.”

The beginning of spring in South Africa can be predictably unpredictable. While summer is mostly hot and winter cold, early spring can be either. This kind of erratic weather can cause more frequent headaches, joint pain, tiredness, and even the return of the dreaded cold. The moist air associated with seasonal thunderstorms can also concentrate and break up pollen and pollution into smaller particles which are more easily inhaled deep into the lungs and even trigger asthma attacks. Warm and moist conditions also spur on the release of fungal spores which can set off allergies in some of us. The reality is that every season influences the quality of air in your home and can even affect how you sleep. Fortunately, modern advances in air conditioning do a make a difference.

“Despite the season, you can still control the air around you when you’re indoors. In fact, at Samsung we’ve pioneered technologies that can counter what the seasons blow in. Our air conditioners have an easy filter that captures dust, dangerous contaminants and allergens and a Virus Doctor that reduces certain harmful viruses and bacteria,” says Larkan.

Summer saves the day

South Africa races more quickly to summer than many other countries. There is much less of a transition from spring to the blazing African heat than our friends in the North. Better still, the sunnier weather puts us closer to our comfort zone, which is at around 20 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, we don’t need to sweat to keep cool or shiver to keep warm.

Of course, the more the temperature exceeds the 20 degree-mark, the less comfortable we feel. Air-conditioning becomes a factor once more. This is where Samsung’s Wind-Free technology can come to the rescue. After you’ve selected the desired temperature with Fast Cooling mode, it maintains the ideal temperature without any direct wind by gently dispersing cool and still air through micro air holes for a natural cooling effect. This also negates the stuffiness people feel in artificially regulated temperatures. This can defuse office aircon wars that are commonplace when the summer months hit. At home you feel more comfortable and are more likely to get a peaceful night’s sleep.

Whether spring is in the air or you have that summer feeling, your health and how you feel is impacted by the air around you. Isn’t it great to know you can control it?

Some ways to keep office workers from getting ill is good ventilation. Sick Building Syndrome is a term coined by the World Health Organisation in 1986 and referred to a condition affecting office workers that had no defined source but was marked by headaches and respiratory problems.[iii] While poor ventilation has been seen as one of the major factors in making people ill at the office, innovative technology in air conditioning systems has greatly helped in eradicating this syndrome.[iv]

Robert Larkan, Head of Digital Air Solutions at Samsung South Africa says, “By choosing a Samsung air conditioner with an easy filter that captures dust, dangerous contaminants and allergens* and a Virus Doctor that reduces certain harmful viruses and bacteria**, it can contribute to your health and wellbeing this winter.”[v]

Once the air conditioning is sorted out, there are other actions office workers can take to ensure they don’t catch the latest bug from colleagues. One of the most important aspects of keeping healthy is good hydration.[vi] This means drinking an adequate amount of water every day. Keeping a water bottle on your desk is a good reminder to keep drinking. Limiting caffeine is another wise choice – caffeine can cause your body to dehydrate as well as trigger energy spikes and then crashes, which could negatively impact your body’s immune system.[vii] Eating regular, nutritious snacks throughout the day will keep energy levels balanced.

Of course, good hygiene is important for keeping germs at bay – ensure hands are washed before and after meals and bathroom breaks, as well as after interaction with a person who is ill. It’s not just washing hands that’s important, keeping regularly used devices clean will help to reduce the amount of exposure to germs.

“There are many ways in which people can keep themselves safeguarded from germs this winter, but we believe that a balanced interior temperature has a big impact. Moving from the cold outdoors to a too-warm interior environment isn’t a good idea and Samsung air conditioners incorporate sophisticated temperature controls to ensure this balance is perfect, no matter what the season,” adds Larkan.

If you are ill, the best option for yourself and your colleagues is to take the time to heal, away from the office. With digital technology, there are numerous ways in which office workers can still keep in touch and on top of work-loads remotely, so there’s no good reason to be in the office if you’re ill. Taking the time to heal will assist in keeping stress levels down, which is another highly important aspect of keeping your body healthy.

[i] https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-you-get-sick-in-winter-2015-10#qTvG1CdPCxl29uCx.99

[ii] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8000

[iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sick_building_syndrome

[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796751/

[v] http://www.samsung.com/za/air-conditioners/wall-mount-arxxmsfhgw/AR24MSFHGWKNFA/

[vi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908954/

[vii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2257922/

* Tested in Korea test lab (FITI/KEMTI) and Japan test lab (ITEA). Data has been measured under specific testing conditions and results may vary based on environmental factors.

** Tested in Kitasato Environmental Science Center (Japan)

While legislation has been introduced over the past decade to ensure buildings adhere to more energy efficient design and construction, there are still numerous older homes in the country that simply don’t do the job. This means that warming up a home that’s designed more for a hot climate isn’t as easy as simply closing windows and doors. But, the rising cost of energy is another key consideration that South Africans face every winter – how to keep the electricity bill to a reasonable level while keeping warm.

Mike van Lier, Director of Consumer Electronics, Samsung South Africa, says, “The majority of motorists understand the concept of turning up the heat on their car’s air conditioning on freezing mornings and it’s no different to using your home air conditioning as a heating solution during the cold season. Samsung’s innovative technology ensures that energy efficiency is optimised so that full advantage can be taken of the units on offer.”

In order to ensure heating needs are well taken care of, it’s important to establish how much space needs to be warmed, or the size of the rooms that require heating. Air conditioners are sized according to BTU, which stands for British Thermal Unit and is a measurement for energy. One BTU equals the amount of energy used to raise the temperate of one pound (0.45 litres) of water. This is a calculation that can be done by professionals who will install the units.

“Samsung’s wind-free technology offers a highly sophisticated solution to both heating and cooling. Not only does it ensure temperature is constant, the digital inverter 8-pole consumes only 32% of the energy used by conventional air conditioners,” says van Lier.

Winter is also a time when colds and flu are rife. Keeping your home’s air clean and germ free is therefore essential. A PM2.5 filter captures 99% of ultrafine dust and completely filters all incoming air, while the Easy Filter captures dust, dangerous contaminants and allergens, with Virus Doctor reducing bacteria and viruses by 99%.

Keeping cosy during the winter months, while ensuring electricity bills don’t get out of control means that there may just be a resurgence in popularity of Frank Loesser’s song.

After the December break and a stretch of rest and relaxation, it’s likely your immune system has been given a much-needed boost. But, moving back into the school and work space means you’ll be exposed to far more germs and viruses than at home. Keeping your immune system at optimal levels to keep illness at bay becomes essential.

Harvard Health outlines the fact that your immune system is just that, a system. This means that there’s no one thing that can be done to ensure yours remains healthy or boosted. It all comes down to choosing a lifestyle that will effectively support the health of your immune system. The eight tips on keeping your body in balance aren’t new – you’ll have heard them numerous times: don’t smoke, eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight. If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation, get adequate sleep, take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly and try to minimise stress.

While the tips may seem like mere common sense, they aren’t always easy to achieve. Minimising stress is difficult in today’s fast-paced, always-on world and can have a knock-on effect on all the other activities, such as getting adequate sleep or drinking in moderation. While stress is something that can be managed, it’s not always easy to control. Additionally, it’s very hard to control what type of germs and viruses you’re exposed to, especially in office and school surroundings.

There are some things you can control, however, to give your body the best chance of staying healthy. One of those is your environment. With Samsung’s AR7500 air conditioner featuring the built-in Virus Doctor, you can have a highly sophisticated protection system on hand. It eliminates harmful viruses which cause serious airborne diseases such as flu, H1N1 and even SARS. With the new scare of Australian flu sweeping the world, you’ll want to have something on hand to protect you from attack.

Mike van Lier, Director of Consumer Electronics, Samsung South Africa, says, “It’s a challenge to keep your health and wellness in check – and this is why we create innovative technologies that enhance and ease the lives of people who use them. One of these is put to fantastically effective use in the Virus Doctor. S-Plasma ion technology used in the Super Premium Inverter AR7500 air conditioner, which generates negative ions that eliminate airborne viruses, bacteria fungi, mould and allergens as well as neutralise the harmful active oxygen (OH Radical) for cleaner and healthier indoor air quality.”

The AR7500 can assist in protecting you and your loved ones from airborne viruses, as well as other airborne health threats.