13 January 2022
|
Hotel lobbies and other high-traffic areas lend themselves to CIAT’s Epure Dynamics automated air purification system
CIAT UK is rolling out its automated indoor air quality (IAQ) system Epure Dynamics for use in hospitality venues, offering hotels, restaurants and pubs enhanced levels of protection as they welcome back customers.
The Epure Dynamic IAQ control system is available on fan coil units and ducted units and is part of #CIAT4life, a campaign to increase awareness of the manufacturer's range of advanced IAQ solutions and services.
Epure Dynamics uses a network of calibrated air quality sensors located around a building to continuously measure the concentration of airborne particulates. If the concentration exceeds a pre-set level, the system activates purification mode, switching on a high-efficiency filtration system.
In purification mode, the system continuously recycles and filters the air until air quality achieves the desired level. The cleaning process uses a filter with 11 times the surface area of conventional filter media and normally takes from a few minutes to half-an-hour, depending on the volume of the space treated and level of contaminants.
Matt Maleki, Carrier and CIAT UK’s IAQ specialist, said, “Following the reduction of restrictions, the focus on improving IAQ and supporting healthy buildings is more important than ever. It is a particular issue in hotels and the hospitality industry due to the density and numbers of people involved. Epure Dynamics addresses this and offers a solution that delivers a higher-quality indoor environment and helps support healthy buildings.”
Epure Dynamics is said to be a major advance on conventional air conditioning that does not always address the problem of particulates, particularly below the size range <2.5µm, which are considered to be most harmful to human health. Once activated, Epure Dynamics rapidly reduces the concentration of airborne particles, achieving the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation for annual load of 10µm/cu m within 20 minutes, and a 90% reduction in PM2.5 particles within 60 minutes [see graph].
Some air handling systems draw particulates into a building from outside, which can be a problem in urban areas with emissions from traffic, and areas with airborne industrial pollutants. While closed-circuit air conditioning systems do not suffer from this problem, they continually recirculate airborne particulates already within a building, and repeatedly expose occupants to new particulates that are constantly being created.
Use of a fine F7 filter on a building’s main fresh air intake will stop around 70% of particulates with a diameter < 2.5 µm. However, airborne particles generated inside a building cannot be processed by the air handling unit in this way, and therefore build up within it, posing a potential health risk for occupants.
The high-purity filters used in Epure Dynamics have a surface area 11 times that of conventional filter systems
CIAT says Epure Dynamics overcomes these issues with a highly-effective and dedicated purification unit equipped with advanced high-efficiency filters. When triggered by its network of sensors, these quickly remove particles from contaminated air throughout the building. The unit tackles particles drawn in from outside as well as those created within the building.
Maleki added: “Importantly, because purification mode is only activated when required, energy consumption by the cleaning system is minimised, ensuring both high-quality indoor air and low energy consumption, with reduced running costs for end users.”
