Sub-micron Filtration for Commercial HVAC Systems

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Sub-micron Filtration for Commercial HVAC Systems
Information Briefing on

• Indoor Air Quality is a Public Health Issue

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MERV. Rated Filters

• They are effective on 1 micron and above size
  particles only.
• MERV. rated filters are not effective on
  sub-micron size particles.
• Standard HVAC systems allow for 0 to 1 static
  pressure wc.
• Sub-micron filtration can be achieved through
  HEPA filtration.
• HEPA s can not be used for standard HVAC
  equipment due to their very high static
  pressure.. 1 to 3 wc.
• MERV. rated filters under the ASHRAE 52.2
  standard were designed as a maintenance item, to
  keep the heating coil clean.

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Hospital Acquired Infections are now the Sixth
Cause of Death in the U.S.

• The Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air
  Conditioning Engineers, ASHRAE, published their
  Position Paper, Airborne Infectious Disease.
• This groundbreaking document verifies that
  sub-micron pathogens travel airborne over very
  long distances including through HVAC systems,
  which act as a mixer.
• They document that, Droplet Nuclei, sub-micron
  size pathogens including Influenza, Measles,
  Mumps and TB are transmitted airborne. ASHRAE
  even provides the mathematical model by which
  this occurs.
• All inhabited buildings contain 200,000 to
  800,000 permanently suspended sub-micron
  particles, per liter of air, easily verified with
  a laser particle counter.
• Every cough or sneeze produces upward of 1
  million particles, 200,000 of these are
  sub-micron in size, continually re-infecting air
  space.

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An ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure

• Public Health must consider the new information
  we have regarding drug resistant diseases,
  pandemics, zoonosis and mutating virus.
• Schools, churches, businesss, shopping centers,
  truly any building where people congregate, can
  contribute to the spread of pathogens from one
  individual to another through their HVAC systems.
• Once one family member is infected, the
  transmission moves from that individual to
  others, then to different locations infecting
  other families, and so on.
• Prevention must be the focal point in Public
  Health.

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Schools epicenter for the spread of disease

• Walter Bischoff of Wake Forest University
  discovered that an 8 year-old emitted 20,000 RNA
  copies infecting 60 classmates.
• Low MERV Filter Ratings Many schools have low
  MERV rated filters like MERV 4-6. You need a MERV
  16 or higher to have any real affect on airborne
  viral capture.
• No ultraviolet lights Few schools in the US use
  ultraviolet lights. Schools with UV lights have
  enjoyed lower airborne viral transmission rates
  and higher indoor air quality.
• Dry environments Many schools have 15-25
  relative humidity levels indoors! This is the
  PERFECT environment for airborne viral
  transmissions and contagions.
• Bathrooms with ceiling exhaust fans Most
  bathroom designs do not incorporate floor level
  exhaust vents which is the level where most
  events occur.

• Flu infected children easily infect their
  classmates as they all intermingle. Spread is
  rampant since child have immature immune systems.
  
• Schools now have many good reasons to take a
  vested interest in advocating for clean and
  properly humidified air in the school especially
  in the dry wintertime.
• Leading virologists Peter Wright1, Gabrielle
  Neumann2 and Yoshihiro Kawaoka3 state that flu
  epidemics start in schools
• 1. Professor Pediatrics, Pathology, Microbiology
  and Immunology Chief, Division of Pediatric
  Infectious Diseases Vanderbilt University
  School of Medicine
• 2. Associate Professor Department of
  Pathobiological Sciences School of Veterinary
  Medicine University of Wisconsin
• 3. Professor Department of Microbiology and
  Immunology University of Tokyo

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Air Quality is a Public Health Issue

• Adverse affects of dirty air costs 636 per
  employee per year
• Air affects everybody in your facility
• 90 of the average persons time is spent indoors
• Disease moves through the air
• Particulates damage electronics and machines
• Asthma is particulate induced.
• 
  

Data from Carnegie Mellon School of
Architecture
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New Technology for Indoor Air Quality

• Dramatically improve IAQ
• Curb community acquired infections and hospital
  acquired infections
• Lower cleaning costs
• Limit the destructive power of dust on indoor
  equipment
• Save money while improving quality of life
• Establish you as a trend setter in the IAQ
  business

• Technology is available for improved air quality
• Technology is available to monitor the air
  quality
• Acting to clean up the indoor air pollution will

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Current Status / Trends

• Facilities managers attempting to address this
  issue are left with choosing UV, with the high
  installation and maintenance costs or stand alone
  HEPA ceiling or room units that are even more
  expensive to purchase and maintain.
• HVAC manufacturing companies are attempting to
  develop new solutions to address the necessity
  for preventing the spread of airborne sub-micron
  size pathogens through their equipment.
• The Trane Company just introduced a rooftop
  catalytic oxidization unit to eradicate airborne
  pathogens.

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Air Filtration, the Logical Solution

• Most professionals suggest air filtration as a
  logical solution to the issue of airborne
  sub-micron pathogens.
• Air filtration uses existing equipment and
  thereby is relatively inexpensive.
• Air filtration does not add any chemicals or
  substance that inhabitants might be allergic or
  react to.
• Filters have a very low maintenance cost
• The problem has been that MERV. rated filters do
  not effectively filter sub-micron particles the
  size of known pathogens and HEPA cannot be used
  due to the high static.. until now.

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Containment Filters

• Containment Filters use a very high voltage
  static charge to draw sub-micron particles to the
  fiber in the media, allowing fibers to be far
  apart creating very low static pressure.
• This feature allows for high initial sub-micron
  filtration on every HVAC system, even low flow
  P-Tac units.

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Containment Filter - Complete System

• Containment Filters are manufactured in a variety
  of configurations to meet most HVAC requirements.
  All have low resistance
• A flat pad, lowest cost, for use at return
  registers, or in low flow unit ventilator, P-Tac
  systems.
• A tapered cube for increased surface area, for
  roof top units designed for standard HVAC holding
  frames.
• Bonnet design for floor dryers or fans.
• Custom Configuration includes
• MERV. rated Pre-filter for high dust conditions.

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Simple, Cost Effective, Solution

• The issue of airborne particles and pathogens
  within facilities is complicated, but can be
  addressed.
• The numbers from HAIs / CAIs are staggering.
  These are unnecessary loss of life and cost to
  our medical system.
• Simple, cost effective solutions must be included
  by building managers to address these issues.
• This is a fight we can and must win to address
  the spread of airborne transmission of disease.

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• Contact Information
• Sean Patrick
• [phone]
  sean.patrick_at_sandersfilterscanada.com
  www.sandersfilterscanada.com