Johnson Controls Economizers

Johnson Controls, a globally renowned solutions provider for smart and sustainable buildings, is offering a high efficiency pleated air filter that provides an affordable solution instead of costly HEPA filtration upgrades. Its MERV 13 performance rating make the filter an excellent upgrade in existing equipment for applications such as hospitals, laboratories and pharmaceutical plants, commercial office buildings, industrial plants, or any HVAC system in which a higher degree of clean air is desired. KOCH Multi-Pleat Green13 filter The KOCH Multi-Pleat Green13 filter can help improve indoor air quality and potentially reduce exposure to COVID-19 virus. The Multi-Pleat Green13, along with other lines of KOCH filter products, support Johnson Controls mission to help make buildings more safe, secure and sustainable. “As buildings re-open, air filtration and other HVAC system components are key to maintaining occupant safety by creating clean, healthy indoor environments,” said Mark Mattingly, Vice President and General Manager, Air Filtration Products, Johnson Controls. Enhanced air filtration capability The Multi-Pleat Green13 offers an increased level of protection over disposable and ordinary pleated filters Mark adds, “We developed the Multi-Pleat Green13 Filter with more than 55 years of air filtration research and development experience so our customers can be confident this product will introduce clean, highly-filtered air into their buildings.” In addition, many facilities are unable to afford costly upgrades needed to install new systems that support HEPA filtration. The Multi-Pleat Green13 offers an increased level of protection over disposable and ordinary pleated filters and can work in the majority of existing ventilation systems. Designed with electrostatically charged synthetic fibers The media in the Multi-Pleat Green13 is produced with a specialized blend of electrostatically charged synthetic fibers for use in extended surface air filtration. This unique fiber configuration ensures greater stability of the electrostatic charge, reduced pressure drop and prolonged efficiencies compared to other filter media. The performance data is based on ASHRAE Test Standard 52.2-2017. The KOCH Multi-Pleat Green13 is a sustainable component of green building development. With its high MERV 13 performance rating, the Green13 can earn points toward LEED certification in the US Green Building Council’s Green Building Rating System.

Having spent the last few months working from our sofas, dining tables and ironing boards, many of us have become accustomed to the world of remote working. But we’ve now arrived at a point where many businesses are starting to reopen their doors or have plans to do so in the near-future. Employers will be hoping that a return to work will prove productive, reinvigorating the workforce and driving growth. To this end, however, they will need to instill confidence by demonstrating how they can keep employees safe and comfortable. Bringing employees back to work will be complex. For a start, businesses have had to implement a large number of new safety measures in response to COVID-19. However, ensuring safety in the workplace goes beyond adhering to social distancing measures and anti-bacterial cleaning stations. Behind the scenes, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) play a crucial role in facilitating a safe workspace. Whether it’s the systems implemented to limit the spread of the virus, the ongoing servicing of these systems or their wider environmental impact, HVAC solutions and facilities managers (FMs) rest at the heart of a safer return to work. Embracing new strategies for clean air Walking in the building through a new automatic door, most office workers will be greeted with a queue for the lifts and plenty of signage reminding you to sanitise your hands and keep your distance. Some may have their body temperature scanned by a thermal detection camera on entry, which could also count how many people enter to ensure numbers are safe. Others could be met with an anti-virus access point that scans your face using facial recognition rather than a pass, and enforces hand hygiene by dispensing sanitiser before the lifts will open.  Behind the scenes, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) play a crucial role in facilitating a safe workspace All of these measures, however strict, are part of the new normal: ‘contactless’ buildings. Designed to limit the potential spread of COVID-19, facilities managers have plenty of options when it comes to keeping people safe. But not all of them are so apparent when entering a building. Some of the most important measures are those we can’t see. A healthy and safe working environment has always relied on a building’s HVAC infrastructure – temperature control, good air flow, and a reliable level of comfort are top of most office workers’ priority lists. But the pandemic has taken this to a new level of importance. As a critical part of their wider health and safety plan, facilities managers can look to identify strategies to increase clean air levels further. This could include increasing outdoor air circulation to decrease pathogen exposure, with smart air handling units. These will enable managers to bring in more outside air to displace potentially contaminated air, by increasing ventilation and air change rates.  Improving Filtration Methods Improving filtration methods is another possibility, by adding additional filters including high efficiency filters and HEPA filters, to trap more particles and increase the percentage of clean air in a building. Portable HEPA solutions are also an option for those who need more flexibility. In addition to air filtration and circulation, it is also possible to use UV-C lighting to effectively ‘disinfect’ the air or surfaces, using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) to inactivate viral microorganisms. These can be installed brand new or retrofitted into existing facilities, to reduce costs for FMs and speed up implementation. These innovative uses of HVAC to limit the spread of infection could have a huge impact on the health and safety of occupants in any building – and this is by no means limited to offices. Within healthcare and laboratory facilities, for example, solutions like room pressurisation, air change rates, humidity and temperature controls are all critical to reduce contamination in the air and on surfaces. A healthy and safe working environment has always relied on a building’s HVAC infrastructure Safety is an ongoing process No matter which HVAC solutions a facilities manager chooses, it’s not a case of installing them and then waving goodbye. As with any good health and safety strategy, constant monitoring is crucial to ensure building occupants are well looked-after – and this also ensures you can get the most out of HVAC investments. For some this means keeping a close eye on how your HVAC equipment runs, to ensure that they’re reaching optimum performance and delivering the best ROI. Working with a partner who can provide continuous service and monitoring is critical, so that the pressure is off FMs themselves. Especially now, having remote monitoring capabilities is an added bonus, so that minor issues can be fixed without an engineer having to visit the site.  For those with smart technologies in place, such as smart connected chillers, FMs may rather be reliant on predictive maintenance and monitoring tools, which use AI and automation to predict issues before they arise, and ensure equipment runs reliably and downtime can be minimised. Whether in person or remotely, good quality service and maintenance of HVAC equipment goes a long way – both to get the best return on investment, and to keep buildings as safe and comfortable as possible. Enabling a smarter and more sustainable workplace HVAC has always been critical to keeping employees happy and healthy at work – but for a long time this has had a negative impact on the planet. Inefficient HVAC systems can give a building a much bigger carbon footprint than it would ideally have.  75% of organizations plan to increase their investment in energy efficiency and smart building technologies Last year, our Energy Efficiency Indicator survey found that 75% of organizations plan to increase their investment in energy efficiency and smart building technologies. The opportunity, then, to overhaul HVAC systems in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 is also an opportunity to invest in more efficient, greener HVAC technologies, built for the future. Taking a holistic approach to your HVAC equipment is the best way to do this, to ensure efficiency gains can be made across an entire building or estate, by connecting intelligent systems. Chillers, for example, with efficiency and intelligence built in as standard can reduce energy use and carbon emissions for a building, or collection of buildings, helping FMs meet energy targets and keeping costs low. Choosing the optimal HVAC system Under current circumstances, the decisions made by FMs are pivotal in enabling business continuity and will ultimately impact building occupants’ comfort and safety. It should therefore come as no surprise that businesses are paying close attention to every move FMs make. Choosing the optimal HVAC system for your building and ensuring regular servicing and maintenance will prove cost-effective and energy efficient. Not only this, but smart HVAC technologies go a long way in enabling a safer, productive and more sustainable working environment. By picking the right tools for the job, businesses of every type can position themselves for growth while remaining as safe and secure as possible.

Johnson Controls, the provider of smart and sustainable buildings, announces the KOCH™ DuraMAX line of air filters. With a range of efficiency ratings from MERV 11 to MERV 16, DuraMAX filters are a smart and safe upgrade from bag filters and other box-style rigid filters and effectively help lower the spread of COVID-19 indoors. The DuraMAX line of filters works alongside other Johnson Controls HVAC products and solutions to help make buildings more safe, secure and sustainable. Indoor air quality solution “Primarily used for large commercial and industrial applications, the DuraMAX line of filters is a superior indoor air quality solution to help a wide range of buildings combat the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne diseases,” said Mark Mattingly, vice president and general manager, Air Filtration Products, Johnson Controls. DuraMAX is an ideal choice in filtration systems with high velocities or variable air volumes “These medium and high-efficiency filters include the DuraMAX 4V and 4VS-16 with an industry-leading MERV 16 rating and low resistance to airflows, allowing customers to save money on energy costs while experiencing the highest levels of filtration.” Tested in accordance with ASHRAE Test Standard 52.2-2017, DuraMAX is an ideal choice in filtration systems with high velocities or variable air volumes. High-Efficiency air filter The high-capacity mini-pleat design allows a nominal 24x24x12 filter to incorporate 194 square feet of filter space, which creates an extremely high dust-holding capacity to significantly prolong the service life of the filter. The DuraMAX 4v is designed to replace almost any competitive high-efficiency air filter in the market. The lightweight, all-plastic frame installs into side-access housings or front-load holding frames and is an ideal choice to replace bag filters and other box-style rigid filters. The durable, all-plastic frame makes the DuraMAX 4v the filter of choice in filtration systems with high velocities, variable air volumes and high moisture, or in areas where the user desires to incinerate the filters after use.