Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) News & Trends

The Brees Dream Foundation announced the launch of a new educational facility in Kenner, Louisiana, USA, for training Louisianans in the skilled trades for construction. The BuildStrong Academy of Greater New Orleans will provide its training programs at no cost to students. Citing the severe labor shortage here and throughout the country, officials said the purpose of the academy is to teach construction trade skills to anyone seeking a new career path and place them into well-paying jobs. Fr...

While some students aren’t interested in the occupations on their high school career aptitude assessment, that was not the case for Diana Soto-Marengo, Focus Factory Manager at Thermo King’s Arecibo, Puerto Rico manufacturing facility. On her test results, industrial engineering was a career option, and it stood out for her because it was a blend of people-facing, technical, and project management. She decided in high school to be an engineer. Then she set out on a path toward her f...

Governments around the world are introducing legislation to move towards net-zero carbon emissions by the Year 2050. In light of this, the AEC industry is capitalizing on previous work and pushing the conversation forward through the ever-growing number of net-zero carbon projects. One of the biggest hurdles in the way of the AEC industry’s push towards decarbonization is energy consumption. Experts estimate that nearly one-third of all energy consumption is wasted. This has serious impli...

National Air Duct Cleaners Association - NADCA, the HVAC inspection, cleaning, and restoration association, welcomes Charles Cochrane back to its Board of Directors. Charles Cochrane was officially inducted at NADCA’s 33rd Annual Meeting & Exposition, which took place in Aurora, Colorado, USA, from March 20 to March 22, 2022. Charles Cochrane is currently the President of Cochrane Ventilation, Inc., a renowned commercial ventilation cleaning and indoor air quality firm that was founde...

Carrier Transicold has announced that it is bringing powerful new capabilities to its Lynx Fleet open ecosystem, which is now available for over-the-road owners, operators and leasing companies, in order to provide a new level of visibility, data and actionable insights, across their entire portfolio, so they can optimize their fleet and business operations. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the global provider of healthy, safe sustainable and intelligent building and...

Bluon, Inc. the fast-growing company committed to bringing unparalleled innovation to the HVAC industry by empowering HVAC technicians,  announced the promotion of Drew Eckman to senior vice president.  With this new appointment, Eckman officially joins Bluon’s senior management team and will lead the company’s sales team and overall go-to-market efforts. Role and responsibilities Eckman, who has been with the company for over two years following a successful legal caree...

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Johnson Controls have signed an agreement that commits more than CAD 125 million to accelerate private sector decarbonization retrofit projects across Canada. Agreement details The agreement sees the CIB investing up to CAD 100 million toward commercial, industrial, manufacturing, and multi-residential buildings leveraged through Johnson Controls OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings as a Service offering. The CIB's financing represents 80 percent of the overal...

It’s not what users can see indoors that worries building managers. What they can’t see is just as dangerous. This is true for office buildings, classrooms, and medical clinics. In any indoor environment, what is invisible to the eye can impact the respiratory system and affect the health of building occupants. The pollutants in the air users breathe have both short- and long-term effects. Therefore, improving indoor air quality is a smart IAQ investment. Investment in IAQ Pays O...

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned company for smart, healthy and sustainable building solutions, has leveraged its Silent-Aire solutions, in order to offer the industry’s first hyperscale data center platform, which is focused on helping cloud providers to meet ambitious sustainability targets. The Johnson Controls Data Center Solutions platform delivers innovative solutions that conserve water and reduce energy consumption, including air-cooled chillers, liquid cooling, combination...

Baxi (Baxi Heating) apprentice service engineers took part in a week-long team building course, designed to develop the next generation of installers, with activities that focused on personal development and problem solving. The team building program was tailored to Baxi’s visions and values, with apprentices undertaking team-based exercises linked to their Level 3 Domestic Service Engineering apprenticeship scheme. Team building program for apprentices During the week spent at SKERN Tr...

Samsung’s new Light Commercial (CAC) single-zone systems offer 9 types of indoor units, ranging from 9,000 to 48,000 Btu/h, to provide solutions for almost any application.  Energy Star® certified system With increasing decarbonization and electrification efforts, Samsung put a strong emphasis on high cooling performance, heating capacity, efficiency ratings, and features. Many systems are Energy Star® certified and qualify for numerous energy rebates and programs including...

Indoor air quality (also known as IAQ) has become a major public health concern. It is essential for comfort and general health. Indeed, many undesirable substances are concentrated in the homes, which are often insufficiently ventilated.  So, does this mean that air conditioning is an effective solution for improving indoor air quality? commonest pollutants in indoor air Usually, the following substances can trigger respiratory allergies and more serious diseases: Damp, which encoura...

The Eurovent Product Group ‘Commercial Refrigeration Equipment’ (PG-RDC) has published an updated version of the Recommendation 14/6 – ‘Interpretation of Regulation (EU) 2019/2018 and Regulation (EU) 2019/2024’. The updated version comes after one year of the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling requirements for refrigeration appliances with a direct sales function entering into force. Achieving the energy-saving targets  The updated version, which provides an i...

Panasonic Heating & Cooling Solutions is launching its brand new, stylish Graphite Grey units to the Etherea with nanoe X technology range of air conditioners, available in capacities 2kW – 3.5kW. Designed to blend seamlessly into the most stylish homes, the latest Etherea AC units joins the existing silver matt and pure white matt units, in order to give customers a wider choice to suit more interior home décor needs. Heating and cooling to suit varied homes The high-quali...

People have been asking this question a lot more lately, and Ecotricity can completely understand why. It seems counterintuitive that the cost of clean green energy should be going up just because of the cost of polluting brown energy. Ecotricity's founder Dale Vince has addressed this in his recent podcast, here are two of the main reasons why they are in the place. Covering the cost of policy failure Ecotricity has recently been hit with additional costs of nearly &pou...

Even as vaccination rates increase and case numbers decline, COVID-19 remains a serious threat. The safety of workers, students, patients, and all building visitors remains a top priority for building managers. New in-building traffic patterns and room occupancy guidelines are now permanent. Increased cleaning and disinfecting are the new normal. Importance of clean HVAC systems For ventilation, clean HVAC systems play a vital role in controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus, as well as o...

Chubu University, Tokai University, Tohoku University School of Medicine, and DENSO Corporation have found that monogalactosyl diacylglyceride (MGDG), a component contained in the chloroplasts of a microalga called Coccomyxa sp. KJ has a virucidal effect against COVID-19. Coccomyxa sp. KJ Coccomyxa sp. KJ is a fast-growing, vigorous, and easy-to-cultivate microalga. The plant contains not only abundant nutrients, including vitamins and amino acids but also unique characteristics, such as...

Tero Helpiö, the Global Product Manager - IEC Low Voltage Motors at ABB, explains how IE5 synchronous reluctance motors and variable speed drive packages can improve the energy efficiency of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, in order to help cities reach their sustainability targets. HVAC systems worldwide rely on millions of low-voltage (LV) electric motors to run pumps, fans and compressors. However, there is a price to pay, in terms of energy consumption and asso...

The New Inn Pub in Warwickshire, a community-owned pub dating back to 1750, needed a new approach to heating and cooling, so as to create a welcoming and pleasant environment for its customers. Panasonic Etherea air conditioning units with nanoe X technology were recommended as the ideal solution, by installer - Oli Thorndale of Thorndale’s Heating & Cooling. The residents of the small village in Norton Lindsey, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, purchased the pub in 2016, to maintain its...

Johnson Controls, the global pioneer for smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, celebrates a milestone as the Xaap Compliance Reporting Platform surpasses one million building inspections. Since 2018, facility managers and their teams have used the Xaap compliance reporting software to test nearly 55 million individual building devices, including fire alarms, extinguishers, security devices, sprinklers, and other systems across North America.  Improving building safety and&n...

ENERGAIR, the sustainable compressed air management arm of Belgian-based compressor controls specialist, CMC, is set to enter the United Kingdom (UK) market, after building the brand in California, one of the United States of America’s most sustainable states. Working closely with CMC’s European team, which is responsible for key brands, including AIRMATICS, SCADAR and Metacentre, ENERGAIR will set out its vision for the United Kingdom, at the upcoming Air-Tech 2022 exhibition, whic...

The Air Conditioning Contractors of Ohio (ACCO) announced the installation of its 2022-23 Board of Directors and Officers. The board was installed at the 2022 ACCO/PHCC Ohio Convention and Expo. The new officers officially took their positions at the association’s Annual Installation Luncheon. President, Scott Mueller, Fairfield Heating & Cooling, will be serving a second year as president. new ideas and energy "With some challenges from 2020 and COVID, 2021 was a better year from s...

CIAT (ClimaCIAT) has introduced a new range of VectiosPower rooftop air conditioning units, operating on R-454B refrigerant, so as to offer customers an optimum application solution. With a GWP of 466, R-454B’s overall carbon footprint is more than 80% lower than HFC R-410A, the refrigerant it replaces. CIAT is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, the renowned global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold-chain solutions. VectiosPower rooftop AC units...

As previously announced, Jørgen Mads Clausen has informed the Board of Directors that he will resign as Chairman of the Board of Danfoss A/S with effect from the Annual General Meeting to be held on March 25, 2022. Clausen will remain a member of the Board of Directors until the Annual General Meeting on March 25, 2022, when his current term expires. The Board of Danfoss A/S nominates the current vice chairman Jens Bjerg Sørensen to succeed Clausen as Chairman of...

Going green is all the rage. And it’s understandable why. They all have a responsibility to care for the world around them for future generations. Users probably already take at least small steps to do things like reduce, reuse, and recycle. Their team at Tassio Temp wants to provide some heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) related ideas to help users go even further. Energy-efficient equipment According to the EIA, the country has started down the right track during the...

The world is changing – and everybody is seeing and experiencing the consequences of that throughout their day-to-day lives. Change has not stopped at the HVAC and plumbing industry, either. Viessmann has devised a very special way to keep its specialist installation and maintenance partners up to date: On March 31 and April 1, 2022, it will be hosting 'Viessmann.live', an event that extensively covers climate and technological change and explores Viessmann system solutions that address t...

Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) aims to encourage businesses to invest in energy saving technologies and machinery (which includes air conditioning, HVAC & refrigeration), in order to help reduce the effects on climate change. The scheme lets businesses claim 100 percent first-year allowances, i.e., tax relief, on investments in certain technologies and products. Advantages of the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme ECA scheme lets the business claim 100% first-year tax relief on inv...

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned company in smart, healthy and sustainable building solutions, together with Matrix, a global technology solutions provider, will equip the new headquarters of the Discount Group, near Tel Aviv, in Israel, with its OpenBlue digital platform technologies, in order to create new possibilities for operational energy efficiency, occupant comfort and sustainability in a dynamic solution. Discount Group’s new HQ One of the leading financial institutions i...

Americans spend on average about 90% of their time indoors, where concentrations of some pollutants are often two-to-five times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. Insufficient ventilation Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic switched into high gear, all eyes have been on indoor air quality. There is a good reason for this too. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) suggests indoor concentrations of some pollutants have increased in recent decades due to factors such as insufficient...

The EME620DD from Ruskin is a newly designed, 6-inch deep, horizontally-bladed, stationary louver designed for generator rooms or other spaces that require safety equipment to continue running during a storm event. EME620DD louver Mechanically-fastened for added strength with double-drainable blades, the EME620DD horizontally-bladed, stationary louver is designed to offer protection against water, air and wind penetration, during severe weather conditions. This high level of wind-driven rain...