Tampa, FL 10/28/2011 11:01:25 PM
News / Green

Save Energy and Improve IAQ with GREEN AHU Cleaning Program

Part of the GREEN AHU Restoration Pure Air Control Services uses a proprietary steaming and flushing system called PURE-Steam coil cleaning process.

Building Remediation Sciences, a division of Pure Air Control Services, a leading provider of indoor air quality HVAC remediation and mold removal services in the US, provides commercial and residential GREEN AHU Restoration Program aimed at increasing the energy efficiency and improving indoor air quality for its customers. As part of the restoration process our insulation products are GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® for low volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  These products have met the Children and Schools classification, which is the most stringent classification GREENGUARD offers. The closed-cell structure of our insulation has 0 porosity (does not absorb moisture), reduces dust/dirt accumulation keeping mold and bacteria away, creating a safe indoor environment for your employees and building occupants.

 

Part of the GREEN AHU Restoration Pure Air Control Services uses a proprietary steaming and flushing system called PURE-Steam coil cleaning processMost chemical companies today, large and small, are anxious to become greener. They select greener starting materials and use cleaner chemical processes to make environmentally preferred products though there is no authoritative marketplace criteria to identify green, greener, or greenest.  The greenest and cleanest cleaning solution available today for cleaning of air conditioning coils is PURE-Steam, a no chemical cleaning process that creates significant energy savings, improves the environment and promotes healthy indoor air quality.
According to the US Department of Energy (DOE) the “HVAC system accounts for 40 to 60 percent of the energy used in U.S. commercial and residential buildings. This represents an opportunity for energy savings using proven technologies and design concepts”.

A recent article in the ASHRAE Journal entitled Study Verifies Coil Cleaning Saves Energy revealed a $40,000 a year savings from just one air handling system as a result of the restoration of the air handler/coil system at the 1500 Broadway a 34 story skyscraper building in Times Square, New York City home to ABC Studios and Good Morning America.  In addition, the study indicated that they were able to decrease coil pressure drop 14% resulting in a corresponding increase in air flow and increasing the thermal efficiency of the cooling coil 25% while improving IAQ conditions.

As a result of this, many environmental consultants, engineers and architects have requested that the newly installed ductwork be cleaned to ensure good indoor air quality (IAQ) in the building once the HVAC system is turned on in order to achieve US Green Building Council LEED Gold certification program. 

Doug Randall, Remediation Manager for Building Remediation Sciences states that “many of our valued clients are requesting that we assist them in professionally cleaning the HVAC system and provide a QA/QC program to achieve their LEED Gold rating.  They are getting points toward their LEED Gold label by this effort and it’s a great way to achieve a high energy status, an energy savings as much as 15% and improve IAQ helping create a significant economic stimulus.”

Construction projects often create a lot of dust and debris, which can be pulled into the HVAC system, where it will contaminate the inside surfaces of the duct. It is a good idea to clean new ductwork prior to occupancy in new construction facilities and to inspect the air ducts before you start remodeling, reconstruction or installing a new air handling system.  Chances are that the air duct systems have not been cleaned since they were built or if they were they most likely were not done professionally.

Industry performance standards developed by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association require that all interior surfaces of an air duct system be thoroughly cleaned, from the point air enters the system downstream to where it exits at the supply registers, including the air handler, evaporator coil to the return air registers.

 
During the cleaning process the HVAC system must be placed under HEPA fitted negative air pressure, to control dust.  Power brushes and compressed air are utilized to loosen debris being pulled downstream to the high powered 5000 cfm vacuum where it is removed from the system.  In Florida, a contractor must have an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor licensed to clean air duct systems to association standards or to obtain certification as an association air system cleaning specialist.

Call us today about our GREEN AHU Restoration Program. You contact Alan Wozniak or Cy Garner at 1-800-422-7873