The energetic crisis is increasing the need to reduce the energy consumption of air filtration and air conditioning installations due to its high energy cost and the need to reduce CO2 emissions.

For this reason, when renovating and designing ventilation and air filtration systems, it is essential to find solutions that reduce energy consumption and its associated cost. The annual energy cost of these installationsis related to the blower and the air conditioner (air heating, cooling or humidifying the air in the work area).

The cost associated to the blower will depend directly on the operating time, and the consumption, which in turn will depend on:

the power and efficiency of the blower,

the air flow to be treated and

the pressure drop.

The last two parameters, the air flow to be treated and the pressure drop, can be adjusted.

The air flow can be optimized by adjusting the ratios of mixing outside and recirculated air.

Moreover, air conditioning costs will also be reduced if more air is recirculated but both indoor and outdoor air quality and pollutants must be evaluated, together with the temperature difference, and humidity.

The pressure drop can be reduced through the correct selection of equipment, filter media and particle filters. The selection of filter media must be adequate for the elimination of polluting gases, however, the selection of a media in the form of pellets instead of spheres will considerably reduce the pressure drop (between 10 and 20% for passage speed between 0,5 y 2,5 m/s), reducing the costs associated with thepower of the blower.

The kWh used by the blower are directly proportional to the pressure drop, meaning that the kWh and their cost will be also reduced by more than 10%.

Equipment selection is another important parameter to consider. The design of the equipment and the type of media to be used must be specific for each case. However, in general terms, equipment with bulk media will generally have a higher pressure drop for a standard passage speed of 0.5 m/s, compared to equipment with modules with filter media in its structure.

the power and efficiency of the blower,

Bulk media equipment typically has a higher bed height.

Instead, modules containing thin layers of media can be used inside side access unit (SAH) type equipment with a lower pressure drop at the standard velocity of between 1.27 to 2.54 m/s.

The pressure drop can be decreased up to 30% by optimizing the equipment design and correctly selecting the filtration media. Having this decrease in pressure drop translates into a decrease in the yearly operation cost due to a lower energy consumption of the blower of over 25 %.

As air filtration experts, we know our equipment, and our media, and we are able to efficiently advise to maximize resources and improve OPEX.