ACR Journal

CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai 05 NEWS acrjournal.uk BEWARE FALSE CLAIMS, WARNS AIR QUALITY CHAMPION Some of the methods being used to drive demand for particular technologies in the coronavirus crisis have been criticised by the chair of an influential industry group. Nathan Wood from the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) said there were a lot of false claims being made for dierent technologies with the potential to help tackle the transmission of the virus. He said there would be greater chance of success if more technology providers collaborated to produce full system solutions. “We really need to cut out the BS,” said Wood, who is chair of BESA’s Health & Wellbeing in Buildings group. “Rebranding an old product and giving it a new filter is not innovation. There is a lot of responsibility on the HVAC sector at the moment and we have to be careful about what claims are being made.” He said that people were spending an average of 90% of their time indoors before the pandemic struck – and estimated that figure could well now be as high as 98% (mostly at home) placing even more pressure on the industry to deliver robust indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions. "Rebranding an old product and giving it a new filter is not innovation. There is a lot of responsibility on the HVAC sector at the moment and we have to be careful about what claims are being made" “There is more to this than simply getting the right amount of air into a room,” Wood told a BESA Covid-19 update webinar. “The direction of the airflow is critical for IAQ.” He added that employers needed to give more thought to employees’ working conditions at home. “If you ask someone to work from home that doesn’t mean you can then just forget about your responsibility for their health and wellbeing,” he said. Peter Dyment of filter manufacturer Camfil told the webinar that there was “lots of misinformation doing the rounds”. This included a claim that HEPA filters were not capable of capturing Covid-19 particles, which he said was “categorically untrue”. The virus particles measure between 0.12 and 0.16 microns, which is well within the HEPA range – and the droplets inside which they are transmitted are even larger. He also advised the industry to make sure it was only using filters that were tested to the relevant industry standards. Hillary Spicer of E-CO added that ultra-violet technology could play an important part in neutralising virus particles in the airstream. He said it was routinely fitted to air conditioning and ventilation systems in the US, but most of Europe had been “slow and backward” in the adoption of this approach. “There is no silver bullet – in many cases you will need to combine technologies to get the right outcome,” he added. Our strength is our fast response • Electronic and Pneumatic Control Valves • Liquid Level Transducers • Flap Indicators • Oil Separators • Circular Welded Plate • Heat Exchangers • Shell & Tube Condensers • DX Chillers • Brazed Plate • Heat Exchangers • Capillary Hose • Leak Detection Equipment • Open Refrigerant Pumps • Hermetic Pumps NH3/CO2 • Pressure Vessels • Surge Drums • Liquid Receivers • Economisers • Oil Recovery Systems • Chilled Water/Brine Chillers • Ammonia Spray Chillers • High Pressure Floats • Stop Valves NH3/CO2 • Ball Valves Quality engineering products for NH3, CO2 and other refrigerants from leading European manufacturers