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MAY 2016 | www.hpac.com
Fundamentals of Air Filtration
Managing Your Facilities:
Trends in Data-Center Thermal
Management
Design Solutions: Customization
Keeps Fan-Coil Changeout on
Schedule, Budget
News & Notes: 2016 IAQ
Standard Published by ASHRAE
Health-Care Health-Care Health-Care Health-Care
HVACHVACHVACHVAC• • New Perspectives on Health-Care VentilationNew Perspectives on Health-Care VentilationNew Perspectives on Health-Care VentilationNew Perspectives on Health-Care Ventilation
• • Operating-Room Energy ManagementOperating-Room Energy ManagementOperating-Room Energy ManagementOperating-Room Energy Management
VRF Heating/Cooling
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*as of May 10, 2015
samsunghvac.comCircle 150
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EC effciency now available up to 17.5 hp.
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expanded again. And with the new product line comes a new name: RadiPac. The
RadiPac is available with up to 17.5 hp motor options, intelligent & aerodynamic
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Circle 151
2 HPAC ENGINEERING MAY 2016
MAY 2016 • VOL. 88, NO. 5
INSIDE HPAC ENGINEERING
FEATURES: HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE
12 New Perspectives on Health-Care Ventilation Although the author learned health-care HVAC the way many
designers do—he did projects, read handbooks, followed codes, used
the air-change table, balanced rooms for pressure, specified
controls—today he thinks a lot differently, and he believes it is time for
the health-care HVAC industry to do the same. This article summarizes
some of what led to the change in his views.
By Travis R. English, PE, CEM, LEED AP
HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE
20 Operating-Room Energy Management The operating room (OR) typically is among the greatest sources of
revenue for a hospital and, thus, kept as busy as reasonably possible.
It should come as no surprise, then, that ORs account for a significant
portion of a hospital’s overall energy use. This article discusses the role
of proper surgical-suite environmental control and energy
management in the cost-efficient operation of a hospital and provides
examples of four hospitals in the Southeastern United States that
completed successful energy-efficient environmental upgrades.
By Andre’ LeBlanc
SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES/MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL/HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CARE/
COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDINGS/GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
26 Fundamentals of Air Filtration Air quality is key to achieving acceptable indoor environments. With
so many air-filter technologies and performance-rating methods, it is
essential design engineers and operating personnel understand the
differences between them to make fully informed decisions regarding
air-filtration strategy. This article discusses recent research into filter
performance and shares insights that can be gleaned from that
research.
By Nathan L. Ho, PE
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Managing Your Facilities ................ 4
News & Notes ................................ 6
Design Solutions ............................ 8
New Products .............................. 10
Classifieds .................................. 31
Ad Index ...................................... 32
GALLERY: Vintage HVAC Advertisements, 1941In 1941, the year the United States entered World
War II, print advertising focused intensely on patriotism
and American support, using robust war imagery and
pro-American messages. See for yourself with this
article, which contains a selection of advertisements
that appeared in HPAC Engineering in 1941:
http://bit.ly/ads_1941.
GALLERY: Most Popular HPAC Engineering
Humidity-Control ContentLooking to broaden and deepen your knowledge about
humidity control? Here is your guide to HPAC Engineering’s
most-viewed humidification- and dehumidification-related
content: http://bit.ly/Humidity_Control.
Circle 152
4 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
Managing your FacilitiesBy JoHn Peter “JP” Valiulis, eMerson network Power, westerVille, oHio
Trends in Data-Center Thermal ManagementKeys to superior performance, increased efficiency, and happier customers
In data-center thermal management, five trends are
dominating discussions and driving decisions:
• Cooling the edge.
• Upgrading for capacity and efficiency.
• Water conservation.
• Revolution in thermal controls.
• System-performance accountability and certifica-
tion.
Companies that address the challenges of these
trends will achieve superior performance, a more
productive and efficient environment, and happier
customers.
Cooling the Edge
The growth of colocation and cloud computing
has increased the importance of edge computing, as
companies strive to provide high-bandwidth content,
reduce latency, and enhance the mobile experience.
Remote network closets and server rooms, once a
secondary concern, are higher priorities, with com-
panies seeking visibility into these spaces to ensure
greater system availability.
Information-technology (IT) managers want to
monitor environmental conditions within these
spaces, view the status of equipment, and dispatch
technicians to solve problems remotely. Recovery from
unplanned outages must be quick and hassle-free,
with the time spent by third-party service providers
minimized.
Technology for the remote monitoring of temperature
and humidity and the operating conditions of cooling
equipment in edge spaces exists. What is coming is
access to that information and the ability to manage and
track troubleshooting assignments and workflows on
mobile devices. Mobile management of closet cooling
systems will provide a higher level of protection and
security while allowing the individuals responsible for
the systems to resolve alarms quickly, speed mainte-
nance, and free technicians to focus on other tasks.
Upgrading for Capacity and Efficiency
Emerson Network Power estimates that in more
than 80 percent of enterprise data centers, significant
opportunities to reduce cooling energy costs by 20 to
50 percent exist. Last year, we surveyed IT, facilities,
and data-center managers in the United States and
Canada, learning half plan to upgrade their data-
center cooling systems before the end of 2016
(http://bit.ly/Emerson_survey).
The most common upgrade is the addition of
variable-capacity components (fans and compressors)
to adjust cooling capacity according to IT load. A
10-hp fan running at 100-percent speed, for example,
uses 8.1 kWh of electricity. With a reduction in speed
to 90 percent, the fan uses only 5.9 kWh, a 27-percent
savings. At 70-percent speed, fan usage drops to
2.8 kWh, a 65-percent savings.
In every state, energy rebates from utilities and local
governments, which help to deliver faster returns
on investments, are available. Together, rebates and
efficiency gains can provide payback within months of
a thermal-system upgrade.
Water Conservation
Minimizing the use of water for cooling in data
centers meets not only economic and operational
objectives, but sustainability ones.
We are having many new conversations about
saving water with customers. A recent survey of
engineers we conducted reveals more than half believe
pumped-refrigerant economization will be the No. 1
technology replacing chilled-water systems over the
next five years.
Large air-handling systems, such as indirect evapo-
rative-cooling systems, are saving water. New epoxy-
coated aluminum heat exchangers with relatively large
surface areas allow for high levels of dry-effectiveness.
This means a unit can achieve a desired supply-air
temperature while remaining in dry operating mode
for a relatively long time, minimizing or eliminating the
need for mechanical or evaporative cooling.
Revolution in Thermal Controls
Today’s thermal controls are highly sophisticated and
developed using human-centered design practices to
ensure data is available when and where expected.
These new controls operate at both the individual-
unit and system levels, using advanced machine-to-
machine (M2M) communications, powerful analytics,
As vice president, North America marketing, thermal man-
agement, for Emerson Network Power,
provider of critical-infrastructure technol-
ogies and life-cycle services, John Peter
“JP” Valiulis is responsible for evaluating
new technologies and developing highly
efficient and reliable controls and product
solutions for mission-critical applications.
May 2016 HPAC EnginEEring 5
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Circle 153
and self-healing routines to ensure
greater protection, efficiency, and
insight into thermal conditions and
operations.
By harmonizing cooling systems,
avoiding conflicting operations,
these controls can improve thermal-
system energy efficiency by up to
50 percent compared with legacy
technologies. For example, in an
enterprise data center with 500
kW of IT load and energy costs of
10 cents per kilowatt-hour, annual
thermal-energy consumption can
be lowered from 380 kW to 184 kW,
yielding $171,690 in savings. That
can lower mechanical power-usage
effectiveness by more than 20 per-
cent, from 1.76 to 1.37.
At the cooling-unit level, inte-
grated controls provide a high
degree of protection and optimal
performance. They monitor hun-
dreds of units and components;
include automated routines, lead/
lag, and cascading; and avoid un-
safe operation through self-healing
capabilities.
At the system level, new super-
visory controls offer a way to view
thermal operations across data
centers and ut i l ize mult i -unit
thermal-management routines
to remove heat while achieving
capital and operational savings.
By harmonizing the operation of
multiple units and providing quick
access to actionable data, these
controls can cut thermal-system
energy usage in half and reduce
deployment costs by 30 percent.
System-Performance Account-
ability and Certification
Insights gained from an individ-
ual-component or individual-unit
approach to data-center thermal
management can be misleading. A
comparison of individual compo-
nents may show a performance
difference of 3 percent to 5 percent.
A comparison of individual cooling
units may show a performance
U.S. Department of Energy regu-
lations. This gives manufacturers
consistent standards for ratings and
helps to ensure customers get what
they pay for. States increasingly are
enforcing guidelines as well, as we
see in Title 24 requirements of the
California Energy Commission.
Conclusion
As with most technology evolu-
tion, data centers will incorporate
more advanced technologies at a
lower cost than was possible just a
few years prior. The result will be
superior functionality, more pro-
ductive and efficient environments,
and happier customers.
Did you find this article useful?
Send comments and suggestions
to Executive Editor Scott Arnold at
Managing your FaCilities
difference of 5 percent to 7 percent.
Depending on how well the units
interact and work with each other
through built-in M2M communi-
cation and advanced algorithms,
however, the performance differ-
ence may be as much as 30 percent.
Advanced tools that model perfor-
mance and estimate costs enable
this type of system-level analysis
and comparison.
Another trend in system perfor-
mance is testing standardization and
certification. In the past, there was
no certifying body or government
organization bringing accountability
concerning reliability and efficiency
to the data-center-cooling market.
Today, the Air-Conditioning, Heat-
ing, and Refrigeration Institute cer-
tifies the capacity and efficiency
of data-center cooling equipment
based on ASHRAE standards and
6 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
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Airborne dust and debris, microbiologicalgrowth, pollen and other materials collect in cooling towers. Combined with calcium carbonate, magnesium silicate, rust, ironchips, scale and other corrosion by-products,they reduce heat transfer efficiency.
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Circle 154
Requirements concerning
mul t i fami ly res ident ia l
dwellings, environmental
tobacco smoke (ETS), and opera-
tions and maintenance are among
changes to ASHRAE’s indoor-air-
quality standard.
The newly publ ished ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016,
Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor
Air Quality, sets minimum ventila-
tion rates and other requirements
for commercial and institutional
buildings.
“The latest version of Standard
62.1 contains changes that affect
high-rise residential spaces, the
indoor-air-qual i ty procedure,
laboratory exhaust, and demand-
control ventilation,” Hoy Bohanon,
chair of the Standard 62.1 com-
mittee, said. “Designers and users
of the standards who are involved
with those spaces or processes will
benefit from using the up-to-date
requirements.”
Multifamily-residential-dwelling
spaces have been removed from
the standard and now are covered
under ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable
Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise
Residential Buildings, Bohanon
said. Areas outside of the dwelling
space, such as corridors, lobbies,
fitness rooms, and retail, remain
covered by Standard 62.1.
Other major changes include:
• Revision of the definition of
ETS to include emissions from
electronic smoking devices and from
the smoking of cannabis.
• Revision of operations-and-
maintenance requirements to more
closely align with the requirements
in ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180-
2012, Standard Practice for Inspec-
tion and Maintenance of Commer-
cial-Building HVAC Systems.
• The addition of requirements
for determining minimum ven-
tilation rates by considering the
combined effects of multiple con-
taminants of concern on individual
organ systems.
The cost of Standard 62.1-2016
is $84 for ASHRAE members and
$99 for non-members. Copies can
be ordered by phone at 1-800-527-
4723 (United States and Canada)
or 404-636-8400, by fax at 678-539-
2129, or online at www.ashrae.org/
bookstore.
FROM THE FIELD NEWS & NOTES
2016 IAQ Standard Published by ASHRAE
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Circle 155
8 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
FROM THE FIELD DESIGN SOLUTIONS
effect’ of sorts, impacting everything
from the architectural renderings to
the furniture.”
According to Vorac, each unit was
required to have fresh-air-intake
capabilities, something not available
with standard fan coils.
“Overall energy savings was
a high priority for this project, as
these were some of the most energy-
intensive buildings on campus,”
John Flemming, mechanical engi-
neer and project manager for Rock
Island, Ill.-based KJWW Engineer-
ing Consultants, explained.
According to Flemming, the exist-
ing mechanical systems were using
100-percent outside air to ventilate
indoor spaces and exhaust air up to
the roof. To make distribution more
efficient, he and his team specified
a glycol runaround coil that would
bring fresh air indoors. The coil
would work in conjunction with the
outside-air openings designed as
part of the custom fan-coil cabinets.
“This design enabled us to distrib-
ute fresh air to all floors much more
efficiently,” Flemming said.
Installation of the IEC fan-coil
units was executed floor by floor.
“This was a complete tear-out job,
which was efficiently managed in
stages by tackling and completing
one floor of the building at a time,”
Vorac explained.
Based on experiences with the
first tower, the project team com-
missioned custom aesthetic panels
for the units in the second tower to
cover gaps resulting from differ-
ences in size between the existing
units and replacement units.
“With the renovations, the build-
ings now feature three dorm-room
layouts, so we decided to customize
fan-coil-unit designs for each room
type,” Flemming said. “One 3-ft-
6¼-in. unit was specified for each
corner room, while two 5.2-ft-¾-in.
units would be installed in the two-
window rooms, and a singular 7-ft-
¾-in. unit would go into the one-
window rooms.”
Further customization of the
cabinet designs was provided to
accommodate specially developed
IEC valve packages required for the
unusual installations.
“We’ve seen a significantly faster
installation, which translates to hard
dollars and cents because we’re
not waiting on any outside suppli-
ers,” John Lauer, project superin-
tendent for Cherry Valley, Ill.-based
Ringland-Johnson Construction,
said. “When you’ve got a supplier
making custom units and providing
components like pre-fabricated end
panels, you just have to hope it’s all
going to come out uniform and look
intentional. IEC definitely delivered
on this, and everything looks very
cohesive.”
Vorac added: “I don’t think there’s
another manufacturer that could
have gotten this right. It was a com-
plex job with many specials required
to get it done.”
Information and photograph courtesy
of International Environmental (IEC).
As part of a multiyear renova-
tion, Grant Towers, which
consists of four 12-story
residence halls, on the campus of
Northern Illinois University (NIU)
in DeKalb, Ill., received complete
upgrades of its mechanical systems
to improve both energy efficiency
and occupant comfort.
Vertical fan-coil units in two of
the residence towers were replaced
with 740 200- to 600-cfm-capacity
Vertical Floor Series fan-coil units
from International Environmental
(IEC). The triangular shape of the
50-plus-year-old buildings pre-
sented a significant challenge, as it
created odd exterior walls for instal-
lation. IEC’s customization capabili-
ties were key to keeping the project
on track in meeting scheduling and
budgetary goals.
“Without the ability to customize
the fan-coil-unit sizing, NIU would
have had to go in a completely differ-
ent direction with the project,” Jake
Vorac, vice president of Mechani-
cal Sales Inc. in Davenport, Iowa,
said. “It would have been a ‘waterfall
Customization Keeps Fan-Coil Changeout on Schedule, BudgetUniversity updates residence quad for efficiency
Vertical Floor Series fan-coil units
improve energy efficiency and
occupant comfort in Grant Towers.
CREATE A WARM WELCOME
IN EVERY ROOM
To learn more about our industry-leading home heating solutions, visit us at rinnai.us
Whether your customers need whole-house
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option for home and water heating, Rinnai
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world of pleasant possibilities.
From the effi ciency of Rinnai’s Condensing
Boilers to the big-comfort, small-space
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Circle 156
10 HPAC ENGINEERING MAY 2016
30-percent
to 50-per -
cent reduc-
tion in motor
losses and
a 5-percent
to 20-per -
cent reduction in energy use compared
with NEMA Premium induction motors.
NovaTorque motors are compatible
with all leading brands of variable-
frequency drives. They are produced in
NEMA dimensions for easy substitution.
— NovaTorque Inc.
www.novatorque.com
Heat exchangerThe BPX 2-in. brazed-plate
heat exchanger offers the
highest level of leak protec-
tion, safety, and thermal
efficiency for commercial-
building and water-heating
applications. Four dedi-
cated leak-detection ports
and a complete double-
wall plate design provide
unique air-vent paths that ensure pre-
mium leak protection, while a true dedi-
cated air gap ensures system control.
Other features include stainless-steel
plates that are vacuum-brazed together
to form a durable, integral piece that
can withstand high pressure and tem-
peratures and a complete peripheral
braze that provides additional mechan-
ical strength and durability.
—Bell & Gossett, a Xylem brand
http://bellgossett.com
Smart food-store solutionDanfoss Smart Store enhances food
safety and lowers energy bills through in-
tegrated
cont ro l
of refrig-
eration,
H V A C ,
lighting,
and other applications, connecting and
optimizing supermarkets from case to
cloud. It comprises several features
that significantly reduce the energy used
by refrigerated display cases and freez-
Air handlerThe Performance Climate Changer air
handler provides energy efficiency,
good indoor-air quality, and quiet per-
f o rmance ,
a long with
the ab i l i t y
for full inte-
gration into
a building management system. Indoor
and outdoor units in a variety of sizes
and configurations are available to pro-
vide the features and options needed
to meet project budgets, specifica-
tions, and time lines. Performance Cli-
mate Changer air handlers incorporate
component flexibility, integrated con-
trol options, and proven performance
to quietly heat and cool buildings with
clean, humidity-controlled air.
—Trane
www.trane.com
Filtration systemsC l e a n A i r e
HEPA and Car-
bon Filter Paks
are designed
to be mounted
inline in the ex-
haust ducting
from a fume hood or contaminant source
up to 1,500 cfm. The systems include
a galvanized-steel housing with hinged
and gasketed access door for filter chan-
geout and molded composite-resin inlet
and outlet plenums with duct-connection
collars sized to meet specification. Both
filters include a 30-percent pleated pre-
filter. They can be paired for applications
requiring particulate and fume removal.
—HEMCO Corp.
www.hemcocorp.com/cafs.html
Electronically commutated motorsNovaTorque has introduced 2,400-rpm
versions of its 3-hp through 15-hp perma-
nent-magnet electronically commutated
motors with rated efficiencies of 93.5
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Why We Should Re-think Health-Care Ventilation
When it comes to energy, hospital buildings are
behind the times—to an increasingly embarrassing
extent. Hospitals use two to three times the energy of
other commercial buildings and are hardly the good
examples of environmental responsibility and public-
health awareness their owners want them to be.
Energy is an operating cost, falling under “affordabil-
ity of care.” A new approach to ventilation could be an
opportunity for 20-percent to 30-percent energy savings
in acute-care spaces, more in some outpatient spaces.
For my employer, that is worth about $30 million and
130,000 metric tons of carbon a year.
Red herrings. Three years ago, I might have said most
hospital energy goes to plug loads, equipment, and
lighting. After all, hospitals are full of equipment and
run 24 hours a day seven days a week.
I since have learned ventilation is unquestionably
the largest consumer of hospital energy. Two-thirds
to three-quarters of a hospital’s energy goes to HVAC
systems. Often, the biggest end use is HVAC reheat.
In many cases, a hospital could cut its plug or lighting
energy in half and realize only 5-percent energy
savings.
TBy TRAVIS R. ENGLISH, PE, CEM, LEED AP
Kaiser Permanente
Anaheim, Calif.
Three years ago, if you would have asked me to
describe health-care HVAC, I would have given the
everyman answer: “We move ample air to prevent
disease transmission. We control temperature and
humidity very tightly to control mold and bacteria.
We use high-efficiency filters and space pressure.
We do all of this to reduce risks of cross-contamination
and to keep patients safe.” I may even have noted
20 percent to 30 percent of hospital-acquired infections
come from air, even though, at the time, I did not know
the source of those numbers (today, I do know, and I
do not repeat that statistic anymore).
Although I learned health-care HVAC the way
many designers do—I did projects, read handbooks,
followed codes, used the air-change table, balanced
rooms for pressure, specified controls—today I think
a lot differently, and I believe it is time for the health-
care HVAC industry to do the same. This article
summarizes some of what led to the change in my
views.
New Perspectives on Health-Care Ventilation
How an experienced engineering manager arrived at a new way of thinking about health-care HVAC
Travis R. English, PE, CEM, LEED AP, is engineering manager for health-care provider Kaiser Permanente’s National
Facilities Planning group. He has more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction administration of
mechanical and power-distribution systems for institutional, commercial, laboratory, and health-care facilities. His
experience encompasses renewable-power systems, net-zero-building design, and building control systems.
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Three years ago, I might have
said a big fraction of a hospital’s
energy goes to operating rooms
(ORs). ORs are energy-intense
and an opportunity for savings,
but, when looking at a portfolio of
hospitals, I realized ORs are only
a fraction of a hospital’s footprint.
Their contribution to hospital
energy use is oversized, but not the
majority. It is safe to say most of the
energy hospitals use is consumed
outside of ORs.
Equipment, l ights, and ORs
all represent opportunities for
savings, but none of them, alone or
in combination, can move the needle
more than 10 percent to 15 percent.
To significantly reduce the energy
footprint of hospitals, we must look
at HVAC outside of the OR.
Looking to 2030. State energy
codes and national energy stan-
dards are moving to net-zero and
should be there in 10 to 15 years.
As a goal, net-zero makes sense
for health-care buildings. You could
build a net-zero hospital right now,
if you added a massive on-site
generation plant. But for a broad
movement toward net-zero health
care, building consumption needs
to be reduced. It will be sad if
2030 comes and new commercial
buildings—except health care—are
net-zero.
Where We Are
Facts. A lot of what will follow
is challenging. So, let’s start by
acknowledging some commonly
agreed-upon ideas:
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis
and other “truly airborne” diseases
can be isolated in a facility with pres-
surization, dilution, and exhaust.
• Clean air matters in environ-
ments for severely immunocom-
promised patients (e.g., transplant
recipients). Fungal contamination
as low as 1 cfu per cubic meter has
been linked to infections.1
• Construction dust can carry
spores (e.g., aspergillus) that cause
infection. This risk is elevated in
areas with immunocompromised
patients. Airtight construction
barriers and good construction
management can reduce this risk.
• General room air distribution
has little effect on transmission
of “droplet diseases,” coughed or
sneezed particles with diameters
greater than 50 µm (e.g., influenza,
respiratory syncytial virus).
• Ultraviolet light and other tech-
nologies can kill airborne biological
particles. These have been used both
in and out of air systems to reduce
microbial contamination. In a few
cases, a reduction in infection has
been shown.
• Clean air in ORs has been
correlated with reduced surgical-
site infection rate.
Myths. Now, let’s review some
common misperceptions and exag-
gerations. I need to introduce these
by stating I believed nearly all of
them just three years ago.
• Health-care ventilation rates are
“normal.” Some say the ventilation
rates used in health-care spaces are
roughly equivalent to those used in
office buildings and schools. This
is true on the hottest day of sum-
mer, but in most office buildings and
schools, air is used as needed, with
controls to limit reheat. In health
care, ventilation rates are used as
minimums; air is changed multiple
times every hour of the year, and
spaces often are over-ventilated. In
commercial spaces, 15 to 20 cfm of
outdoor air per person is typical. In
hospitals, three or four times that is
used, and room minimums are even
higher.
• One hundred percent of air
should be exhausted. This idea is very
popular in England. Some engineers
say not returning air is preferable.
The idea all hospital air is “dirty” has
been fairly well debunked.2
• All health-care spaces need to be
protected against airborne diseases.
This may be a carryover from the
days of open wards. Today, isolation
protocols and rooms are used. Ad-
ditionally, airborne diseases some-
times are overestimated. I used to
think there were hundreds—maybe
thousands—of airborne diseases. It
turns out there are very few “truly
airborne” diseases—primarily,
tuberculosis, smallpox, chickenpox,
measles, mumps, and rubella.3
• Air changes and pressures are
designed to prevent infection. This
idea is fairly popular. In a 2013
survey of HVAC design engineers,
about 40 percent said air changes
are used to prevent infection. 4
For many major categories of
infection—catheter, bloodstream,
mechanical ventilator—there is no
reason to believe HVAC has any
bearing, aside from its supporting
role in basic hygiene. Most of the
air-change rates, pressures, and
temperatures we use are based on
tradition, rather than science.
• Patient comfort is a specialty
application. This idea is very popu-
lar because, well, it’s true! However,
there is a second, sadder truth to go
with it: There has never been a study
on patient comfort. Most human-
comfort studies use more generic
populations (e.g., offices, schools).
So, in health care, we actually know
significantly less about predicting
comfort than office designers do.
Yet our practices sometimes belie
we know more.
• Certain temperature and humid-
ity ranges control bacterial growth.
There is some truth to this, but it is
fuzzier than one would like. Different
organisms have different tempera-
ture and humidity responses; there
is no perfect state that controls them
all. There is a range within which
airborne microbial contamination
can be minimized, but the range is
broader and less rigid than we tend
to apply. Most importantly, there
is not good evidence tightly con-
trolled spaces lead to better patient
New PersPectives oN HealtH-care veNtilatioN
May 2016 HPAC EnginEEring 15
outcomes. Some foreign standards
use wider control ranges, seemingly
without disaster.
• We need very efficient filters
everywhere. During the early 1960s,
most U.S. hospitals had operable
windows and natural ventilation. In
time, that gave way to 100-percent
filtered air. Today, many U.S. engi-
neers are skeptical of natural venti-
lation—they have not seen it done in
30 years. European engineers have a
hard time understanding this—they
use natural ventilation every day.
• We are protecting against a
pandemic. This interesting idea
crops up from time to time (per-
haps dependent on the news): “The
next airborne pandemic disease
could walk into your building to-
morrow.” It is well-intentioned, of
course, but also very flimsy. A com-
plicated probability and risk assess-
ment would be needed to show high
minimum ventilation rates are at all
effective in mitigating an outbreak,
and such an assessment has not yet
been done. I have heard: “We’ve
never had an airborne outbreak in
the United States, so the ventilation
rates must be working.” I’ll leave the
reader to judge that logic.
As firmly held as my beliefs on
these matters are, I urge you not to
take my word for any of this. Investi-
gate your own beliefs; try to validate
them. To save you the time of comb-
ing through hundreds of journal
articles, as I have done, I offer the
following. It is a list of good meta-
analysis papers on these topics.
Several easily can be found on the
Web free of charge:
• “Hospital Ventilation Standards
and Energy Conservation: A Sum-
mary of the Literature With Conclu-
sions and Recommendations, FY 78
Final Report” (LBL-8316) by Roger
L. DeRoos, Robert S. Banks, David
Rainer, Jonna L. Anderson, and
George S. Michaelsen. This 1978
report includes a review of 359
clinical papers. It found “it is very
difficult to draw any precise conclu-
sion” on general ventilation rates
and infection.
• “Ventilation and Exhaust Air
Requirements for Hospitals” by Jack
B. Chaddock (ASHRAE RP-312).
This 1983 study debunked 100-
percent exhaust. It is well worth
reading for the rest of its contents,
too. It says, “Indications now are
that this risk has been overesti-
mated, resulting in higher than
needed ventilation rates.”
• “Role of Ventilation in Airborne
Transmission of Infectious Agents
in the Built Environment – A Multi-
disciplinary Systematic Review” by
Yuguo Li et al. This paper, published
in the February 2007 issue of Indoor
Air, concluded a “lack of sufficient
data on specification and quantifi-
cation of the minimum ventilation
requirements in hospitals, schools,
and offices.”
• “Design Strategy for Low-
Energy Ventilation and Cooling of
Hospitals” by C. Alan Short and
Sura Al-Maiyah. This U.K. energy
s tudy , pub l i shed in Bui ld ing
Research & Information in 2009
(Volume 37, Issue 3), includes a
review of literature on infection
control. When it comes to infection,
the authors conclude, “True air-
borne infection is rare; what is
fairly common is the direct route of
infection.”
• “Natural Ventilation for Infec-
tion Control in Health-Care Set-
tings,” edited by James Atkinson,
Yves Chartier, Carmen Lúcia Pes-
soa-Silva, Paul Jensen, Yuguo Li,
and Wing-Hong Seto. This 2009
World Health Organization guide-
line includes a study of 65 scientific
papers. It says, “There is moderate
evidence available to suggest that
insufficient ventilation is associated
with an increased risk of infection.”
Re-read that sentence a few times.
It is my personal favorite, for both
what it says and what it does not say.
• “Literature Review: Room Ven-
tilation and Airborne Disease Trans-
mission” by Farhad Memarzadeh.
Jointly published by the American
Society for Healthcare Engineering
and the Facility Guidelines Institute,
this 2013 meta-study features more
than 100 citations. It concludes we
do not have enough data to set
minimum air changes per hour
(ACH) on the basis of infection.
• “The Role of the Hospital Envi-
ronment in Preventing Healthcare-
Associated Infections Caused by
Pathogens Transmitted Through
the Air” by Jesse T. Jacob, Altug
Kasali, James P. Steinberg, Craig
Zimring, and Megan E. Denham.
Published in the October 2013 issue
of Health Environments Research &
Design (HERD), this is a very useful
read. It was compiled by a team of
infectious-disease and architectural
researchers. It has a summary table
of 37 ventilation research studies
and gives concise s tatements
regarding what has been successful.
Change Is Hard
“The oldest and strongest emo-
tion of mankind is fear, and the old-
est and strongest kind of fear is fear
of the unknown.”
—H. P. Lovecraft
New PersPectives oN HealtH-care veNtilatioN
”
“When it comes
to energy,
hospital buildings
are behind
the times—to an
increasingly
embarrassing
extent.
16 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
There is a night in Seattle I will
never forget. I had just explained to
a committee how most outpatient
facilities are Group B (business)
occupancies: We design them
to energy codes, we use variable-
air-volume systems, we use return
plenums; we do not, typically, use
air-change minimums.
From across the room, a member
of the audience looked me square
in the eyes and said loudly, “Well,
how many people are you willing
to kill?”
None, of course. To be utterly
clear, what I described is common
practice across the United States,
with decades of precedent. The
audience member ’s response
reminded me how big of a barrier
fear can be.
The strong case for “doing noth-
ing.” In health-care HVAC, there are
big questions, questions to which
we do not—and may never—have
complete answers:
• How relevant are HVAC vari-
ables (outside-air ventilation rate,
total room ventilation rate, supply-
air filtration, room air pattern, room
pressure) to disease transmission
or infection rates in health-care
occupancies?
• In what rooms or spaces can
HVAC variables affect disease
transmission or infection rates?
• What specific disease-transmis-
sion or infection rates can HVAC
variables affect?
The problem is not that we don’t
have answers to these questions; it
is that our codes and standards rep-
resent that we do. Two generations
of architects and engineers—my-
self among them—learned that air
changes, pressures, and filters are
bedrocks of health and safety. Such
traditions are not easily shaken.
Codes and standards are written
by us. They both reflect and transmit
our shared beliefs from year to year.
Of course, code changes are notori-
ously slow. Increasing requirements
is not easy for a code group. In
the case of health-care ventilation,
decreasing requirements is even
harder. If even one person in the
room fears change, the proverbial
wheels can grind to a halt.
Often, the “Other Way” Works
Just Fine
Compare and cont rast . The
simplest way to think fresh about
health-care ventilation in the United
States is to look at countries in
which it is different. I have reviewed
health-care ventilation guides from
the United Kingdom, Germany, and
Spain and learned a little about stan-
dards in Canada, Australia, Latin
America, and Japan. For me, this
has been an eye-opening experi-
ence. Sometimes, the contrasts are
shocking. For instance, Germany
has no minimum humidity require-
ment for ORs. Even worse, the
United Kingdom actively discour-
ages humidifiers, saying they create
more risk than they avoid. And in
Germany and Japan, natural ventila-
tion is allowed—nay, encouraged—
in minor-procedure rooms! (The
windows have insect screens.) To a
U.S. engineer, this is horrifying.
Beyond the shock factor, the
clear contrast is the U.S. framework
is quite narrow. We use specific,
inflexible HVAC solutions. We have
long tables of space-by-space pre-
scriptions. Many spaces, such as
restrooms, janitor’s closets, cor-
ridors, and dining areas, probably
could be removed, as, for example,
a janitor’s closet in a hospital is not
too different from a janitor’s closet
in a school—we could use the “nor-
mal” design. Several international
health-care standards do this, using
“special” HVAC in fewer spaces.
I think of management coach
Mark Horstman, who says, “The
‘other’ way often works just fine,”
explaining: “There’s someone else
out there who has succeeded to the
same level you have with exactly the
opposite intuitions you have. (They
wonder how you got where you are,
too.) Your idea that your way is the
right way is routinely controverted.
You just think it’s right because it’s
yours.”
Clean spaces. We also can look at
domestic trends in HVAC, as some
technologies have matured quite a
bit over the last 30 years.
Take clean spaces, which have
surpassed health care. In 1978, a
designer using filters, laminar flow,
and over-pressure in an OR was the
avant-garde of clean-air-system de-
sign. During the 1990s, though, the
cleanroom industry took off. Today,
the best cleanroom designs are in
the semiconductor and pharmaceu-
tical sectors. In comparison, our
OR designs look archaic. European
New PersPectives oN HealtH-care veNtilatioN
”
“Germany has no minimum humidity
requirement for ORs. Even worse, the United
Kingdom actively discourages humidifiers.
And in Germany and Japan, natural ventilation
is allowed—nay, encouraged—in minor-
procedure rooms.
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hospitals are learning from clean-
rooms. In the United Kingdom, Ger-
many, and Spain, OR commission-
ing includes particle and microbial
testing using cleanroom methods.
Over the next 15 years, cost-
effective, real-time particle control is
realistic. There are examples—both
U.S. and European—of real-time
particle counting in ORs. We need
these clean-system design ideas in
hospitals, or, at least, we ought not
exclude or prohibit them.
Comfort and indoor-air quality.
Today’s design vocabulary for
indoor-air quality (IAQ) and comfort
also is much advanced. Health-care
codes use ACH and explicit tem-
perature ranges. Both are outdated
and out of synch with most modern
design practice.
For IAQ design, approaches such
as those of ANSI/ASHRAE Stan-
dard 62.1, Ventilation for Accept-
able Indoor Air Quality, are used
for most spaces. There are several
global standards for outdoor-air
ventilation, most of which use
similar methods.
For comfort, modern designers
use an algorithm to predict the
percent of people dissatisf ied
(PPD) and predicted mean vote
(PMV). This is known as the PPD/
PMV methodology. It comes from
U.S. research, but is used globally.
In the United States, it is in ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 55, Thermal
Environmental Condit ions for
Human Occupancy.
Moving to the Future
We need to acknowledge possi-
bilities. Our current practices do not
deserve a monopoly. It is possible to
think beyond them without compro-
mising the outcomes we all value.
I believe modernization of health-
care ventilation can be achieved
quickly. All of the expertise needed
to develop new approaches exists;
we need only to piece together best
practices from health-care and com-
mercial engineering, both domestic
and international. A new framework
might include:
• A clear and transparent iden-
tification of clinical effects. Where
HVAC is intended to achieve a
clinical end should be articulated.
We should be clear about where
“normal” HVAC is appropriate. In
many spaces, there are no clinical
implications; the design drivers are
comfort and IAQ.
• A sound basis in IAQ. We should
be using the best available IAQ
practices. Some spaces will require
a more exhaustive design practice.
The practice, however, should be
built on the same footing. It should
use common methods, common
metrics, and common language.
• A sound basis in human-com-
fort methods. We always should
leverage the best available comfort
knowledge. We should use state-of-
the-art comfort design and assess-
ment methods. Where comfort is
affected by one’s physical state or
other factors, we should use the best
tools available. We should continue
to seek new ones.
What’s happening. Interest in
this reform is diverse. Since 2011,
my group has published research,
corresponded with code groups,
and encouraged a larger dialogue.
Our research has focused on the
history of U.S. standards, bench-
marking among HVAC standards,
energy, and the relationship be-
tween HVAC and patient outcomes.
We have requested a few actions
from code groups, mostly concern-
ing coordination and benchmark-
ing. We have shared findings with
health-care owners, architects, and
engineers.
Architects and engineers are
taking creative approaches to forge
ahead. They often test the limits of
standards, sometimes going slightly
beyond. Chilled beams, natural
ventilation, and displacement ven-
tilators are being deployed on U.S.
acute-care projects. Outpatient proj-
ects are being designed for very low
energy use competitive with the best
commercial designs.
Code groups are working on
solutions as well. In early 2015, one
independent group convened to
coordinate across clinical standards
and clarify operating protocols.
In late 2015, another independent
group started to investigate alterna-
tive health-care HVAC design meth-
ods. Smaller teams are coordinating
between domestic standards.
There are a few examples of net-
zero or near-net-zero hospitals.
More are to come. The examples to
date, however, are a bit opportunis-
tic; there has been investment in re-
newables, but no deep reductions in
consumption. A new HVAC toolkit
would open the door to lower con-
sumption, more net-zero hospitals,
and a greener health-care-building
sector.
References
1) Vonberg, R.P., & Gastmeier, P.
(2006, July). Nosocomial aspergil-
losis in outbreak settings. Journal of
Hospital Infection, 63, 246-254.
2) Chaddock, J.B. (1983). Venti-
lation and exhaust air requirements
for hospitals. Atlanta, GA: American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
3) Siegel, J.D., Rhinehart, E., Jack-
son, M., Chiarello, L., & HICPAC.
(2007). 2007 guideline for isolation
precautions: Preventing transmis-
sion of infectious agents in health-
care settings. Atlanta, GA: Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
4) English, T.R. (2014, May).
Engineers’ perspectives on hospital
ventilation. HPAC Engineering,
pp. 14-19. Available at http://bit.ly/
English_0514
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Tor guidelines established by The American Institute of
Architects. Additionally, hospitals were reimbursed
according to formulas that counted the number of
procedures performed, regardless of outcomes—the
focus was on the quantity, not quality, of procedures
performed.
We have entered a new era. Officials increasingly are
stepping away from a reimbursement model based on
quantitative standards established before passage of the
Affordable Care Act and moving toward a new, more
demanding era of performance-based requirements
with an emphasis on outcomes.
In the past, if a medical procedure resulted in
contraction of a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) or
virus, the main consequence for the hospital might
simply be an extension of the patient’s stay by a few
days. Perversely, this generated additional revenue for
the hospital, a reward for a bad outcome.
Times have changed. Now, the government is telling
hospitals they will not be paid if they do not perform;
performance-based accountability has become a key to
payment. Affordable Care Act standards often focus on
outcomes. New rules measure factors such as whether
re-admittance was required after surgery and whether
complications or infections occurred.
Operating-Room Size Is Changing
The typical OR is growing in size. ORs commonly
were 20 ft by 20 ft (400 sq ft) or 20 ft by 30 ft (600 sq ft).
Today, sizing standards based on square footage are
subject to significant increases to allow for modern
By ANDRE LEBLANC
ConEdison Solutions
Tampa, Fla.
The operating room (OR) typically is among the
greatest sources of revenue for a hospital and, thus,
kept as busy as reasonably possible. The “occupied
period” of a typical OR may start before 6 a.m., when
nurses and support staff begin to prepare the surgical
environment. The performance of procedures typically
begins at 7 a.m. and continues into the evening,
sometimes until after 9 p.m., followed by a closing hour
of post-surgical occupancy.
With use like that, it should come as no surprise
ORs account for a significant portion of an institution’s
overall energy use. This article discusses the role of
proper surgical-suite environmental control and energy
management in the cost-efficient operation of a
hospital and provides examples of four hospitals in the
Southeastern United States that completed successful
energy-efficient environmental upgrades.
The Evolution From Prescriptive and Quantitative to
Performance-Based
In the United States, policymakers are changing
the ways they evaluate ORs and other components of
health-care delivery, moving away from old standards
of care and reimbursement formulas.
In prior eras, standards were largely prescriptive.
For example, codes would require a hospital to
meet certain criteria, such as standards set by ASHRAE
AndreÕ LeBlanc is director of operations for ConEdison Solutions, an energy-services and design-build company. He is a
graduate of Louisiana State University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He has more than 25 years of
design-build experience in the health-care industry.
The role of surgical-suite environmental
control and energy management in the
cost-efficient operation of a hospital
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Operating-rOOM energy ManageMent
medical equipment and technologies and to help ensure
staff and patient safety. This places greater emphasis
on the need for effective environmental controls in
operating suites. Also, it potentially raises the cost
of maintaining environmental quality, unless greater
efficiency is achieved.
Infection Control and Hospital-Related Errors
Efficiency initiatives must be balanced against
stricter infection-control monitoring required by the
government.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimates 22 percent of infections are directly related
to surgery. HAIs and hospital-related errors together
comprise one of the leading causes of death in the United
States, contributing to an estimated 788,558 fatalities
in 2009.1
To help stem these negative outcomes, infection
control is a policy priority of the Affordable Care Act.
In 2014, hospitals began receiving penalties based on
infection incidence. Fortunately, OR-related infection
rates can be reduced through proper environmental
controls and HVAC systems.
ORs Require Frequent Air Changes
In an OR, air must be changed often to minimize
the risk of infection through frequent filtration. The
Facility Guidelines Institute set a federal standard of
20 air changes per hour (ACH) during occupied hours.
During unoccupied periods and in unoccupied areas,
the number of ACH can be lowered to four to eight.
In many hospitals, rates are higher. The standard
for one large hospital corporation is 25 ACH. Rates
during open-heart surgery can reach 30 or more.
When surgical robots are in use, air may be changed as
many as 40 times an hour.
Modern ORs should employ occupied/unoccupied
ventilation control systems. This technology signifi-
cantly reduces air-conditioning costs during unoccu-
pied hours.
ORs Need Correct Levels of Relative Humidity
Proper humidity also is essential for infection control,
regardless of a hospital’s geographical latitude. North-
ern facilities may have to consume a great deal of energy
to humidify air, while in the South, dehumidification is
key.
Air coming from outside must be conditioned to
maintain a relative humidity of 30 to 60 percent. Levels
below 30 percent can lead to the occurrence of static
electricity, which is a potential fire risk with the presence
of medical gases in operating suites. At levels above
60 percent, personnel and patients will experience
discomfort. Running below or above this range also
can contribute to infection risk. Common practice is to
maintain relative humidity between 50 and 60 percent.
Set-Point Range
Chiller plants typically are operated at a set point
between 42°F and 46°F, which usually is adequate to
maintain relative humidity below 60 percent at a temper-
ature of 68°F or greater. At the lower room-temperature
set points of ORs, which can be below 60°F, humidity
control is difficult without extensive dehumidification,
and dehumidification is energy-intensive.
For ORs, the desired temperature typically is 60°F to
65°F, with 50-percent to 55-percent relative humidity.
Dehumidification
ORs require a large quantity of outside air, which
often has high moisture content. Humidity above 60 per-
cent is not conducive to comfort or infection control. A
desiccant wheel enhances the ability of an air-handling
unit’s (AHU’s) cooling coil to dehumidify by transferring
moisture from supply air downstream of the cooling coil
to mixed air returning to the cooling coil.
Type 3 desiccant wheels, which utilize an activated
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Operating-rOOM energy ManageMent
alumina to adsorb water vapor in air streams, are a
valuable tool for reducing the energy required to
dehumidify ORs. When a Type 3 desiccant wheel is
utilized in an AHU, moisture from supply air is
transferred to mixed air, and heat from mixed air is
transferred to supply air. This minimizes the reheat
energy that otherwise would be necessary to dehu-
midify air entering the OR, providing both energy and
cost savings.
Case Studies
A 475-bed, 700,000-sq-ft hospital in the Southeastern
United States. This facility was constructed in the mid-
1960s, when requirements for and the functionality of
surgical suites were quite different from today. What’s
more, procedures often were taking place from very
early in the morning until late in the evening.
The facility specializes in heart-related procedures,
which often are lengthy operations. While comfort is
critical for all ORs, heart-focused ORs add a level of com-
plexity because of the size of the medical staff needed for
many procedures. Also, the medical equipment required
to properly supply these spaces is larger than that used
in a standard OR. So, staff density and equipment inten-
sity have significant impact on both sensible and latent
loads.
This hospital’s ORs had seen little significant upgrade
or retrofit over their first four decades. The infra-
structure of the ORs was significantly below current
standards, lacking the level of ventilation necessary to
provide code-compliant space pressurization. Previous
attempts to modify the HVAC systems had been mini-
mally successful compared with what was needed. A
single AHU served multiple ORs. Additionally, adequate
reheat was lacking.
This hospital’s ORs had a chronic problem with high
relative humidity. The institution implemented a solu-
tion—including Type 3 desiccant energy recovery—that
reduced relative humidity from above 65 percent to 52
to 54 percent at a comfortable set point of 62°F to 64°F.
During the upgrade, the chiller plant’s set point was
increased from 39°F to 42°F, a change that benefited
the entire facility. The increase reduced the cost of
producing chilled water by approximately 5 percent.
With an energy-reclaim-and-recovery strategy, the
initiative improved chiller-plant capacity by correcting
24 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
equipped with occupied/unoccupied
controls that reduced the ACH from
25 to eight when the ORs were not
being used for surgery.
This proved to be a tremen-
dously valuable energy-saving
strategy. Supply and return boxes
were changed to variable-volume
to achieve occupied/unoccupied
control. This necessitated effective
air balancing and the application of
appropriate direct-digital-control
technology as a means of controlling
space pressurization—and achiev-
ing correct ventilation rates when in
occupied mode.
Additionally, the hospital imple-
mented an air-handler-replacement
program, the components of which
were nearly identical to those in
the previous case study. The only
difference was that a multiple-AHU,
as opposed to single-unit, approach
was taken.
These solutions saved approxi-
mately 25 percent of the cost of
conditioning the OR spaces and
affected adjacent spaces. Air-change
rates were optimized to meet code.
Appropriate humidity control
was achieved, which significantly
improved comfort.
A 110-bed, 200,000-sq-ft hos-
pital in the Southeastern United
States. This facility was built in the
mid-1960s, its design adapted from
architectural designs intended for
a non-hospital building. This pre-
sented significant issues. The surgi-
cal suites, for example, were plagued
with low ceilings with less-than-
adequate interstitial space above.
Because of ductwork limitations,
the project was unable to incorpo-
rate occupied/unoccupied control
systems.
A strategy utilizing Type 3 des-
iccant energy recovery corrected
high-humidity issues in the ORs,
along the same humidity parameters
as those cited in the two previous
case studies. The initiative paralleled
the program implemented in the
Operating-rOOM energy ManageMent
the derating effect of operating the
chillers below their design set point
of 42°F. This also corrected exhaust
and pressurization deficiencies
and improved filtration and ACH,
contributing to the mitigation of
humidity issues in the ORs.
Both ventilation and comfort
issues were mitigated through
implementation of this solution.
The hospital also reaped the benefit
of energy-cost reduction.
A 415-bed, 850,000-sq-ft hospital
in the Southeastern United States.
This facility was constructed in the
late 1960s. The ORs had not under-
gone significant renovation since.
Surgical staff routinely complained
about OR comfort. Daily monitor-
ing revealed that, from late spring
through fall, OR humidity often
exceeded recommended levels.
Zone pressurization and the need
for appropriate air-change levels
were additional concerns.
The AHUs serving the ORs were
determined to be unable to perform
properly because of their advanced
age and deteriorated operational
condition. Additionally, some of
the supply and return ductwork
was found to be in need of replace-
ment because of its poor condition
and because of flaws in the original
workmanship. The facility had been
built with ductwork transitions and
elbows installed in a manner that
would trigger significant drops in
pressure, which affected flow and
air-change rate.
The solution involved changeout
of the air handlers and modification
of the ductwork in a way that less-
ened air-pressure drop and allowed
for highly improved zone control.
This permitted the rooms to be
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Operating-rOOM energy ManageMent
previous case study and optimized
ventilation rates to meet code.
A 300-bed, 450,000-sq-ft hospital
in the Southeastern United States.
The primary driver for this proj-
ect was the end of life of the facil-
ity’s HVAC equipment. The surgical
suites affected were operating at an
inadequate number of ACH. Though
not its primary concern, the hospi-
tal also was interested in improving
and maintaining comfort.
The facilities team determined
the AHU serving the ORs should
be replaced. Thus, it was logical to
incorporate energy recovery and
occupied/unoccupied modes as part
of the replacement infrastructure.
The ORs dated to the mid-1970s.
As is the case with many older ORs,
making significant ductwork modi-
fications was challenging. OR ceil-
ings traditionally are hard, making
access difficult. Additionally, ceiling
access is restricted, and existing “as-
builts” often are inaccurate. Often,
on-the-spot field modifications are
required because of conflicts found
during project implementation. In
this case, all of these complexities
were present.
Ultimately, the institution imple-
mented an occupied/unoccupied
ventilation control system that
substantially reduced the ORs' air-
conditioning costs during unoccu-
pied hours. The project minimized
the number of air changes while still
meeting code and achieved many
of the results attained in the three
previous case studies. The hospital
achieved cost savings of around 25
percent.
Conclusion
Sustainability, lower costs, im-
proved patient safety, better out-
comes, reduced infection rates,
avoidance of infection-rate-related
penalties, enhanced doctor com-
fort, higher doctor retention, and
the availability of tax incentives for
capital improvements represent a
highly compelling list of reasons
to undertake energy-management
upgrades in ORs.
Reference
1) Charney, W. (2012). Epidemic
of medical errors and hospital-
acquired infections: Systemic and
social causes. Boca Raton, FL: CRC
Press.
Did you f ind this art ic le useful?
Send comments and suggestions to
HPAC Engineering Executive Editor
Scott Arnold at scott.arnold@penton
.com.
26 HPAC ENGINEERING MAY 2016
potential to make their way into the bloodstream. Health
issues that have been linked to PM pollution include:
• Premature death in people with heart or lung dis-
ease.
• Nonfatal heart attacks.
• Irregular heartbeat.
• Aggravated asthma.
• Decreased lung function.
• Increased respiratory symptoms (e.g., irritation of
airways, coughing, difficulty breathing).
Contaminants smaller than PM10
and larger than PM2.5
often are referred to as “coarse particles.” Particles PM2.5
and smaller commonly are referred to as “fine particles.”
Sources of coarse particles include dust from paved and
unpaved roadways and dust-generating processes and
industries, such as crushing and grinding operations.
Fine particles often are found in smoke and haze, such as
smog. Processes involving combustion, such as motor
vehicles, power plants, and wood burning, are common
sources of fine-particle pollution.
ASHRAE Air-Filtration Performance-Rating
Standards
During the mid-1970s, ASHRAE formed a committee
to develop a standard for evaluating and rating air-
filtration performance. In 1976, that standard—ASHRAE
52—was published.
In 1992, ASHRAE Standard 52 evolved into ASHRAE
Standard 52.1, Gravimetric and Dust-Spot Procedures
for Testing Air-Cleaning Devices Used in General Venti-
lation for Removing Particulate Matter. The performance
By NATHAN L. HO, PE
P2S Engineering Inc.
Long Beach, Calif.
Air quality is key to achieving acceptable indoor
environments. With so many air-filter technologies
and performance-rating methods, it is essential design
engineers and operating personnel understand the
differences between them to make fully informed
decisions regarding air-filtration strategy. This article
discusses recent research into filter performance and
shares insights that can be gleaned from that research.
Limitations of Human Respiratory Filtration and
the Role of Mechanical Filtration
Particulate matter (PM) consists of microscopic solid
particles or liquid droplets that are suspended in air.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the
size of particles suspended in air is linked directly to
the particles’ potential to cause health issues.1 The
human body has provisions, such as the nose, to
naturally filter some PM. Particles larger than 100 µm
tend to be too heavy to inhale, while particles in the
range of 10 to 100 µm typically are unable to navigate
all of the turns in the body’s respiratory passageways
and are filtered by nasal hairs, nasal mucosa, or mucus-
covered ciliated epithelium in the bronchi and bronchi-
oles.2 The body, however, is unable to sufficiently filter
very small PM. Particles less than 10 µm in diameter
(PM10
) are of particular concern because of their
tendency to penetrate deep into the lungs and their
Understanding differences
between air-filter technologies
and performance-rating methods
Nathan L. Ho, PE, is a mechanical engineer specializing in HVAC- and control-system design with a focus on performance
and efficiency. His experience includes design, engineering, construction administration, commissioning, and project
management for an extensive range of facilities, including laboratories, data centers, high-performance commercial
buildings, and utility plants.
SER
EN
ETH
OS
/IS
TO
CK
JOIN
US IN
PHILLY
September 20-22 | Philadelphia, PA
www.comfortechshow.comCircle 166
28 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
metrics included:
• Atmospheric dust-spot effi-
ciency, a measure of a filter’s ability
to remove atmospheric dust from
test air (percent).
• Arrestance, a gravimetric mea-
sure of a filter’s ability to remove
synthetic dust from test air (percent).
• Dust-holding capacity, deter-
mined by the product of the quan-
tity of synthetic test dust fed to a
test filter and its average arrestance
(grams).
Dust-spot efficiency and arres-
tance are averaged over the course
of a dust-loading procedure. Dust
loading is used to simulate the
collection of dust on a filter over
a controlled period of time for the
purpose of generating normalized
test data. The ASHRAE Standard
52.1 test procedure specifies a
synthetic mixture of fine test dust
and cotton linters.
In 1999, ANSI/ASHRAE Stan-
dard 52.2, Method of Testing Gen-
eral Ventilation Air Cleaning Devices
for Removal Efficiency by Particle
Size, was published. ANSI/ASHRAE
Standard 52.2 presents air-filtration
performance in terms of minimum-
efficiency reporting value (MERV).
The testing methodology for deter-
mining an air filter’s MERV include:
• Running test air through a high-
efficiency-particulate-air filter with
air temperature and humidity con-
trolled before test contaminants are
injected into the air upstream of the
air filter being tested.
• Measuring filtration efficiency
over 12 discrete ranges of particle
size (Table 1).3
• Reporting initial filtration effi-
ciency in lieu of average filtration
efficiency.
The tighter the control of test-
air quality, the higher the degree
of precision in testing air filters.
With the atmospheric test air used
in the method of test prescribed in
ASHRAE Standard 52.1, results can
be impacted by seasonal and local
environmental conditions.
With 12 particle-size ranges,
designers and operators have the
ability to select air filters for specific
contaminants they want to remove
from an air stream. For example,
if the contaminant of concern is
pollen, which ranges in size from
5 to 15 µm, with an average size of
7 µm, a designer or operator would
select a filter in Range 12 (Table 1).
If the contaminant of concern is
mycobacterium tuberculosis, which
ranges in size from 1 to 5 µm, with
an average size of 0.7 µm, a designer
or operator would select a filter in
Range 3 (Table 1).
Aside from a focus on particle
size, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2
differs from ASHRAE Standard
52.1 in that it provides performance
values based on initial installed per-
formance. Over time, as air filters
become loaded, they tend to in-
crease in efficiency; thus, reporting
initial filtration performance yields
more conservative values.
Air-filtration-performance test
reports include a graph displaying
initial filter efficiency through all 12
ranges of particle size (Figure 1).3
MERV is a function of filtration
performance over three particle-size
groups:
• E1, which represents the aver-
age minimum particle-size removal
efficiency (PSE) for the four size
ranges from 0.30 to 1.0 µm.
• E2, which represents the aver-
age minimum PSE for the four size
ranges from 1.0 to 3.0 µm.
• E3, which represents the aver-
age minimum PSE for the four size
ranges from 3.0 to 1.0 µm.
These categories represent air-
filtration performance spanning
the 12 particle-size ranges shown
in Table 1. See Table 2 for MERV
parameters. See Table 3 for typical
contaminants and applications for
various MERV ratings.
Electrostatic Charge
While ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
52.2 represents the latest in air-
filtration-performance evaluation,
it is not perfect. The performance
of a filter utilizing electrostatic
capture may be high initially, but
FundaMentals oF air Filtration
TABLE 1. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2
particle-size ranges.
FIGURE 1. Sample air-filtration test data.3
May 2016 HPAC EnginEEring 29
©2016 The Metrafl ex Company
Circle 167
FundaMentals oF air Filtration
inconsistent through the filter’s
service life because of the erosion
of electrostatic charge as the filter
loads with contaminants. In 2008,
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2 Ap-
pendix J, a non-mandatory infor-
mative alternate test procedure to
address the concern of electrostatic-
media properties yielding poten-
tially misleading MERV results, was
released. Appendix J substitutes the
ASHRAE synthetic-dust mixture
with potassium chloride (KCl) to bet-
ter simulate the aerosol-size particle
distribution air filters commonly
observe in real-world applications.
As far back as 1999, ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 52.2 committee
members were aware of the limita-
tions of the test procedure with re-
spect to electrostatically charged fil-
ter media. The 1999 version of ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 52.2 states:
TABLE 2. Minimum-efficiency-reporting-value parameters from ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
52.2-2012 Table 12-1.
30 HPAC EnginEEring May 2016
“Some fibrous-media air filters
have electrostatic charges that may
either be natural or imposed upon
the media during manufacturing.
Such filters may demonstrate high
efficiency when clean and drop-in
efficiency during their actual-use
cycle. The initial conditioning step
of the dust-loading procedure de-
scribed in this standard may affect
the efficiency of the filter, but not
as much as would be observed in
actual service. Therefore, the mini-
mum efficiency during test may be
higher than that achieved during
actual use.”
The use of KCl in Appendix J
is the result of ASHRAE research
and industry input. Two substantial
research projects that contributed
to the development of Appendix
J are ASHRAE Research Project
1189, Investigations of Mechanisms
and Operating Environments That
Impact the Filtration Efficiency of
Charged Air Filtration Media, and
ASHRAE Research Project 1190,
Develop a New Loading Dust and
Dust Loading Procedures for the
ASHRAE Filter Test Standards 52.1
and 52.2. These research projects
have shown that coarse-fiber media,
which is electrostatically charged,
performs differently from fine-fiber
media, such as fiberglass, in real-
world applications.
Coarse-fiber media relies on an
electrostatic charge to achieve pub-
lished performance. This is concern-
ing because very fine particulate
(less than 1.0 µm in size) will erode
the charge and diminish filtration
performance over time. Specifying
the Appendix J test procedure to
determine MERV rating will show
the reduction in performance of
a filter relying on electrostatically
charged media compared with the
filter’s published performance us-
ing the mandatory ANSI/ASHRAE
Standard 52.2 test method. Speci-
fying engineers should look for the
MERV-A rating, which shows air-
filter performance using the ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 52.2 Appendix J
test procedure. If a designer intends
to use a MERV 13 filter, then he or
she should look for the correspond-
ing MERV-A 13-A rating on the air-
filter product.
Filters utilizing fine-fiber media
that rely on mechanical principles
to remove contaminants from an
air stream tend to yield more reli-
able performance over their service
life. The filtration efficiency of these
filters actually increases over time as
the filters load with contaminants.
Conclusion
Achieving acceptable indoor-air
quality requires an understanding of
the fundamentals of air-filtration re-
quirements and performance. Sub-
stantial research has been invested,
yielding the modern performance
test methods and benchmarks we
have today. Thanks to ASHRAE and
industry involvement, designers
and operators have robust tools to
evaluate and properly select the cor-
rect filter for an application. Not all
air filters yield the same real-world
performance under the manda-
tory ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2
method of test. Designers should
consider specifying the ANSI/
ASHRAE Standard 52.2 Appendix J
test procedure to gain a more thor-
ough understanding of air-filtration
performance throughout the service
life of a filter.
References
1) EPA. (n.d.). Health. Retrieved
from https://www3.epa.gov/pm/
health.html
2) EHP. (2006, February). Particles
in practice: How ultrafines dissemi-
nate in the body. EHP Student Edi-
tion, p. A758.
3) Camfil Farr. (n.d.). ASHRAE
testing for HVAC air fi ltration .
Retrieved from http://www.camfil
.com/Global/Documents/Brochure/
Standards/ASHRAE52.pdf
Did you f ind this art ic le useful?
Send comments and suggestions
to Executive Editor Scott Arnold at
FundaMentals oF air Filtration
TABLE 3. Typical contaminants and applications for various MERV ratings.
Magnified images of MERV 13 air filters. On the left is MERV 13 fine glass-fiber media.
On the right is MERV 13 coarse-fiber media. Both images span 50 µm.
iMag
es
co
ur
tes
y o
F c
aM
Fil
MAY 2016 HPAC ENGINEERING 31
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ORIVAL filters demonstrate low
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They need no electrical power to
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Scale formation reduces the heat transfer rate and
increases the water pressure drop through the heat
exchanger and pipes. In fact, one study has shown
that .002" fouling will increase pumping needs by 20%.
The Best Engineered Water Filtering
Solution Always Costs Less
Why Should You
Filter Your Water?
Circle 62
Circle 61
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32 HPAC EnginEEring MAY 2016
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CirCle No. Page No.
169 AAON ...................................................................................... BC
165 AEROFLEX USA INC. ................................................................. 25
153 AIRFLOW DIRECTION INC. ........................................................... 5
160 BOSCH THERMOTECHNOLOGY .................................................. 19
166 COMFORTECH .......................................................................... 27
151 EBM-PAPST ................................................................................ 1
163 EVAPCO ................................................................................... 23
155 FUJITSU GENERAL AMERICA ........................................................ 7
164 GOODWAY TECHNOLOGIES ....................................................... 24
158 GREENHECK FAN CORP. ........................................................... 13
168 LOREN COOK CO. .................................................................... IBC
167 METRAFLEX ............................................................................. 29
152 NORTEK .................................................................................... 3
154 ORIVAL INC. ............................................................................... 6
156 RINNAI CORP. ............................................................................ 9
150 SAMSUNG ...............................................................................IFC
162 SHORTRIDGE INSTRUMENTS INC. ............................................. 22
157 TITUS ...................................................................................... 11
159 YASKAWA ................................................................................ 17
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Circle 168
