08/30/2011 // Riverdale, NJ, USA // Camfil Farr // Lynne Laake
(Air Filter News) – Commercial enterprises aren’t the only ones looking to maximize efficiency while reducing costs. Educational institutions, too, need to do more for less — particularly in today’s economic climate. So when a well-known university in the western United States looked to update its air filtration system, long-term costs — not just the expense of buying filters but also of operating them — was a crucial consideration. At the same time, however, performance could not be sacrificed. Top-notch air quality was non-negotiable.
Thus the university — which serves 27,000 full-time students on a sprawling 560-acre campus — would make a careful decision after thorough analysis. When a Viledon air filter representative approached the school and claimed it could provide a synthetic media final filter that would last two years and not require a prefilter, the university was not swayed by words alone. It wanted to see the filter in action; up against another contender in a grueling year-long test.
The university proposed a side-by-side test with a Camfil Farr Durafil air filter. Not only would this have two products competing against each other, but two designs. While the Viledon filter took a traditional approach to air filter design — using coarse fiber electrostatically-charged synthetic media — the Camfil Farr clean air solution used fine fiber micro-glass, an innovative approach to maintain efficiency throughout the life of the commercial air filter. Again, of course, designs were one thing: real-world proof was another.
The test — which used 40 air filters from each manufacturer — was conducted over a 52-week period, with intermittent data collection and verification. In the end, one air filter lived up to its billing. The other did not.
By the end of testing, the Viledon filter was performing at just 15 percent efficiency on 0.3 micron particles, a major drop from their published efficiency. The Camfil Farr air filter, however, was at 33 percent efficiency, right in-line with its published efficiency. Indeed, the Camfil Farr filter maintained a higher efficiency than the Viledon product for every particle size range tested. The Camfil Farr filter also operated at 40 percent lower resistance. This was significant because lower resistance means less energy is required to maintain air flow through the air filter. In fact, a Life Cycle Costing (LCC) analysis determined that the Camfil Farr air filter operated at a 24 percent lower energy cost per year than the Viledon filter.
Significant energy savings are something that Camfil Farr customers in other sectors — including manufacturing, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies — have seen, as well. Indeed, hospitals that have switched to Camfil Farr filters have reported HVAC energy savings of up to 40 percent.
The true lesson of the university’s test was clear: Products designed for sustainability really can provide better results at lower costs. With Camfil Farr’s innovative air filter, what started as a difficult decision ended with a clear choice.
The world leader in air filtration systems, Camfil Farr provides clean air solutions for hospitals, hotels, office buildings, educational institutions, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. We provide the tools to achieve sustainability, maintain high air quality, and reduce airborne infections — all while lowering total cost of ownership. Camfil Farr customers go green without ever sacrificing performance. For more information about the Durafil air filter or our other clean air solutions, visit us online at www.green-air-filters.com, or call us toll-free at 888.599.6620.
Media Information:
Address: 1 North Corporate Dr. Riverdale, NJ
Phone: 888.599.6620
Url: HVAC Air Filters
