Improved Air Filtration May Cut Building Energy Usage by 25%
A very large proportion -- about one sixth -- of the energy consumption in the developed world is used to condition the air in our homes and offices. Modern trends in building design have tended toward making the building envelope as airtight as possible to mitigate energy losses, but this requires we incorporate air exchange equipment to ensure the air we breathe is clean. Its a bit of a tradeoff -- were making buildings more energy efficient, and then throwing some of that efficiency away with air changes. Heat Recovery Ventilators (Wikipedia) alleviate some of this issue, but Professor Matthew Johnson at the University of Copenhagen thinks we can do better.
Last week at the World Climate Solutions conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Professor Johnson introduced his Cleanair system, a system whereby the air inside a building can be treated using a combination of processes to significantly reduce the toxins and microorganisms that accumulate in the air we breathe. This would allow us to significantly reduce the required number of air changes per hour, he says, decreasing the amount of energy we use to heat, cool, and condition our air by up to 25%. The world expends billions of kilowatts of power on HVAC, so this would be an incredible savings if it could be incorporated into all residential,commercial, and industrial systems.
The system works with a patented system called Photochemical Air Purification. It incorporates treatment with ultraviolet light, electrostatic filtering, and photochemical processes, such as those involving ozone that take place in our upper atmosphere. Johnson is currently looking into whether the system can be applied successfully to industrial smokestack emissions.
