Engine & Turbine Technology
EN779: 2011 – a step in the right direction
The air filter market is expanding in Europe. It is expected to grow even more when all new buildings have to meet ‘zero-energy’ requirements by 2020/21 (2018/2019 for public buildings). Richard Ringström reports.
A
zero-energy building (ZEB) is a popular term to describe buildings with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually. A ZEB is basically a residential or commercial building with
greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains. Tese ZEBs will need effective ventilation supplying high indoor air quality (IAQ), which in turn will require the use of high-quality air filters.
Evolution of filter classes Over the years, the filter industry has seen the basic purpose of air filtration shift. Air filters used to be selected to protect ventilation equipment – today, their main function is to improve the indoor climate and protect the health of people. Today’s polluted air in urban environments may cause headaches, cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Clean filtered air, on the other hand, leads to improved work performance, reduced absenteeism due to illness and enhanced well-being.
Filter classes have also progressed from low filter levels, such as G4 and F5, to today’s high filtration classes, F7 and F9, with F7 being the most common and minimum class for guaranteeing acceptable IAQ. Unfortunately, there is a paradoxical relationship
between filter classes and energy savings because the better the filter, the higher the energy consumption since a filter’s resistance to air flow and pressure drop often increase. Due to their resistance to the air flow, air filters account for at least 30 per cent of a ventilation system’s energy consumption today. With energy costs spiralling, the cost of cleaning, supplying and exhausting air in buildings has consequently become a major concern today and the choice of the right filters important. Improving the energy efficiency of HVAC systems is one way to make buildings greener and combat climate change. Within Eurovent, the European Committee of
Air Handling and Refrigeration, the issue of pressure drop has been discussed considerably and the energy
Table 1. New classification of air filters according to EN779:2011.
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