BSEE-JAN22-PG28.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 09:46 Page 28


BSEE


Matthew Maleki, Carrier UK’s Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) specialist, highlights how a negative pressure generator with high efficiency filtration can contribute to a healthy buildings strategy


V


entilation with fresh air is a vital part of any IAQ


programme. It is a legal requirement in the UK to ensure


sufficient levels of fresh air ventilation in workplaces and public buildings. The Health and Safety Executive has underlined its importance in reducing risks during the pandemic.


Ventilation replaces contaminated air with fresh outdoor air, reducing the concentration of airborne particulates and gases and minimising risks from pathogens. Modern, compact air handling units can be deployed almost anywhere to augment existing systems. While ventilation is a key element in a healthy buildings strategy, additional levels of protection can be provided by the use of specialist technology.


One such approach, developed specifically to reduce risks in the age of COVID, is the Carrier OptiClean, a self-contained, mobile air scrubber and negative pressure machine that is designed to reduce airborne contaminants and support healthy buildings as part of an overall mitigation strategy.


The machine was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2020, and recently named Air Conditioning Innovation of the Year in the UK Cooling Industry Awards.


It was originally developed by Carrier in the United States for use in hospitals during the early phase of the pandemic, when facilities were overwhelmed by patients. As facilities ran out of purpose-built isolation wards, OptiClean enabled them to transform standard treatment rooms into isolation rooms. OptiClean can be operated in two modes. As a negative-pressure machine, it uses a high-performance fan to generate a 'vacuum effect' in the room in which it is deployed, limiting the escape of potentially contaminated air into adjoining spaces. Air in the room is drawn through the body of the machine, filtered using high-efficiency filter


FOCUS: HEATING & VENTILATION


How advanced mobile negative pressure machines can help support healthy buildings


media and expelled outside the building using flexible ducting. The process of drawing air from within the space to the outside environment generates negative pressure within the room, minimising the escape of air to other areas of the building.


Alternatively, the machine can be used as a standalone air scrubber – without exhausting filtered air to the outside – to support existing building ventilation and reduce levels of airborne contaminants. OptiClean has two stages of filtration. An M5 pre-filter provides protection for the machine and extends its working life, while H13/14 HEPA filters to European Standard EN-1822 operate with a rated efficiency of 99.995% at the most penetrating particle size.


Independent tests have shown that OptiClean’s HEPA filtration system rapidly reduces concentrations of ultra-fine, virus-sized particles in the air. The research, carried out by the UK Building Research Establishment (BRE), demonstrated that OptiClean cuts levels of airborne particulate contaminants in the critical size


range (up to 1µm diameter) by around two thirds within 30 minutes. Moreover, the results show OptiClean is as effective when located in the corner of a room as at the centre. International air quality standards, embodied in the World Health Organization (WHO), EU and UK regulations, specify limits for particles in the size range PM2.5 to PM10. The tests show OptiClean is effective at significantly reducing concentrations of even smaller particles, in the ultra- fine <PM1 range.


These independent findings demonstrate the effectiveness of OptiClean in targeting ultra-fine airborne particles and support its use in buildings as part of a risk reduction and mitigation strategy.


Carrier’s OptiClean is a self­contained, mobile air scrubber and negative air machine that is designed to reduce infection risks from airborne pathogens and improve indoor air quality (IAQ).


To broaden protection, OptiClean can also be supplied with a UV-C lamp to target pathogens on internal surfaces within the machine. UV-C is proven to disrupt the molecular structure of pathogens and viruses, and has been used for


more than a century to disinfect public water supplies.


Although originally developed for use in hospitals, OptiClean is now being used more widely in schools, shops, offices and hotels to reduce risks and support healthy buildings. Carrier UK has deployed units at its offices in Leatherhead and Stockport to help protect staff and support our own healthy buildings policy, aimed at providing a safer environment for staff to return to the offices following the pandemic. Premiership rugby side Sale Sharks also recently took delivery of an OptiClean unit for installation in its changing rooms. OptiClean is part of Carrier's Healthy Buildings Programme, a suite of advanced solutions to help deliver healthy, safe, efficient and productive indoor environments across key verticals, including commercial buildings, healthcare, hospitality, education, retail and industry.


Good air quality is as important as safe drinking water. With the effectiveness of OptiClean demonstrated by independent research, Carrier is leading the way in helping building owners and managers confidently approach indoor environments with a focus on what matters most – the people inside.


OptiClean on test at BRE’s headquarters


OptiClean can be used to generate negative pressure in a room to minimise the spread of contaminants. 28 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JANUARY 2022


Independent BRE results show that OptiClean rapidly reduces the concentration of ultra­fine, virus­sized particles in the air.


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