INCREASE AIRFLOW. REDUCE ENERGY. OFFSET CARBON.
_
_
In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Grand Erie and two local schools took on a leadership role in education to be the first in Ontario to retrofit their HVAC systems with REME-LED in-duct, active air purification technology and duct sealing for increased ventilation. These improvements provided students and staff with a virus- and bacteria-reduced environment, increased airflow, and introduced potential energy and carbon reduction saving strategies. Since that time the program has rolled out to more than thirty-three schools, increasing ventilation on average by 30 per cent, and benefiting more than half of our students and staff across the Board. An additional twelve school districts joined the Cleaner Air for Schools and the program has grown to:
The Cleaner Air for Schools program consists of two technologies that are very unique to the Canadian marketplace, and both help with different elements of improving indoor air quality. On one hand we have the Duct Sealing technology which we utilize to increase air volume and air exchange rates, which is highly regarded by experts as one of the best methods to improve indoor air quality and increase purification.
REME-LED Active Air Purification technology to help treat and purify the air while eliminating COVID-19 by more than 99.9% – both in the air, and on hard surfaces.
_
_
ASHRAE
Duct Leakage is a prominent issue for the commercial building industry. As you see here, ASHRAE estimates that most commercial buildings have duct leakage between 10-25%, which a recent study has quantified it as an $2.9 billion dollar problem annually.
In essence, duct leakage directly impacts the quality of your indoor air by contributing to cross-contamination issues that allow allergens, and viruses to travel throughout the facility. Naturally, this can be very problematic in educational and healthcare facilities where outbreaks can happen quickly.
Duct Seal
ALL BUILDINGS have leaky ductwork simply based of how ductwork is built and installed… and on top of that we are faced with the increased challenge of servicing older buildings that have mechanical and ductwork deficiencies that are gravely affecting their ability to deliver the right volume of air to each space. As a result, building operators are wasting energy, incurring unnecessary maintenance costs, and reducing the lifespan of their mechanical equipment.
But ABOVE ALL, this current pandemic and has shed light on the importance of indoor air quality and how we should all strive to provide healthy buildings. This technology just hits on all the right points. First of all, its practically the only solution that does not require any building or business disruption, and it is the most cost-effective way we’ve found as engineers to increase airflow and reduces cross contamination. What we love about it the most is that it effectively eliminates energy waste, reduces your ongoing utility costs, and helps to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions – we know 33% of emissions in buildings come from ventilation.
Turn-key Process
Our Duct Sealing Program is a 5-Phase implementation strategy that was developed to give you full sight of the project, while also providing each facility with vital information such as mechanical inspections and deficiency reports, testing and reporting on your existing air volume capacity, and a tailored engineered solution for each specific facility.
Nerva Energy remediates ductwork infrastructure and seals the ductwork itself from the inside out to virtually eliminate air leakage and all of the issues associated with it.
All of our work is validated by Nerva Energy which allows us to provide you with a comprehensive energy report at the end of each project that will highlight your building’s pre and post airflow and air exchange rates, as well as all of the remediation work that was done in the facility to achieve the final results.
Nerva Energy auditors walk through each facility at the beginning of every project.
Nerva Energy engineers utilize the facility audit information to develop a site-specific design application.
Nerva Energy trained technicians perform the HVAC and aerosolized duct sealing components of the program.
Phase 4, the post project audit provides measurement and validation, which are later captured in the comprehensive energy report we discussed earlier.
And finally, communication is a big part of what we do. We have a complete department dedicated to assisting you with project communications. This includes reporting back to executives, communicating with the staff, students, community or the media.
Duct Sealing Program
We often get asked what the aerosolized duct sealing portion of the program looks like, and how the technology works. In laymen terms, aerosolized duct sealing is a patented technology that seals ducts from the inside out. Our aerosolized solution can seal holes that are as small as a hair follicle, all the way up to openings that are as large as 5/8 of an inch. Our software tracks the sealing process in real-time and is able to quantify the duct leakage reduction for each facility.
Grand Erie District School Board
Grand Erie and two local schools took on a leadership role in education to be the first in Ontario to retrofit their HVAC systems with REME-LED in-duct, active air purification technology and duct sealing for increased ventilation. These improvements provided students and staff with a virus- and bacteria-reduced environment, increased airflow, and introduced potential energy and carbon reduction saving strategies. Since that time the program has rolled out to 50% of schools with ventilation, increasing airflow on average by 30 percent, and benefiting half of our students and staff across the Board.
Education Advisors
Duct Sealing Can Help with Operational Costs
Duct sealing is helping building owners and operators in our communities to solve air flow issues – reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions – and optimize new construction. We are starting to see more and more engineers specify duct sealing as a base part of their designs, because they realize that it is a common-sense measure include. It takes the guesswork out of equipment sizing, allowing for a more optimal design, while simultaneously guaranteeing that the operation air handling systems and the associated duct work will comply with their intentions once the building is powered up. Both of those benefits, combined with the lower usage of energy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in order to satisfy the needs of the space and the users of the buildings, and no incremental increase to overall construction costs, produces a true win-win scenario.
REME-LED is proven to kill 99.9+% of viruses, bacteria, and mold by eliminating airborne and surface contaminants with Hydro-Peroxide Ions and Bi-Polar Ionization. It is designed to be installed directly into air-handling units and does not require additional in-room equipment.
REME-LED is not an experimental technology in the prototype phase. It is well-established and is patented and manufactured by a company with a wide range of air, water and food quality products, with a combined 4,000,000 systems installed in over 60 countries. This technology has recently been adopted by Grand Erie District School Board in Southwestern Ontario, and several colleges in the US, including Florida State College and Hillsborough Community College. Recent lab tests support its value with respect to combatting COVID-19.
In addition, this technology works in concert with patented Duct-Sealing technology and is a strategic part of the recovery investment for climate resilience and energy-efficient buildings. This comprehensive strategy for containing COVID-19 and enhancing the overall air quality of your buildings will keep students, teachers, and staff safe over the longer term – post-COVID.
REME-LED is exclusively available through Thomas Cole Inc. in Burlington, Ontario, and its partner, Nerva Energy.
Duct-sealing: A cost effective building measure to a) improve airflow and b) reduce energy costs and carbon.
- Improves ventilation by up to 35% while decreasing energy use
- Ensures that all of the air supplied and returned through the ventilation system is delivered to the spaces that people occupy in buildings (rather than leaking into ceilings and otherwise unoccupied mechanical spaces); and
- Increases the effective air dilution rate within the building, which means that droplets with viral particles are more likely to be removed, filtered and dissipated, thereby reducing the risk of cross-contamination
Learn more about these proven new technologies and how to Educate Your Staff about their use.
Compare REME-LED with other technologies
As you consider how to mitigate airborne and surface-based transmission of COVID-19 to provide a safe, healthy learning and working environment, you will need additional information.
Mohawk College has developed expertise and an applied research focus relevant to these technologies: the college is now working with three school boards that are installing these new systems and assessing their effectiveness in schools. Mohawk and Nerva will provide a future educational webinars on the process, technology and test results of these breakthrough air-quality solutions.
To join the mailing list to receive information on upcoming webinars, please contact mcresswell@thomascoleinc.com
