The cooling coil of a HVAC system’s air handling unit offers a moist environment that’s the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, viruses and mould. When these contaminants build up, the resulting slimy matter – known as biofilm – reduces equipment efficiency and jeopardises the health, wellbeing and productivity of building occupants.
So if you’ve never had your building’s air handling units cleaned, then prepare to be shocked. The image below shows petri dish samples taken from an AHU cooling coil within a prestigious London commercial office building.
As you can see, the samples are riddled with mould; imagine this growing within your HVAC system’s AHU and being transmitted to building occupants via the air stream. If this was a visible problem in the building then it would have been dealt with immediately, yet the growth of cooling coil biofilm often goes unseen due to inadequate maintenance routines.
Facilities managers are tackling the problem of HVAC contamination with the Gibbons Ultraviolet Solutions CoilCare® disinfection system. This chemical-free system applies ultraviolet-C (UVC) light to an AHU’s cooling coil, eradicating existing biofilm and preventing new biofilm from developing.
This ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) solution can be applied to new or existing HVAC systems serving any area of a building including offices, meeting rooms and toilets. The flexible treatment can be applied across a wide range of sectors including commercial offices, hospitals and food production.
The resulting improvement in staff productivity and health and wellbeing, plus the extension of HVAC equipment life, is invaluable. Removing biofilm also improves coil efficiency and reduces pressure drop, typically leading to energy savings of 25%.
For more information on Gibbons Ultraviolet Solutions and the CoilCare® system, call Colin Hardman on 07940 544 206 or email colin@gibbonsgroup.co.uk.
