Sustainability
Energy Recovery Ventilation
Critical Driver for Sustainable Indoor Air Quality TECHNOLOGY
The core of Energy Wall’s business is saving energy in the pursuit of indoor air quality. Our innovative indoor air quality technology, including our energy recovery ventilation products, reduces energy consumption and associated carbon production by transferring heat from building exhaust air – energy which would otherwise be wasted. Recovering typically 76%-80% of exhaust air energy, using Energy Wall in a 40,000 sq.ft. office building reduces carbon emissions by 30 to 40 tons annually. We continue to strive to improve the value-add of our products and increase the ubiquity of the associated energy saving benefits.
Indoor Air Quality is an ever present and increasing concern for all building occupants.
“It’s amazing how high CO2 levels get in enclosed spaces. It affects everybody–from little kids packed into classrooms to scientists, business people and decision makers to regular folks in their houses and apartments.” states Kris Karnauskas, CIRES Fellow, Associate Professor, CU Boulder.
In the study Fossil Fuel Combustion Is Driving Indoor CO2 Toward Levels Harmful to Human Cognition, researchers describe how increasing levels of CO2 in human bloodstreams results in the reduction of oxygen reaching the brain and can result in detrimental effects ranging from sleepiness and anxiety to impaired cognitive function.
The reduction of indoor CO2 concentrations is therefore recognized as critical to occupant safety. The methodology used to accomplish this reduction is mechanical ventilation, as prescribed in ASHRAE (American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) energy and ventilation standards. The challenge is – increasing mechanical ventilation comes with a large energy penalty – and this where Energy Wall’s highest fixed plate heat transfer efficiency is providing significant benefit in the drive for sustainable, low-energy buildings, through our indoor air quality technology innovations.
Molecular Air Conditioner Technology
LOW ENERGY HVAC / INDOOR AIR QUALITY technology SOLUTION
Energy Wall is developing a new technology we term the Molecular Air Conditioner, or MAC.
Leveraging our core competence in hydrophilic ceramic membranes, counter-flow heat exchange, and disruptive modular product design, MAC builds on this foundation to enable a low-energy multi-functional air conditioning technology, capable of mass production.
The MAC represents an opportunity to significantly reduce global energy consumption associated with conditioning commercial and residential building spaces. The challenge of meeting the increasing demand for space cooling with technology that reduces energy consumption and associated carbon production is recognized as a global imperative. Organizations such as the Rocky Mountain Institute (rmi.org), which are driving carbon reduction initiatives globally, cite building energy consumption as the #1 target to reduce carbon production. This mission is the focus of extensive R&D activity sponsored by university institutions, leading equipment manufacturers and government funding opportunities. The synthesis of Energy Wall technology elements uniquely positions us to emerge as a leader in this global effort.
Low Energy Cooling
The MAC uses our impregnated, hydrophilic ceramic membrane for highly efficient moisture removal and cooling of process air. In humid geographic locations, the removal of moisture, or latent load, often requires more energy than cooling of the process air. The MAC’s use of heat rejection energy results in 25% to 40% reduction in required primary energy compared to current space conditioning technologies.
Ground breaking Low Temperature Heat Pump Operation
In the drive to completely electrify building HVAC, and eliminate fossil fuels as a heat source, it is critical to improve heat pump performance at low ambient temperatures. A highly impactful potential of the MAC design is the ability to drive the operational temperature range of heat pumps far below the capabilities of existing technology.
Indoor Air Contaminant Scrubbing
The MAC transport media enables the capability to scrub CO2 and targeted indoor air contaminants. The transport media is formulated to attract carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, chlorines, and potentially viral loading entrained in the indoor air and expel these contaminants safely to the outdoors. This capability has the potential to greatly improve indoor air quality and can function simultaneously with the cooling and dehumidification function.
