Agentis Air to present energy-saving, variable-MERV electrostatic filtration at ASHRAE Winter 2023 Conference and to exhibit technology at concurrent AHR Expo

Air-purification technology company Agentis Air will present a paper on variable-MERV electrostatic air filtration during the 2023 ASHRAE Winter Conference, February 4-8. The company will also demonstrate the underlying Advanced Particle Removal Technology (APART™) at the AHR Expo, February 6-8 (Booth C7805). Both take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

In the face of the serious and wide-ranging threat presented by airborne pathogens and poor indoor air quality, the common HVAC solution—introducing a high MERV-rated filter—creates new problems, as these filters have backpressure that often exceeds the capacity of the HVAC systems in which they are installed. High-backpressure filters also use more energy and require frequent filter changes, making them more expensive to maintain and environmentally unfriendly.

The Agentis Air paper session on February 6th will introduce a new form of electrostatic filtration that has uniform performance, low backpressure, is energy efficient, and can be tuned to perform at a range of filtration levels depending on demand. This is accomplished by varying the voltage applied to the ionization stage of the filter. In this study, an electrostatic filter is operated with a variable power source set to adjust the filtration level according to a variety of operating algorithms. The resulting energy use is compared to standard air filters. The technology allows in-duct systems to adjust to a range of filtration levels, from MERV 8 to MERV 15, responding in real time to current air quality conditions and filtration needs. Developed by technologists at the University of Washington, APART technology also reduces replacement filter media cost and maintenance.

According to Agentis Air president Larry Rothenberg, “We are honored to be selected to present our results and look forward to sharing our energy-conserving, maintenance-reducing commercial air purification technology with ASHRAE members and AHR Expo visitors. Because existing HVAC systems can be adapted to use our responsive tuning and APART technology, truly better indoor air quality becomes a near-term-attainable goal, not just a wish list item. To our knowledge, Agentis Air is the only company that can offer real-time dynamic filter tuning—which is a game changer for the industry.”

Paper Highlights

• The paper presents a pilot study conducted at the University of Washington which demonstrated:
• Filtration efficiency and power consumption were responsively adjusted in real-time to a range of MERV levels, to fit current air quality levels
• A 50% reduction in energy cost
• Continuous, effective air purification with no performance drop off between media changes
• Reduced maintenance and filter media cost